January 06, 2011 05:20 PM UTC

Can't catch a break? Try whining.

• 11 Comments
• by: Duke Cox

(see “market” and “externality”

also NIMBY, IMBY, and, of course “mitigate” – promoted by MADCO)

Things are really heating up in Garfield County.  It appears the O&G industry has decided that now is the time to counter-attack against the liberals who managed to fight off some of the excesses of the Princes of Petroleum.

Local attorney, Scott Balcomb, whose law firm represents Antero Resources, is also a developer of subdivisions, gravel pits, and has significant interests in natural gas where Antero is drilling. Scott is the latest industry toad singing that same tired old song about regulations running the industry out of town.

Now that they will have a friendly audience, with the replacement of Tresi Houpt by yet another Republican “good ol’ boy”, you can bet that the Garco commissioners hearing room will light up with rig-huggers weeping and gnashing their teeth in horror at the burden of the new COGCC rules, Garcos’ intervention in Anteros’ spacing request (they want to quadruple density on Silt Mesa)  ..and then there is that thing in Battlement Mesa (more later on that).  

Mr. Balcomb minced no words, claiming the O&G industry will not return until the governments involved back off and get out of their way. The county has requested formally of the COGCC that it require Antero to mitigate any negative impacts, if it allows the density increase.

This simple phrase…”mitigate any negative impacts”…drives the industry money boys wild, the cost of that mitigation coming out of their pockets.  

It is their firm belief that negative impacts of Anteros’ activities should be borne by those affected…not the mutli-gazillion dollar company making the profit.

The other issue that has Anteros’ collective panties in a giant wad, is what to do about Battlement Mesa. A fiery group of Battlement Mesa residents are standing up to Antero, the county, and those at the state who still seem to take their plight a bit too casually.

Antero, in their desire to drill 200 gas wells within the town limits, probably did not anticipate the intelligence and backbone possessed by the folks from the Battlement Concerned Citizens group. They are putting up a hell of a fight.

All in all, Antero resources just can’t catch a break. Everywhere they want to go to crap on somebody elses’ life for profit, someone seems to object.

What’s a poor corporation to do? Try whining…that might work.