Glenwood Springs – At least two energy companies are seeking permission to build temporary worker camps in western Colorado, focusing on the natural-gas hotbed of Garfield County.
Williams, the largest natural-gas producer in the county, applied last month for a permit to park manufactured housing on a 20,000-acre lease area north of Parachute. This past spring, Occidental Oil and Gas Group asked for permission to park several travel trailers on land north of DeBeque to house about a dozen workers.
Both companies said they want to spare their workers a long commute to the sometimes-remote drilling areas.
“We want to place them in a safe environment for the length of their shift so they don’t have to drive back and forth,” Williams spokeswoman Susan Alvillar said.
The Williams and Occidental camps would require a change in county zoning rules. Both companies operate in areas where temporary worker camps are not permitted.
