The  Bureau of Land Management is seeking public comments on a proposed water treatment plant west of Meeker that would treat produced water from oil and gas activity in the Piceance Basin and discharge it into Yellow Creek.

The agency said it will accept comments through Mar. 6 for an environmental assessment it is preparing for Bopco LP’s proposed project.

The proposed facility would treat up to 24,000 b/d of produced water from the independent producer’s Yellow Creek natural gas field and discharge up to 18,000 b/d into Yellow Creek.

Bopco already has acquired a discharge permit from the state government but will need to reach a separate agreement with the Colorado Parks and Wildlife Service to construct power lines across state land before the project is approved, BLM said.

The proposal includes construction of buried pipelines, a power line, a 6-acre facility (which would be entirely on BLM land), and associated structures along Rio Blanco County Road 20 on BLM and CPW surface acreage, BLM said in its Feb. 6 notice.

According to the company, construction would begin next year if the project is approved.

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