Protecting the Community and Our Environment
Verdad has designed the Century Pad to protect the air, water, land, and people around it. The sections below explain how we do that, as well as the regulations and monitoring that hold us accountable.
Verdad designed the Century Pad to keep air emissions as low as technically feasible, and every emission source is permitted, regulated, and monitored.
All air emissions are permitted and regulated by the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE). Verdad will submit detailed air permit applications, and the CDPHE will review the facility design and emissions data to confirm the site meets all state and federal health-based air-quality standards.
The facility will use multiple emission-control systems, including a tank-lite design, electrified vapor recovery compressor units, non-emitting pneumatic devices, and enclosed combustors. To verify performance, a third-party consultant will install calibrated, continuous emissions monitors around the facility that detect and quantify emissions in real time, following a CDPHE-approved plan that specifies the technology, monitor locations, and required response actions.
Verdad also follows a comprehensive Leak Detection and Repair (LDAR) program. Certified thermographers conduct optical gas imaging inspections at CDPHE-set intervals, and Verdad personnel perform daily audio, visual, and olfactory checks in between. Identified leaks are repaired immediately or within reporting timelines established by CDPHE, and monthly and annual reports are also submitted to the State regulatory agency.
There is also growing evidence that this approach is working. In 2026, the Health Effects Institute, an independent research organization, published a peer-reviewed study of roughly two decades of air monitoring data in the Denver-Julesburg Basin, the same basin as the Century Pad and the area where more than 80 percent of the region's recent oil and gas production growth has occurred, in Weld County. Even as production rose, the study found that ambient concentrations of key oil and gas air pollutants declined, including an estimated 20 to 30 percent reduction in nonmethane hydrocarbons and roughly a 30 percent drop in benzene, a hazardous air pollutant. Nitrogen oxides also declined, and methane from the oil and gas sector accumulated more slowly than the global background. Researchers attribute these gains to a combination of factors, including Colorado's regulatory framework and cleaner industry practices. The Century Pad is designed around those same practices, including electric line power for the drilling rig and production equipment, a closed-loop system, and a tank-lite design, all of which reduce emissions at the source.
Odor is regulated by the state, and Verdad takes specific steps to control it at the source.
Odor from the Century Pad will be regulated by the CDPHE under Regulation 2, and Verdad has submitted a site-specific Odor Mitigation Plan with the Century OGDP application.
Drilling will use a Group III synthetic drilling fluid that is non-toxic to many organisms, readily biodegradable, and virtually odorless. Throughout drilling, cuttings are hauled continuously during daylight hours to an approved disposal facility.
The Century Pad is sited and designed to protect the health of nearby residents, and it complies with Colorado's ECMC Rule 604 setback requirements.
The Century Pad complies with Colorado's ECMC Rule 604 setback requirements. The 2,000-foot standard was established through the ECMC's public rulemaking process specifically to protect public health, safety, welfare, and the environment. Like every permit, the Century Pad undergoes a site-specific health, air quality, noise, and odor review before it can be approved, and is supported by the layered air, water, and emissions protections described throughout this page.
In 2025, the Colorado Energy and Carbon Management Commission (ECMC) convened an independent, multidisciplinary panel of experts to review three recent Colorado-based studies on health near oil and gas development. The review was informational only: it made no finding that the 2,000-foot setback is inadequate, recommended no changes to Colorado's regulations or permitting standards, and did not find current operations unsafe.
You can read the full ECMC report at https://ecmc.colorado.gov/public_health, and our FAQ covers these studies in more detail.
The Century Pad will be built to protect groundwater and source water responsibly, without drawing on drinking water.
As required by ECMC Rule 615, Verdad conducts groundwater baseline sampling and monitoring from water sources near the Century Pad, once before drilling and periodically after completion for the life of the well. All lab results are submitted to the ECMC, shared with the water well owner or landowner within three months of collection, and published on the ECMC website.
On the surface, pads are built with berming and drainage to contain stormwater and potential spills, and are governed by a Stormwater Management Plan and a Spill Prevention, Control, and Countermeasures (SPCC) Plan. All chemicals and completion equipment are stored within secondary containment, and the site has an automated shut-in capability for rapid shutdown. Chemicals used in hydraulic fracturing are publicly disclosed on FracFocus and to the ECMC, and pursuant to Colorado Revised Statutes § 34-60-132 (2024), this information is also provided to those within one-half mile of the pad. Verdad will publicly link this information on this website.
Below ground, surface casing is set deeper than all freshwater zones, and the production casing within it provides additional isolation, so wellbore fluids never contact freshwater. Verdad runs pressure tests before completions and conducts annual Bradenhead Testing to confirm the well continues to contain fluids and gases.
Project water for the Century Pad will come from the Cache la Poudre River Impoundment; drinking water availability and homeowner fees are unaffected. Volumes will be consistent with industry standards and outlined in the Century OGDP Cumulative Impacts Analysis, and Verdad reuses recycled water where practicable to reduce freshwater use. After the wells are drilled and completed, Verdad will report all water providers, volumes, and sources to the ECMC and the Colorado Department of Natural Resources.
Verdad models, mitigates, and monitors noise and light so as to keep operations within allowable limits and away from neighboring properties.
Noise from oil and gas operations is regulated by the ECMC and local governments. Before operations begin, Verdad will complete a third-party engineering assessment that models anticipated noise levels from the site and its equipment, as well as an ambient sound study documenting current background conditions. To confirm that operations remain within allowable limits, Verdad will conduct 24/7 noise monitoring during drilling and completions operations. More than 2,140 linear feet of engineered sound walls, up to 40 feet high, will wrap the pad and equipment. The drilling rig will also run on electric line power rather than on-site generators, which significantly reduces noise during the drilling phase, and production equipment is electrified as well. During production, Verdad will enhance noise mitigation at the Century Pad with approximately 435 feet of permanent engineered sound walls up to 27 feet high, placed around portions of the production facility equipment.
More information can be found in Verdad’s Noise Mitigation Plan submitted with the WOGLA and OGDP applications.
For lighting, all on-site fixtures comply with federal, state, and industry standards and are covered by a Light Mitigation Plan verified by a lighting engineer. No direct light, other than FAA-required lighting, will shine beyond the pad onto roads or adjacent properties. Fixtures are
Verdad reduces truck traffic at the source and works with the County to ensure road impacts are managed and repair costs are not passed on to residents.
Lay-flat water lines during completions limit the number of water-hauling trucks, and oil and gas pipelines reduce production-related traffic. The proposed plan brings the remaining trucks from the east onto WCR 74/Harmony Road. Remaining truck activity follows designated haul routes scheduled to minimize neighborhood impacts.
Haul routes are evaluated and approved by Weld County through a Traffic Impact Study and formalized in a Road Maintenance Agreement signed by Verdad. That agreement lets the County collect fees from Verdad to address road damage or maintenance attributable to our operations, so project-related road repair costs are not borne by residents. Verdad also pays local Ad Valorem property taxes, the majority of which remain in the community where the development occurs, supporting local infrastructure, schools, and services.
Verdad sited the Century Pad to avoid sensitive wildlife habitat and coordinates with state wildlife officials throughout the project.
The Century Pad is not located within any Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) High-Priority Habitat buffers. Verdad will continue to coordinate with CPW through permitting and operations, and the project's Wildlife Plan and Cumulative Impacts Assessment include specific measures to protect wildlife and minimize habitat disturbance, including timing limitations during sensitive seasons, controlled lighting and noise, and reclamation of disturbed ground once operations are complete.