The State Oil and Gas Commission held a special meeting with Battlement Mesa residents this week about Antero Resources' plans to drill natural gas wells in the community. Comments and questions reflected a crowd still uneasy with the proposed drilling, and the meeting provided few - if any - answers. KDNK's Amy Hadden Marsh has this report.
On May 27, Antero Resources announced plans to drill up to 200 natural gas wells in Battlement Mesa. At a recent meeting, residents were not happy about their exclusion from early negotiations between Antero and Battlement Mesa Company. Garfield County Commissioner Tresi Houpt says homeowners sometimes have to learn about drilling rights the hard way. KDNK's Amy Hadden Marsh interviewed Houpt.
After last month's meeting when The Battlement Mesa Company and Antero Resources rolled out a plan to drill up to 200 natural gas wells within the Battlement Mesa community, many residents said they had no idea this kind of thing could happen. Now, they're contacting government officials, going to local strategy meetings, and some attended a hearing in Denver last week with the state oil and gas commission. But as KDNK's Amy Hadden Marsh reports, drilling in Battlement Mesa involves a complicated process.
As fossil fuels like natural gas are depleted and become more difficult to find, some energy experts predict that communities throughout the U.S. will start to see more aggressive drilling techniques. KDNK's Conrad Wilson and Marilyn Gleason explain the trend.
Plans were announced to drill in Battlement Mesa at the end of last month. Nearly all of the retirement community's residents learned of the drilling at a meeting. KDNK's Marilyn Gleason attended that meeting and spoke with residents.
KDNK Local Newscast
KDNK News for Thursday September 9, 2010 with Steve Cole and KDNK's news team.
