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Chevron & Garfield County Make Agreement On Road

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Nov 16, 2008 1:57 pm US/Mountain

Chevron & Garfield County Make Agreement On Road

Reporting
Stan Bush
GARFIELD COUNTY, Colo. (CBS4) ― Chevron Oil Company and Garfield County have come to an agreement on access.

The county was at odds with the oil company over a 10 mile long road on the Mesa and Garfield county line.

The company will now be paying more for a road that leads directly to Chevron's gas fields.

County Road 204 is a gateway to the fields, but it's in serious need of repair.

"This is one of the projects that we identified early on that needed improvement," said Dan Johnson, Chevron Spokesperson.

Chevron and the county signed a contract to fix the road that's primarily used by Chevron. But controversy arose when the company said it would consider applying for a severance tax credit to lighten the financial load.

"There's always a question about how you address the community impact associated with energy development and this prepayment has always been considered a way to do that," Johnson said.

County Commissioner Tresi Houpt objected to Chevron's plan saying it would take money away from the county's future needs.

"I look at this project, I compare it to other projects and I think this one is one of those examples of building a road for the purpose of energy extraction and it should be the cost of doing business," Houpt said.

Chevron says they will no longer seek the tax credit in part because of the current political climate.

Of the nearly $28 million project, Chevron will pay $25 million, which they say is unprecedented.

"We've gone far beyond what many companies would do to make sure that the health and safety of the community is protected," Johnson said.

"They are a very powerful and wealthy industry and they are accustom to getting their way," Houpt said.

Garfield County says not applying for a tax credit will put them in a better position to get funds for projects they really need.

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