Anthem Ranch, Broomfield

 

Two companies, Extraction Oil & Gas Inc. and Crestone Peak Resources, operate or propose to operate major oil and gas drilling, fracking and production projects near Anthem Ranch and nearby communities in Broomfield, Colorado. Extraction started development of their Broomfield project, with 84 wells on 6 pads, in December 2018, and 30 wells are currently in the production stage. However, Extraction suspended development of the remaining wells in early 2020, and we do not know when development will resume. The COGCC is expected to make a decision on Crestone’s proposed 30-well Acme pad in 2021.

As an active adult community, we are very concerned about the impacts of these developments on our vulnerable population. If you would like more information or to assist with our efforts, please contact us at: .

Story: Dr. Susan Phillips Speece – NOT WHAT I PLANNED
My life-long dream was to live in Colorado, specifically to have a mountain home. As life would develop I was thrilled that my daughter caught the fever as well and moved to Colorado around 1999. Her presence here and the consulting work I did with the University of Northern Colorado gave me plenty of opportunities to visit Colorado. During one of my visits I came across Anthem Ranch. I loved the idea of the community, but was not quite ready to downsize so much.

When I retired I moved to Evergreen to have that mountain home. After two years in Evergreen, it was time to move down the hill. Ultimately I decided to build a home in Anthem Ranch. I selected a lot on the southern edge of the community with open views of the open space to my south and the majestic Rockies to the west. Little did I know there were already plans to drill for oil on that open space. As a scientist and as a former resident of Pennsylvania, I was acutely aware of the dangers and health issues that might develop with fracking.

I love Anthem Ranch. I love the activities, the people, the facilities and the beautiful environment. To say that I am disappointed with the thought that what I thought would always be open space behind me could become an industrial site for fracking, is a gross understatement. I am not opposed to fracking per se, but I am opposed to industrial level of concentrated well fracking in small spaces so close to a very densely populated area. Working with LOGIC and the City and County of Broomfield, we were able to reduce the number of wells being drilled and minimize the risks and negative impacts behind my home. Colorado is too beautiful and special of a place to have the land pillaged for financial gains. Working together LOGIC and citizens have helped to pass SB 181 which finally gives back control over oil and gas development in residential areas and it shifts COGCC’s role from fostering oil and gas development to regulating the activities.

Story: Judy Kelly – KEEP OUR DREAM ALIVE
A few years ago, my husband and I decided to move to Colorado to be closer to my son and his family. As we searched across the Front Range for a house, we fell in love with Anthem Ranch. It was beautiful with a strong sense of community and many community activities, and it let us be close to our grandsons. We thought we had found paradise.

When we first started looking at moving to Colorado, we ruled out Weld County, because we didn’t want to live in an industrial zone where a bunch of oil and gas wells could pop up at any time. Anthem Ranch, a senior community, was the perfect community for us.

Little did we know that three years later our dream community would face neighborhood drilling of an unprecedented scale. Broomfield approved a Memorandum of Understanding with an operator for 84 wells. The Livingston Pad is about 1,300 feet from the nearest home on the south side of Anthem Ranch.

I am one of the four founding members of the Oil and Gas Education Group. We have worked hard to educate our neighbors and keep them informed of what is going on in the oil and gas world. We are excited to be a part of LOGIC and connect with other Coloradans facing the same issues. LOGIC has given us a powerful voice in the Legislature and helped pass SB19-181 to be the new law of the land.

While we were not able to stop these pads from being developed, we were able to push the City and County of Broomfield to require as many best management practices as possible. We worked with the City to create a complaint system to deal with nuisance issues. Broomfield also had 19 air quality stations installed to monitor emissions from the six oil and gas pads.
This is not the retired life I imagined. I spend too many hours in meetings and in Denver trying to make a difference. We couldn’t stop residential drilling in our neighborhood, but I hope my work with LOGIC will prevent it elsewhere.