Cord Federal OGDP

Proposed by Chevron/PDC Energy in Adams County Near Brighton

Overview

Chevron, operating through its subsidiary PDC Energy, has filed a pre-application with Adams County for the Cord Federal Multi pad: 40 horizontal wells on a 22.8-acre pad between Highway 85 and the E-470 tollway, just outside Brighton city limits. The design calls for a tankless, electrified facility with pipeline takeaway for oil, gas, and produced water.

We’re still in the “pre-application” stage. No formal ECMC Oil and Gas Development Plan (OGDP) or Adams County Oil and Gas Facility (OGF) permit has been submitted. Chevron/PDC Energy is required to study its preferred site plus at least two alternative locations (and to hold public meetings) before filing the full application with Adams County, and ultimately, the ECMC.

View a full version of the Cord Federal OGDP map, or order a 24″ x 36″ printed map.

The Process

While the application for this drilling project is already underway with Adams County, the Cord Federal OGDP has not yet begun the ECMC approval process, which normally takes 12 to 24 months. ECMC regulations require a community meeting to be held at least 30 days before submitting an OGDP, so we do not expect this to occur anytime before August 27, 2026.

FAQ

Where will the wellbores go?

We don’t yet have a map from Chevron/PDC Energy that shows proposed wellbores; given data from other large pads where wellbores extend in both directions, we’ve shown a reasonable estimation of where the wellbores will run. We’ll update our maps once we’ve received more accurate data from Chevron/PDC Energy.

How much water will the project use?

Chevron/PDC Energy hasn’t yet released water and sand estimates specific to Cord Federal, but based on data from the Prairie LE pad two miles east, we estimate the Cord Federal wells may consume about 300 million gallons of water and 140,000 tons of sand/proppant. Every operator develops its own custom blend of water, sand, and chemicals based on experience with the specific oil & gas field, to include smaller volumes of acids, biocides, corrosion inhibitors, and friction reducers to help move the sand and water underground.

What about old plugged wells in the area?

There are 10 wells inside and within 600 feet of the DSU that were plugged and abandoned between 1970 and 1990, i.e. more than 30 years ago. Given hydraulic fracturing induces pressures of 4,000 psi into the same shale layers, the operator should monitor these wells during the pre-production phases to ensure wellbore integrity is maintained.

What about contamination from the Rocky Mountain Arsenal?

“Diisopropyl methylphosphonate (DIMP) was released at the [Rocky Mountain Arsenal] near Denver, Colorado, during 1953-1957 as a byproduct in the effluent from the manufacture of the nerve agent GB (Sarin).”[1]

We have it on our to-do list to investigate the extent of these DIMP plumes and the likelihood of interference with this drilling project.

What about earthquakes?

The Cord Federal Multi site sits roughly five miles north of the Rocky Mountain Arsenal, where a landmark 1968 Science study documented years of earthquakes triggered by deep fluid injection at Rocky Mountain Arsenal disposal wells. The Arsenal’s induced seismicity occurred within an elliptical zone roughly 6 miles long and 2 miles wide, and earthquakes continued for years even after injection stopped in 1966; a reminder that induced seismicity in this region has a documented history of extending well beyond the immediate injection point and outlasting the operation itself. Does this predict seismic issues with hydraulic fracturing at Cord Federal? The injection at Rocky Mountain Arsenal was at 12,000 feet deep, while fracking normally occurs between 7 and 8,000 feet; the specific circumstances aren’t identical to what’s proposed at Cord Federal Multi, so it’s worth having a seismic engineer weigh in.

Contacts

Questions about the Adams County permitting process:
Greg Dean, Adams County Oil & Gas Administrator
gdean@adamscountyco.gov · 720-523-6891

Questions about Chevron’s plans for the Cord Federal Multi Pad:
coloradoinfo@chevron.com · 303-318-6100

Questions for the City of Brighton’s Oil & Gas Liaison:
Holly Prather, Community Development Director
HPrather@brightonco.gov · 303-655-2022

If you’re not getting straight answers from any of the above, our team has been following this project closely and is happy to help. Feel free to contact us directly.

"Disproportionately impacted" status

Much of the proposed site (and the surrounding area) is designated a Disproportionately Impacted (DI) Community under Colorado’s 2024 DIC map, based on triggers of a low-income population over 40%, a Colorado EnviroScreen percentile score above 80, and other factors. This status triggers specific, binding requirements on Chevron and the regulators reviewing this project:

What DI status requires:

A pre-application community meeting at least 30 days before the formal state application is filed (ECMC Rule 301.g.2). The July 28 open house is part of satisfying this.
A written Community Outreach Plan, including materials in the languages spoken in the surrounding neighborhoods; state regulators have confirmed this area is majority Spanish-speaking at home.
Either informed consent from residents within 2,000 ft of the site, or a demonstration that alternate protective conditions (ECMC Rule 604.b.4) are met (Chevron has told regulators it intends to pursue informed consent).
Year-round “Enhanced Systems and Practices” under ECMC Rule 316.c.3; these are stricter operating standards than apply outside DI communities.

Expanding the Study Area?

On the same day as the June 10 conceptual review meeting, Daniel Sharon, Cumulative Impacts and Emissions Specialist for the Colorado Energy and Carbon Management Commission (ECMC), wrote to Adams County and Chevron recommending the standard 1-mile study radius (the “Area of Evaluation” used to assess air quality, noise, and odor impacts) be expanded to include Elmwood Baptist Church and Academy to the north, and the remainder of a neighborhood already included in the AOE.

ECMC staff also separately flagged Henderson Elementary School, Prairie View High School, and the 27J School District, suggesting “outreach to the School District and the individual schools in the area.” They also mentioned concerns with a memory care facility and the nearby Adams County Fair Grounds.

July 28th Community Meeting/Open House

Chevron held an open house (required due to the community’s DI status) on July 28th, 2026 at the Bison Ridge Recreation Center in Commerce City:

Turnout: About 100 community members attended, driven by a strong week of social media outreach and media coverage in the lead-up to the event.
Topics raised: Residents pressed on the full range of concerns, from health impacts, water, traffic, and proximity to schools, to the site’s Disproportionately Impacted Community status.
Local officials in attendance: Commerce City Mayor Steve Douglas, Mayor Pro Tem Susan Noble, and former Councilmember Renee Millard-Chacon all showed up to hear from constituents directly.
Chevron’s posture: The company reiterated it’s still in the “pre application stage,” with no new commitments or notable shifts in position offered at the meeting.
Media coverage: The event drew coverage from FOX31/KDVR (also on YouTube), which spoke with nearby residents about their concerns for local water and air quality, plus a Denver Post story (paywalled).
What’s next: Chevron says it will incorporate feedback from this session into its Adams County Oil & Gas Facility (OGF) permit materials, which it may formally submit after August 27th.

The community showed up strong, and we’re proud to have helped bring this potential drilling project to light. We’ll keep standing with residents every step of the way to protect their health and safety.

Adams County Conceptual Review Meeting

A conceptual review meeting was held on June 10, 2026:

Attendees: Adams County staff (Planning, Engineering, Environmental, Long-Range Planning, ROW, Stormwater), ECMC (Permitting and Environmental Justice), Colorado Parks and Wildlife, CDPHE, City of Brighton, 609 Consulting (Chevron’s engineering/GIS consultant), and Chevron/PDC Energy staff.
County’s assessment: Staff indicated the proposed site is the only one of the three studied with a realistic path to approval — Alternate 1 (Sharp Pad) and Alternate 2 (Schaefer Pad) were flagged as likely un-approvable given homes only ~200–250 ft away; Alternate 3 falls outside county jurisdiction entirely. (Ed: Chevron has since agreed to evaluate five alternate locations)
Design commitments discussed: electrified drilling rig (required due to nearby homes), tankless facility design, consolidated footprint, engineered sound walls as needed.
Area of Evaluation: Adams County and ECMC agreed to expand the standard 1-mile study radius to include a neighborhood to the SSE and the Elmwood Baptist Church/Academy to the NNE (see DI Community section above).
Consent pathway: Chevron confirmed it is pursuing informed consent from nearby residents rather than the alternate regulatory pathway (ECMC Rule 604.b.4).
Utilities: Chevron/PDC noted it has been coordinating with United Power since early 2024 on electrification; power capacity exists but will require significant new infrastructure.
Schedule: Drilling direction set north–south; earliest anticipated drilling start is early 2028.
Access: Preferred plan is one-way-in / one-way-out via E. 132nd Ave and E. 136th Ave, requiring new access easements from additional property owners.
Outcome: County confirmed same day that the conceptual review requirement was satisfied, clearing the way for the required in-person neighborhood meeting and, eventually, a formal permit filing.

More Information

We’ve assembled the documents below from various sources (including an open records request to Adams County). See the disclaimer below, and note that these documents will definitely change in the next weeks and months as the application moves through the Adams County and ECMC permitting process.

Open house packet: The public-facing mailer for the July 28 open house, in English and Spanish. Includes the invitation (date, time, location, RSVP), a project overview letter describing the 40-well plan and anticipated truck traffic, a six-phase breakdown of what to expect on-site (construction, drilling, completions, flowback, interim reclamation, and production, with rough timelines for each), and contact information for Chevron, Adams County, and ECMC.
Project narrative and alternative location analysis: Chevron’s written project description and full site-comparison study submitted with the pre-application. This covers the proposed well design, site selection methodology, and the criteria used to compare the preferred site against the three (for now) alternatives.
Overview map: A wide-area aerial map showing the proposed Cord Federal Multi pad alongside all three alternate locations, with the 2,000-foot regulatory buffer drawn around each site, plus roads, floodplains, jurisdictional boundaries (Brighton, Commerce City, Thornton), and areas flagged as Disproportionately Impacted (DI) Communities.
Proposed location map: Detailed site map for Chevron’s preferred 22.8-acre location, including a parcel ownership table, buffer rings, floodplain/wetland/utility overlays, and a haul-route sheet showing the planned truck path along Highway 85.
Alternate Location 1 map (expanded Sharp Pad): A close-up site map for the existing Sharp Pad expansion option in Section 24, including buffer rings, nearby homes and buildings, floodplain and wetland overlays, and a numbered parcel table listing every property owner within roughly 2,500 feet of the site. Includes a separate haul-route sheet showing the proposed truck access path to Highway 85.
Alternate Location 2 map (expanded Schaefer Pad): Same format as the Location 1 map, but for the existing Schaefer Pad expansion option in Section 24: parcel ownership table, buffer rings, floodplain/wetland overlays (this site sits within the 100-year floodplain), and its own haul-route sheet.
Alternate Location 3 map (Third Creek Pad): Site map for the option in Section 30, within Brighton city limits: parcel ownership table, buffer rings, and haul-route sheet showing access via Sable Boulevard. This site couldn’t be fully evaluated by Adams County since it falls outside its jurisdiction.
Public water systems map: Shows all four site options relative to groundwater protection zones: specifically the Brighton public water supply area and the state’s GUDI (groundwater under direct influence) and Type III aquifer buffers, which trigger extra regulatory review when a site falls within them.
ECMC referral letter: The state regulator’s formal comments on the pre-application, dated June 4, 2026. Flags the site’s Disproportionately Impacted (DI) Community status and the resulting community-meeting and informed-consent requirements, lists nearby schools and a memory-care facility the applicant should engage, recommends two additional alternative sites (Sections 19 and 29), and requests the evaluation area be expanded for air quality, noise, and odor impacts.

Disclaimer

This webpage was compiled with assistance from Adams County data obtained via an open records request, including county and state agency correspondence, the applicant’s Alternative Location Analysis, and county staff review comments. This page is for community information purposes; it is not a substitute for reviewing the official case file with Adams County Community & Economic Development.