GRAND JUNCTION, Colo.—An energy company is asking for permission to dispose of treated water from oil and gas drilling in a creek near Meeker.
BOPCO, L.P. has proposed disposing up to 756,000 gallons of water in Yellow Creek, 20 miles west of Meeker, in the Piceance (PEE’-ants) Basin.
The Daily Sentinel ( ) reported Monday that the proposal is unusual for the region.
About 20 percent of treated drilling water is discharged into waterways but most of that involves coal-bed methane development in Las Animas County. Usually treated water in the Piceance Basin is shipped to a disposal facility or injected into geological formations far below ground.
BOPCO cites the cost and environmental impact of trucking the water to disposal facilities.
The Bureau of Land Management is accepting comments through Tuesday.
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Information from: The Daily Sentinel,
