![\"\"](\"https:\/\/dev-clm-blog.pantheonsite.io\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/Blog2.1-600x450.jpg\")
View riding home from the Buffalo Field Office.<\/p><\/div>\n
There\u2019s also often the added factor of split estate, where surface and mineral ownership is divided among multiple parties. Due to the Homestead Acts, particularly the Stock-Raising Homestead Act\u00a0(1916), many wells have private citizens as surface landowners, with the federal government owning\u00a0a portion or all of the mineral rights below. This is obviously important in the permitting process, but it is also key for any reclamation on those sites.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/dev-clm-blog.pantheonsite.io\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/Blog2.3-e1498838824873-300x300.jpg\")
Heading down from the two-track to try and find the original well site.<\/p><\/div>\n
While the BLM has conditions and requirements for a well to be released from bond, when it\u2019s on private surface we defer to the wishes of the landowner for how they want the site to be reclaimed; this may also mean the site does not go completely back to its original, pre-development state, as it does on Public lands.<\/p>\n
Ultimately what this means is a lot of research before going to a site \u2013 what\u2019s the well\u2019s status? Has the necessary paperwork been filed? What operator is responsible for the reclamation? Is there a landowner \u2013 if so is it the same landowner? And plenty more that are too long to list. All of this creates a framework for what we expect to see when we get there.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/dev-clm-blog.pantheonsite.io\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/Blog2.4-300x300.jpg\")
View from the old well site once we found it.<\/p><\/div>\n
Often a site visit can bring up further questions, but it\u2019s always great to go to the field and see a site that has successful revegetation, wildlife habitat\/activity, and has finished the reclamation process. When you go out to the field and have trouble finding the original well site because of how well it has rejoined the surrounding landscape, it\u2019s a good day.<\/p>\n
After catching up on all the office work, the rest of our week was spent in the field – visiting reclamation sites, and joining some of the Environmental Protection Specialists (EPS) and Natural Resource Specialists (NRS) on their inspections and monitoring. They each have numerous projects going on so it’s always a\u00a0great opportunity to learn more, plus they’re all a lot of fun to work with. I’m looking forward to\u00a0some of the\u00a0new projects we’ll be jumping on these next few weeks since they all have a different focus\/involve a different work-group then we’ve experienced so far. It should keep things interesting!<\/p>\n
– Christine<\/p>\n
Buffalo, WY Field Office<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/dev-clm-blog.pantheonsite.io\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/Blog2.2-e1498838172440-450x600.jpg\")
Spill site an EPS in our office is monitoring. It has gone through bioremediation, and is starting to recover, but there’s a long way to go.<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
After a great week in Chicago at the CLM workshop, I have come back to the Buffalo field office to find a pile of work that has accumulated in my absence. Along with the field work entailed in abandoned\/reclaimed well … Continue reading