Are Oil Patch Promises Believable? Neighbors want oil & gas wells removed from Firestone explosion site, Anadarko *promised* it would happen in July. Company likely waiting for the community to forget over Christmas, Resume production without fixing a thing?

Neighbors want oil and gas wells removed from Firestone explosion site, Anadarko *promised* it would happen in July by Jennifer Kovaleski, Oct 6, 2017, The Denver Channel

FIRESTONE, Colo. — Six months since the deadly home explosion in Firestone, two oil and gas wells and a battery tank Anadarko promised to permanently remove following the tragedy are still there.

“[It’s] frustrating to have been told specifically it was going to happen in July and to be looking for these trucks and then nothing’s ever happened and there’s never been an update about it,” said homeowner Linnea Burson.

Oak Meadows neighbors said it serves as a constant reminder of what happened, and they want to see them gone.

The explosion in April killed two people and was caused by an uncapped gas line from a nearby well that had been leaking non-odorous gas into the family’s home for months.

Shortly after the explosion, Anadarko shut in the wells, which means they are no longer producing gas.

“I know the well is turned off, but it would be nice to know that it’s sealed off and it’s not going to be turned on again,” said Burson.

A letter from Anadarko provided to homeowners, later obtained by Denver7, states work to permanently remove the wells would begin on July 17, 2017.

Months later, the wells and battery tank remain in the neighborhood.

“As we’ve shared with the residents in the Oak Meadows neighborhood, the well remains shut in and will never produce again,” Jennifer Brice, a spokeswoman for Anadarko said in a statement. “At this time, there is pending litigation that prevents us from being able to access the site and permanently plug and abandon the well.”

“I do think they’ve hurt our home values. Some people have sold their homes and lost money on them already,” Burson said.

Burson added Anadarko has an obligation to make it right.

“Making it be a place where our kids can play and we feel that it’s beautiful when you drive in and you don’t see that, is a good step and something they owe us,” she said.

[Refer also to:

2017 05 25: Firestone Colorado: Much larger pocket of industry’s explosive gas discovered after 3,000 Anadarko wells shut down because of fatal home explosion caused by Anadarko’s leaking methane

2017 05 02: Leak in Line From Gas Well Blamed in Fatal Colorado Blast, Fire officials say a deadly home explosion in Colorado was caused by odorless, unrefined natural gas leaking from an old pipeline, and the governor ordered statewide inspections of similar lines

2017 05 01: Investigation finds Anadarko guilty, not Nature in Firestone Colorado home explosion: Investigators say industry’s gas migrated into home from abandoned flow line attached to energy well, killed two, injured two. How many homes globally have industry’s methane migrating into them, putting lives at risk with regulators everywhere looking the other way?

A home explosion in Firestone Monday, April 17, 2017 killed two and sent two people to the hospital. Dennis Herrera/ Special to The Denver Post

It “found an ignition source inside the home. It erupted into a sudden and violent explosion” that killed homeowner Mark Martinez and his brother-in-law Joey Irwin and critically injured Martinez’s wife, Erin.

FIRESTONE, CO - APRIL 27: Crews continue to investigate a fatal house explosion on April 27, 2017 in Firestone, Colorado. Anadarko Petroleum plans to shut down 3,000 wells in northeastern Colorado after the fatal explosion. (Photo by RJ Sangosti/The Denver Post)

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