Fortification Creek coal-bed methane monitoring meeting set for Nov 7

Fortification Creek coal-bed methane monitoring meeting set for Nov 7

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Buffalo Field Office will host a Fortification Creek Resource Management Plan Amendment (RMPA) monitoring meeting on Nov. 7. The meeting will begin at 9 a.m. at the Johnson County Fire Station at 790 Volunteer Lane in Buffalo.

As part of the Fortification Creek RMPA Decision Record, the Buffalo Field Office committed to an annual public meeting to discuss development and monitoring of performance standards. Two Plans of Development (POD) have been authorized to date, Lance Oil and Gas Company’s Camp John Special Management Area Phase One Year One POD with 56 wells, and Yates Petroleum Corporation’s Elsie POD with seven wells.

A draft agenda for the meeting is available online at http://www.blm.gov/wy/st/en/info/NEPA/documents/bfo/fortification_creek.html.

The Fortification Creek Planning Area is located in Campbell, Johnson, and Sheridan counties, encompassing 100,655 acres. It is home to a resident elk herd, a Wilderness Study Area, and has large areas of steep slopes and sensitive soils. There is interest in developing the area for coalbed natural gas and other forms of oil and gas. The Fortification Creek RMPA established seven performance standards for elk protection and a reclamation standard that operators must meet in order to develop. The meeting will cover current status of the performance standards and development proposals.

For more information, contact Thomas Bills at (307) 684-1133.