Five years ago, Tom Hayden and his wife bought a retirement home in quiet, rural area near Pleasant View.
What the couple could not have known is that energy-company giant Kinder Morgan Inc. would buy the land next door and build a large pumping plant for its CO2 pipeline.
“At first, the plan was to build it right along my property line,” he said. “I came to the hearing and complained, and they agreed to move it back.”
But when the plant on Road BB went on line five months ago, the noise it generated became a problem for the Haydens, who live 1,000 feet away.
“It’s sounds like a jet airline taxiing, a loud whine,” he said. “It’s woke us up, and is generally irritating.”
Kinder Morgan obtained a high-impact permit from Montezuma County with a noise threshold not to exceed 70 decibels at the property line in the day and 55 decibels at night.
A recent county noise survey showed the company was in compliance, but the Haydens cast doubt on the test, saying that the company was given advance notice.
An investigation by the Haydens and local energy watchdog Ellen Foster revealed that there appears to be a contradiction between the county’s noise standards and state laws.
“It is something that needs to be straightened out because there is a conflict between the county threshold standards and what the state allows,” Foster said during a public comment period in Monday’s commission meeting.
According to county regulations, the 70-decibel threshold in the day is set “as established by Colorado Revised Statute 25-12-101.”
Adjacent to residential areas, county regulations state noise is not to exceed 55 decibels between 7 p.m. and 6:59 a.m.
However, that statute, cited in the county standard, shows stricter noise limits than standards set in Kinder Morgan’s high-impact permit.
The state statute sets maximum noise levels for two zoning categories: residential/agricultural/rural and light industrial.
Kinder Morgan’s permit for the pumping station appears to be in the first category because the property is zoned agricultural-residential 10-34.
Under that description, the statute states “the noise level should not exceed 55 decibels in the day and 50 decibels at night,” Foster said. “The parcel is surrounded by farms and is adjacent to a residence.”
Hayden said Kinder Morgan staff have been working with him on the problem. The county planning department reported the company has agreed to pay for an independent contractor to conduct a new noise survey.
“The noise test should be done at different times of day and night, and especially at times when the complainant says that it is high,” Foster said.
In response to the noise complaint Kinder Morgan says they are committed to working with landowners and “being a good neighbor,” said company spokesperson Sara Hughes.
“We are aware of the noise level concerns near the Cortez Pipeline pumping station on Road BB, and we have been working closely with the landowner for several months to address his concerns and mitigate the issue,” she said.
Hughes said Kinder Morgan has conducted numerous noise surveys over the course of several months near the pump station, including along the property line, and all of the results found that noise levels are in compliance with regulations.
“Even though the noise levels fall below standards, we installed sound barriers to further reduce noise impacts,” she said. “We will continue to evaluate options and work with our neighbor to find a mutually acceptable solution.”
The plant operates at different levels depending on pipeline demand and loads. Hayden said company officials told him they believe the cooling fans for the pumps generate the most noise.
“Lately the noise has gone down, but that has happened before after we complained, then noise levels go back up again,” Hayden said.
Possible solutions to the problem are sound baffles for the fans, building a wall to contain sound, and adjusting the way the plant is operating.
“I don’t want to hurt Kinder Morgan,” Hayden says. “I just want what the state laws require, and for the company to do what they said they would do. They guaranteed I would not hear it.”
