Please comment by Friday, November 14, the day after Alta Mesa Services plans to drill a 4000-foot-deep, vertical, natural gas well, surrounded by casing that will eventually or immediately leak into Birding Island, only 385 feet from the Payette River, upstream from its confluence with Big Willow Creek and closely downstream from the impacted Payette River Wildlife Management Area, composed of braided river channels, wetlands, ponds, and riparian habitat to the southeast. Imagine and witness the destructive scene from NW Fourth Avenue, New Plymouth, Idaho, across the river and a short distance up the right side of the floodplain dirt road in the following photo.  Before drilling the nearby, temporarily capped Smoke Ranch well 1-21 in July 2013, Alta Mesa pumped standing water off and later spilled diesel and/or drilling mud on the square well pad off Highway 52 to the northeast.  In the next few weeks or months, Alta Mesa could complete gathering line installation from a dozen other idle wells to the Highway 30 processing plant, and could unfortunately further initiate and achieve full production.  Check these two previous Wild Idaho Rising Tide (WIRT) facebook posts for links assisting your comments to the Idaho Department of Lands at comments@idl.idaho.gov and brjohnson@idl.idaho.gov.

Facebook Photo Post (November 6, 2014 Wild Idaho Rising Tide)

Facebook Photo Post (November 9, 2014 Wild Idaho Rising Tide)

Also plan to attend and fill the courtroom for the Payette County Planning and Zoning Commission (P&Z) public hearing at 7 pm on Thursday, November 13. On the agenda, Alta Mesa proposes constructing tank farms on six existing well sites and one radio tower, all on Simplot land in the bluffs surrounding Little Willow Creek, above the Payette River and Fruitland and Payette, Idaho.  See the following agenda and event links and visit the Payette County Courthouse at 1130 Third Avenue North in Payette.

Payette County Planning and Zoning Commission Meeting Agenda (Payette County)

Payette County Planning & Zoning Commission (Alma Hasse facebook event)