MEEKER — Rio Blanco County’s 6,000 inhabitants don’t expect the full force of northwestern Colorado’s energy boom for a while. But they’re already struggling to keep up with a daily influx of gas-company workers, 18-wheelers and rising police calls.
The remote county already has 2,600 natural-gas wells and is bracing for as many as 19,000 more over the next 15 years. Its population could triple, and infrastructure expenses could reach $343 million.
So the county is considering imposing per-well fees — the first in Colorado — to meet its looming bills.
“The handwriting was on the wall: How do we deal with the impacts of something like this?” said Ken Parsons, chairman of the board of county commissioners.
Other Colorado counties impose fees for new homes and businesses with the idea that development should help pay its way. Some with thriving oil and gas production charge energy companies one-time fees to offset damage to roads from tractor-trailers and drilling rigs. Southwestern La Plata County has agreed to reduce fees if companies use existing facilities and technology to minimize traffic.
But Rio Blanco County’s by-the-well proposal is seen as unique in Colorado and perhaps the region, where natural-gas production is growing from New Mexico to Montana.
“I think right now Rio Blanco is really blazing the trail,” said Mary Ellen Denomy, a petroleum accountant.
Jeff Madison, the county’s natural-resources specialist, has a different take: “We’re kind of the guinea pig.”
In 2006, Rio Blanco County passed a resolution calling for one-time “impact fees” of $5,000 to $6,000 per new well. Now commissioners are considering fees of $10,000 to nearly $18,000 per well, based on depth, to pay for roads, bridges and a new criminal-justice center. A vote could come May 27.
Some in the industry object to more fees on top of a possible ballot measure that would raise severance taxes.
