Jon Goldstein: Energy Exchange

By Jon Goldstein

Long familiar in major urban areas, smog – what we experts call “ground-level ozone” pollution – is quickly becoming a serious problem in the rural mountain west, thanks to rapid expansion in oil and gas development. Smog causes serious health impacts like aggravated asthma, chronic bronchitis, heart attacks, and even premature death. In areas like the Upper Green River Basin in Wyoming, smog levels have sometimes rivaled those in Los Angeles.

Now, the Environmental Protection Agency and several western states are putting the pieces in place to fix this problem: EPA through proposed revisions to  the health-based ozone standard that will better protect people from pollution, and states like Wyoming and Colorado through strong policies that are helping to reduce the sources of ozone pollution in the oil and gas industry.

In official public comments filed this week with EPA, EDF and a broad coalition of western environmental and conservation groups supported a more protective ozone standard and pointed out the importance of this issue to the intermountain west–where most of the country’s oil and gas production from federal lands occurs.

Ozone is a story with important public health consequences that calls to mind the old Western, “The Good, the Bad and the Ugly,” though perhaps in a slightly different order.

The Bad:

Ozone is a harmful air pollutant, and bad news from a health perspective. Countless studies (including those in the mountain west) have shown that elevated levels of ozone pollution can cause painful breathing, lung inflammation, and are associated with increased hospital admissions and emergency room visits. EPA’s independent expert science panel, on the basis of the latest scientific evidence, unanimously recommended a stronger federal ozone limit to protect public health with an adequate margin of safety, as the law requires.

Strong ozone standards are just as necessary today in intermountain west – where many residents are living amidst large-scale oil and gas developments – as in urban settings. That’s why our comments urge EPA to revise the existing federal ozone pollution standard of 75 parts per billion (ppb) to a more protective 60 ppb.

The Ugly:

As drilling has rapidly increased in areas like Wyoming’s Upper Green River Basin, Utah’s Uinta Basin, the San Juan Basin in New Mexico and in suburban areas of Denver, Colorado so too have harmful ozone levels. In all, as many as 33 counties in the region have experienced unhealthy levels of ozone pollution. Of these, more than half are home to oil and gas development.

This presents an ugly problem for the health of local residents:

• Wyoming: If EPA lowers the standard to 60 ppb, six counties (Fremont, Laramie, Teton, Uinta, Campbell, Carbon) that currently meet standards could exceed them.
• Colorado: Six counties (El Paso, La Plata, Montezuma, Mesa, Rio Blanco and Garfield) that now are in compliance may fail to meet new health-based EPA standards.
• Utah: 11 counties (Weber, Utah, Tooele, Washington, Box Elder, Carbon, San Juan, Salt Lake, Davis, Duchesne, and Cache) could be added to the list of areas with unhealthy ozone levels.
• New Mexico: 10 counties (Dona Ana, Bernalillo, Eddy, San Juan, Valencia, Luna, Lea, Santa Fe, Grant, and Sandoval) might be classified as having unhealthy levels of ozone pollution.

To be clear, the latest available science and EPA’s independent scientific advisors along with the nation’s leading public health and medical societies all suggest a stronger standard is needed to protect public health; this is not a problem of EPA’s making. Citizens in these counties already face exposure to potentially unhealthy levels of ozone pollution.  The only thing that’s changing is that EPA is acting, consistent with its responsibilities under the nation’s clean air laws, to strengthen those standards so they reflect latest scientific information and can provide people with transparent information about air quality in their communities.

Without additional commonsense air quality measures, growing oil and gas development expected in the mountain west could only compound this problem. In Wyoming, for instance, there are plans for as many as 34,246 new oil and gas wells across the state, some in locations that impact existing ozone nonattainment areas, and some that may cause future compliance concerns.

The Good:

Fortunately, it’s not too late to fix the problem. Several states have already enacted or are finalizing emissions reduction requirements on pollution from the oil and gas industry that will bring about substantial reductions in emissions and help to reduce ozone pollution:

• Colorado’s nationally-leading rules that substantially reduce emissions of methane and volatile organic compounds from oil and gas production.
• Wyoming’s recently instituted requirements to reduce pollution from new and modified oil and gas sources in the Upper Green River Basin through regular, mandatory leak detection inspections. A statewide approach is needed to better target new problem areas, but the state deserves praise for a proposal to extend these strong requirements to existing pollution sources in the basin as well.
• Utah has made some positive steps, in particular, by requiring that devices known as pneumatic controllers used by the oil and gas industry be retrofitted with lower emitting models.

Coupled with recently announced plans for a federal methane rule from EPA and rule to minimize waste from the Bureau of Land Management, these state requirements will have positive impacts for air quality. Moreover, policies that keep methane – the main ingredient in natural gas – out of the air and in the pipeline benefit not only the environment, but also the industry (through additional gas sales) as well as the beneficiaries of the royalties paid on a resource that’s no longer being wasted.

Better standards are needed to protect us all from ozone pollution, but luckily, sensible controls on the major sources of this pollution in the western US are there for the taking. As states in the region and federal regulators continue to lead toward better pollution reduction rules, this can be one Western with a happy ending.

By Jon Goldstein

Wyoming has a long history of living with the oil and gas industry that goes back to the nineteenth century, but that doesn’t mean that new drilling projects in new parts of the state don’t get the public’s attention. New neighbors are always a source of local interest and an approach to air quality regulations that includes different requirements for different parts of the state can lead local residents to ask what new oil and gas development will mean for their neighborhoods, for their air, and for their quality of life.

If the robust turnout of several hundred people at two recent public meetings in Laramie and Converse counties is any indication, there is significant interest in how potentially rapid oil and gas development could impact local communities.

Laramie County has seen a tenfold increase in drilling applications in recent years from 147 applications in 2013 to 1,570 in 2014. Meanwhile, the Bureau of Land Management is currently considering a proposal that could bring as many as 5,000 new wells to Converse County. State and federal officials therefore deserve praise for providing the public with a forum to air their questions and concerns.

Oil and gas has long been a bulwark of the Wyoming economy, but large new drilling projects can have unintended consequences such as elevated levels of unhealthy ozone pollution. That is why the state has historically designed stronger air regulations for the parts of the state witnessing the most intense drilling.

In southwestern Wyoming ‘s Pinedale area, the state is in the process of finalizing strong, sensible rules requiring things like regular inspections to detect and fix pollution leaks at both new and existing oil and gas wells. These pollution reduction strategies will not only help clear the air, but because they also limit methane pollution, they will reduce natural gas waste as well. Every hydrocarbon molecule that stays out of the air and in the pipe creates an economic and environmental win/win for the state.

Unfortunately, the same sensible, cost-effective requirements don’t apply in eastern Wyoming where the lion’s share of drilling is now occurring. Since Jan. 1, 2013 Converse and Laramie counties have ranked 1 and 2 in Wyoming for new drilling applications. Despite this, these counties have the most lenient air quality requirements in the state.

The Pinedale requirements were spurred by rapid oil and gas development and related ozone pollution that threatened the health of local residents and triggered federal requirements from the Environmental Protection Agency. As oil and gas drilling ramps up in the east other communities could face similar problems if the state doesn’t act proactively to head off the problem at the pass.

It’s an issue that has public health advocates concerned. As the Wyoming Public Health Association stated in the Casper Star Tribune this week, “The cost-effective, common-sense air protections developed in Pinedale should be applied on a statewide basis as soon as possible. Residents of the Equality State deserve equal access to healthy, clean air.”

EDF agrees and will continue to support leveling the playing field by advocating for an extension of smart pollution controls across Wyoming.

 Photo Source: Wyoming Oil and Gas Conservation Commission

By Jon Goldstein

How do you detect a colorless, odorless gas? It’s an important question especially when that invisible gas is as damaging as what comprises oil and gas pollution. We are talking about hazardous air pollutants (benzene), ozone precursors (volatile organic compounds), and greenhouse gases like methane – a gas that is more than 80 times more damaging than carbon dioxide to the climate in the short term.

Widely available tools like infrared cameras and hand-held hydrocarbon detectors are very effective at detecting leaks from oil and gas equipment, but new technologies and new science are always welcome.

That’s what makes a new paper in the journal Environmental Science and Technology exciting. Led by experts from EPA’s Office of Research and Development, and co-authored by EDF’s David Lyon, this study uses a new technique to identify and measure methane emissions at oil and gas facilities.

A new approach

The EPA-developed approach (known to scientists as Draft Other Test Method 33A) locates sites with methane emissions using mobile, downwind measurements and estimates the size of these leaks using dispersion modeling. Vehicle-mounted devices and mobile methods like the technologies used in this study are a fast-emerging and exciting new tool in the battle to find and fix wasteful methane leaks.

In addition to helping prove up a helpful new draft method, the data collected in the study is also important as air regulators in Wyoming, and elsewhere, look for ways to reduce oil and gas pollution. The report includes measurements from 210 production sites in the Barnett Shale region of Texas, Colorado’s Denver-Julesburg Basin, and the Upper Green River Basin gas fields surrounding Pinedale, Wyoming from 2010 to 2013. A statistical analysis of this data shows two very interesting results:

1. Only less than 10% of the variation in emission rates could be explained by production levels, which suggests unpredictable events, such as malfunctions and maintenance, have a strong influence on emission rates.
2. Low production wells can emit a greater portion of their gas production, which may be due to more maintenance issues at older, lower producing sites. 

What does this mean?

In the Wyoming context, it means the state is smart to be addressing older–potentially leakier–existing sources of emissions in its ongoing UGRB rulemaking, and that inspecting as many of these emissions sources as regularly as possible will help reduce air pollution. Mistakes (like malfunctions or forgetting to close a tank hatch) happen, but regular leak detection inspections will help catch as many of these as possible.

Frequent inspections at a broad array of sources is exactly what EDF has been advocating as Wyoming considers new rules in the UGRB to reduce harmful ozone pollution. This approach is consistent with recent regulatory efforts in Colorado and Ohio and is proven to be effective. Other states should take note if they too want to improve oil and gas air pollution, reduce waste, and provide better outcomes for communities who live near oil and gas fields.

By Jon Goldstein

Late last week Wyoming air regulators took a second crack at a proposed rule to fix a serious ozone pollution problem in the state’s Upper Green River Basin. To use a baseball analogy, this rule designed to reduce pollution from the oil and gas industry, is a solid double.

This proposal improves upon a version released in June. The updated rule extends inspection requirements to compressor stations to capture more of the leaks that create air pollution and the methane that is the industry’s main product. And it eliminates provisions that—in some cases–would have allowed companies to remove certain devices from well sites that we know reduce pollution.

Both changes are improvements that EDF and local allies have advocated for and the Mead Administration deserves praise for leadership in this area. Once finalized and implemented, this rule will form the backbone of the state’s plan to clean up the air in and around Pinedale, Wyoming, that has become dangerously polluted by harmful emissions from the oil and gas industry.

While this rule certainly shows improvement, additional, cost-effective air pollution reductions are still available if the state is willing to seize them. These include:

• Expanding beyond leak inspections by making all pollution reduction requirements the state has proposed for wells sites apply to compressor stations as well. By also addressing things like pneumatic controllers, pumps, and dehydration units at the compressor stations, further pollution reductions can be had at a very cost effective price.

• As currently drafted, the state’s rules would still only apply strong, regular leak inspections to a small percentage of the sources in the basin. This is because many of the wells in the Upper Green River Basin will fall below the emissions threshold the state has proposed. A lower, more inclusive, threshold will capture more sources and reduce more pollution, since regular leak inspections are one of the best ways to reduce harmful ozone pollution in our air.

Fixing this problem in Pinedale and putting forth the strongest rule possible will again demonstrate Wyoming’s history of leadership on air quality issues. And EDF will remain engaged as the rule goes before the state’s Air Quality Advisory Board in December.

After all, doubles are great, but a home run here could clear the bases, and the air.

Photo source: Alfred Eustes, Colorado School of Mines

By Jon Goldstein

One of the most difficult and urgent challenges facing Western leaders today is how best to regulate the oil and gas development that is quickly spreading to new areas and encroaching on towns and homes.

Last weekend, The Casper Star-Tribune covered this very topic as oil and gas drilling, once mostly confined to less populated parts of the state, begins to expand into areas near Cheyenne and close by northeastern towns like Douglas that have not experienced this new neighbor before.

This same friction is fueling a rancorous political debate in Colorado, pitting industry against citizens who want their local governments to have more control over oil and gas development.  But as the Star-Tribune’s Ben Storrow points out in his column, this isn't the Wyoming way.

That is because the state and its leaders have a history of being ahead of the curve, of tackling problems before they develop into full scale crises. Wyoming was the first state to require the disclosure of chemicals used in hydraulic fracturing and among the first to require reduced emission (or “green”) completions on oil and gas wells.

Wyoming has the same opportunity today as it considers air quality protections to better limit harmful air pollution from oil and gas development. In June the state’s Department of Environmental Quality proposed a set of updated air quality rules to reduce pollution in the Upper Green River Basin around Pinedale. Getting these rules right will help solve an important public health issue in this area where citizens struggle with ozone pollution from oil and gas operations.  Ozone pollution, commonly referred to as smog, can exacerbate asthma and cause other health problems, especially in children and the elderly.

Properly designed, protective rules will also set an important bar across other regions of the state and the nation as other jurisdictions consider the right way to protect residents from oil and gas pollution.

Unfortunately, there are significant flaws in the state’s current proposal that must be fixed. The state must ensure strong, regular leak inspections apply to the vast majority of sources in the basin, that large sources of pollution like compressor stations are covered, and that once pollution controls are installed, they are required to stay in place permanently to effectively clean the air.

EDF will continue to push for strong and workable regulations as the state holds a public hearing on Thursday, as the state’s Air Quality Advisory Board considers the proposal on August 4, and as it goes before the state’s Environmental Quality Council for final action in October.

If they seize it, this is a golden opportunity for Wyoming’s leaders like Governor Matt Mead to show how proactive efforts defuse thorny problems, as well as how energy development, public health and clean air can all coexist and thrive.

By Jon Goldstein

Yesterday we explored how Wyoming regulators and Governor Mead are making progress on a set of potentially strong air pollution measures in Pinedale and across the Upper Green River Basin of Southwestern Wyoming.

But today a similar drilling boom is happening in Converse and Campbell counties in the northeast area of the state. Unfortunately, none of these strong, sensible new air pollution requirements apply in these areas.

The numbers are stark. A full 80 percent of the current drilling in Wyoming is occurring out in the part of the state with the least restrictive air quality controls. The U.S. Bureau of Land Management is currently beginning a process to consider as many as 5,000 new oil and gas wells in Converse County alone, and equal or greater drilling activity is expected in neighboring Campbell County over the next decade.

Historically, Wyoming has focused its best air quality controls in the areas with the most drilling. In the past this has meant the state has implemented controls in the southwest corner of the state that led the nation. This has included requiring reduced emission “green completions” on new oil and gas wells, frequent inspections using accurate, instrument-based technologies to detect and fix pollution leaks, and requiring cost-effective, nationally leading controls on things like pumps, glycol dehydrators and tanks that are among the largest sources of harmful pollution.

It’s now time for the state to continue this tradition by expanding these sensible pollution control requirements statewide in order to capture the new drilling hotspots.

Fortunately, state regulators have an excellent playbook that could be quickly implemented statewide. The strong, sensible controls the state is in the process of implementing across the UGRB could be quickly implemented on a statewide basis. New areas feeling the brunt of the boom in oil and gas drilling should benefit from the lessons the state has learned in the Upper Green River Basin.

Taking these pollution controls statewide will help level the playing field for producers and offer the same strong level of health protection to all Wyoming residents. They also make good business sense.

It’s a fact that it is almost always less expensive to prevent pollution than it is to clean it up. The state, therefore, has an opportunity here to apply cost-effective pollution controls upfront and do it right from the start.

And many of these technologies would actually save the industry money over time.  A recent report that EDF commissioned from the independent consulting firm ICF International shows that approximately 40 percent of hydrocarbon emissions from the nation’s oil and gas sector could be eliminated by 2018 at a total cost of just one penny per thousand cubic feet of gas produced. So, not only are these controls good for local air quality and the health of residents, they are good for the production companies’ bottom lines as well.

In the third reel of westerns, impending problems were often narrowly averted when the heroes saddled up and headed them off at the pass. When it comes to protecting air quality and the health of residents, that’s exactly the same opportunity the Cowboy State has here. Regulators, let’s ride.

By Jon Goldstein

By G. Thomas at en.wikipedia

Wyoming is a national energy leader, producing more BTU’s from federal lands than every other state combined. It also has a long history of leading the nation on smart, sensible oil and gas air pollution regulations. The Cowboy State was among the first to require reduced emission completions (RECs or “green” completions) to control emissions from newly drilled oil and gas wells. It has also implemented some of the country’s best requirements to find and fix leaky oil and gas equipment.

The state now has an opportunity to continue this tradition by tightening controls on existing oil and gas pollution sources in the Upper Green River Basin. Draft rules recently released by the state show promise, and with key improvements–including expanded leak inspections and extending emission controls to compressor stations–these new requirements could again emphasize the state’s role as a national leader on oil and gas regulation.

Writing rules well is an essential ingredient to stay at the front of the pack; so is making sure that the rules are effective when applied. Currently, Wyoming’s air rules apply differently in different parts of the state, and in areas where the majority of the drilling takes place the least protective air rules apply. Wyoming has an opportunity to demonstrate its leadership again but it needs to adopt both robust air quality controls that work and implement comprehensive requirements that apply equally statewide.  All residents should have the benefit of cleaner air.

There’s great potential for the Cowboy State to take a Wyoming two-step toward better air regulations. Over the next two days, we’ll explore the steps involved, starting first with how Wyoming can improve poor air quality conditions in the Upper Green River Basin (UGRB).  

Tackling Wyoming ozone pollution

For several years Wyoming environmental regulators, industry and local residents have been grappling with a serious air pollution problem in Pinedale and surrounding Sublette, Sweetwater and Lincoln counties. A huge boom in oil and gas drilling in the UGRB led to harmful ozone levels breaking federal health-based limits. At times, Pinedale’s approximately 1,400 residents had to deal with smog levels rivaling those in famously polluted Los Angeles.

This oil and gas pollution has real health impacts including heightened risks of respiratory disease, especially in children and the elderly. And it’s a problem in Wyoming. A recent scientific study conducted by the Wyoming Department of Health showed that more Sublette County residents seek medical help for respiratory ailments on days with higher ozone pollution levels. In 2012, due to this unhealthy air, the UGRB was listed as a federal nonattainment area for ozone pollution and Sublette County has received “F” grades in several annual “State of the Air” reports by the American Lung Association.

To their credit, Governor Mead and his staff have tackled this problem head on. The state spearheaded a task force with local citizens and oil and gas producers to come up with a consensus plan for reducing air pollution. And the state has made good headway on implementing this plan, instituting strong air pollution controls on new and modified sources in the basin last summer, including some of the nation’s best requirements for regular leak inspections to detect and fix problems with leaky oil and gas drilling and production equipment.

The latest step could be their strongest yet, putting in place sensible, enforceable rules to reduce pollution from existing oil and gas sources in the basin. Rules that could translate into significant reductions in volatile organic compounds (VOCs), hazardous air pollutants (HAPs) and methane pollution. This will be the first time Wyoming has implemented regulations to tighten controls on existing sources of air pollution from the oil and gas sector and their willingness to do so highlights the technical, economic and political feasibility of these sorts of smart pollution control measures.

Improvements, however, are still needed to ensure these rules are as beneficial as necessary. For instance, these requirements could and should:

• Require frequent instrument-based leak inspections. The state is currently proposing a two-tiered approach: quarterly visits at sites that produce emissions above 4 tons per year (tpy) and annual, instrument-based inspections at sites with emissions below 4 tpy. Unfortunately, based on the state’s own data of the 5,075 facilities in the UGRB, this would mean only 143 facilities (less than 3 percent) will receive the more robust quarterly inspections. These lower emitting sites may be smaller, but in aggregate they can mean a lot of VOC and methane pollution. For instance, again using state data, the 143 higher emitting facilities may be responsible for as little as 725 tons/yr of VOC emissions. Meanwhile the other 4,932 smaller sites might be responsible for between 4,932 and 14,796 tons/yr of harmful emissions – potentially as much as the VOC emissions from all the cars and trucks on the road in Wyoming. Performing these inspections more than once a year will help catch more leaks faster and therefore better reduce this harmful pollution.

• Include compressor stations that can leak harmful oil and gas pollution. The most recent state emissions inventory indicates that compressor stations emit more than 1,500 tons of VOCs per year. If the rules are not strengthened to include compressor stations, they could potentially represent the largest source of unaddressed emissions in the basin.

• Do not allow combustors that control emissions from pumps and dehydrators to be removed. These are two of the largest sources of VOC and methane pollution in the basin, and control devices are an effective tool in reducing their pollution. Once installed, these combustors should be kept in place to do their job as the state currently requires for new and modified dehydrators in the Jonah-Pinedale Anticline Development portion of the UGRB.

And it should be noted, as illustrated in a recent report from business consulting group ICF International, many of these pollution controls are extremely cost effective.

EDF will remain involved in this issue and advocate for these improvements on Monday as the state’s Air Quality Advisory Board considers these rules and later in the fall as they are expected to go before the Wyoming Environmental Quality Council.

It is good to see the state working to require commonsense, cost-effective air pollution control measures across the basin. Next, the state should make them apply across the state to head off the potential for similar pollution problems before they occur.

By Jon Goldstein

Business is booming right now for the American oil and gas industry, which has fueled economic growth in major oil and gas producing states, including Wyoming. But what will happen when the music stops? When the boom cools – as booms inevitably do ­­­– will states be left holding the bag?

Too often, that has been the pattern. A problem acutely illustrated by the issue of “orphan wells.” When oil and gas companies walk away from wells that are no longer producing oil or gas at economic levels, states (meaning, taxpayers) are typically the ones left responsible for addressing risks from these wells. Until old oil and gas wells are properly plugged and surface sites remediated, they pose contamination risks to groundwater supplies, as well as safety risks to landowners and wildlife.

Plugging and remediating wells can be expensive business, and when the bottom falls out on commodity prices it has been too easy for operators to declare bankruptcy and walk away – sticking taxpayers with the tab for plugging and remediation. It is imperative that states ensure they have the financial resources to address orphan wells and the ability to hold producers financially accountable when problems occur.

Wyoming is one state wrestling with this issue. The state currently estimates it has at least 1,200 orphan wells, the unfortunate residue of a boom and bust in coal bed methane development, and the state estimates the number could climb as high as 5,700.  At its current rate, it would take the state 317 years to plug and remediate all these sites.

As a first step to tackle this problem, Governor Matt Mead  recently proposed a plan  that sets aside $3 million to address the state’s backlog of orphan wells and includes strong measures such as:

• Developing an aggressive, prioritized four-year schedule to properly plug orphan wells
• Identifying and resolving data gaps at the Wyoming Oil and Gas Conservation Commission (WOGCC) and U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) that make a full accounting of orphan wells difficult
• Reviewing bonding levels to ensure producers are putting up adequate financial resources for the state to address these wells in the case of default

Source: Jim Wilson

The Governor’s proposal is a good, aggressive first step toward addressing Wyoming’s orphan well problem; and with some key improvements advocated by EDF and the Wyoming Outdoor Council (WOC), this effort could become a model for other states with similar problems. Things like the state reviewing and identifying multiyear funding sources – such as an increase in the mill levy or conservation tax – to fund this needed work going forward and prohibiting future permits/leases for “bad operators” who have pulled up stakes on wells in the past.

Continuing this funding is especially important. Current estimates state Wyoming’s orphan well problem could cost as much as $32 million to solve, making the proposed $3 million a good down payment but in need of further financial support. To its credit, the Petroleum Association of Wyoming has come forward in support of raising the conservation tax and using those funds to help plug orphan wells.

Ultimately, it will take a comprehensive and well-managed program to get the state on track toward clearing the orphan well backlog and ensuring all operators are held accountable to prevent this problem from escalating further. EDF and WOC will remain engaged in this issue as its funding is considered in the state legislature and as potential regulatory hearings proceed at the WOGCC in the coming months.

American oil production rose by a record of almost a million barrels a day in 2013 according to new estimates from the International Energy Agency. Meanwhile, the WOGCC reports it received a record number of applications for permits to drill in 2013. Times are good for oil and gas, making now the perfect time to address these orphan well problems once and for all.

By Jon Goldstein

Source: Evolving ITSM

When it comes to willingness to show leadership in the critical field of air quality, Wyoming is once again first out of the gate with important new requirements to reduce harmful emissions from leaking oil and gas equipment — a major source of air pollution that can create serious air quality problems.

A Wyoming program finalized last week requires operators that are requesting permits for new and modified sources, such as wells or tanks, in the state’s most active oil and gas fields to find and fix leaking equipment under required Leak Detection and Repair (LDAR) programs.  Companies are required to inspect their operations quarterly utilizing reliable, technologically-precise detection methods at those sites most likely to leak.

This sort of leadership is not new to the Cowboy State. Wyoming has a tradition of being a first mover on air pollution reduction requirements, including pioneering the so-called "green completion" rules to reduce emissions from new wells that have since become the federal standard.

Wyoming’s LDAR program is a smart step forward on sensible, effective air quality regulations for the oil and gas industry. Tightening systems so that leaks are plugged will both protect the air we breathe and reduce the waste of a precious natural resource. In fact, strong LDAR programs may be the best, most cost-effective way to fix leaks and minimize pollution.

EDF, the Wyoming Outdoor Council (WOC) and Citizens United for Responsible Energy Development (CURED) offered their strong support for the state’s proposed LDAR program in joint comments, while also suggesting key improvements – chiefly, that the state  ensure these programs use readily-available, cost-effective technologies (like infrared cameras) to detect pollution.

We are pleased that this improvement was included in the final requirements and it shows the state’s willingness to work collaboratively in addressing Wyoming’s air issues.

Next up, the state should consider making these strong requirements apply to existing sources, such as previously drilled wells already in production, and on a statewide basis. But in the meantime, other states, including Colorado, should take note. On protecting the air we breathe, Wyoming just raised the bar.

By Jon Goldstein

Everyone wins when states institute strong, science-based groundwater testing programs around oil and gas development areas. Landowners get important information about their water quality and protection from potential spills. Oil and gas companies get what is essentially an insurance policy tracking the quality of area drinking water sources both before and after drilling. And regulators get an important new source of data to help them understand local conditions and target clean up, if needed.

EDF has advocated for a program in Wyoming that aims to do exactly this – establish a groundwater quality baseline in areas where oil and gas development is planned, and then follow up with two sets of tests to monitor for potential impacts from this specific activity. And Wyoming regulators have proposed a program that would, on the whole, create a strong, scientifically valid groundwater testing program.

Late last week, Wyoming’s powerful paper of record, the Casper Star-Tribune, announced it agrees.

In an editorial published Friday, the paper says “It’s go time” for groundwater testing in Wyoming. Acknowledging that this program will create what is so often missing in debates around environmental pollution – hard, empirical data on which to base decisions and draw conclusions – the paper offers its support for the proposed program.

All sides agree this is an effort whose time has come. The editors go on to  quote the Wyoming oil and gas industry’s trade association on the topic, “it’s probably 10 years overdue,” said John Robitaille, vice president of the Petroleum Association of Wyoming.

While we agree that Wyoming’s framework is a strong one, there are still a few issues that deserve attention as this issue moves toward final consideration at the Wyoming Oil and Gas Conservation Commission (WOGCC) on November 12. Based on earlier industry comments, the WOGCC has made a few changes to the draft version of rule. At least two of these changes, weakening testing levels for dissolved gases and inserting a “master plan” concept that could subvert the rule’s strong, well-by-well analysis approach, could be problematic. These can and should be improved as the rule moves forward.

As we’ve said before, a small investment in better groundwater knowledge is money well spent. Now’s the time to finalize a program that will give all involved the vital water quality facts on – and under — the ground.

By Jon Goldstein

Source: Scott Dalton for The New York Times

When it comes to healthy air, what you can’t see can hurt you.

Leaks of volatile organic compounds (VOC) and methane, the primary components in natural gas, may be invisible – but that doesn’t mean they are harmless.  These leaks – called “fugitive” emissions – can create serious air quality problems when VOC's are involved. Meanwhile, methane leaks mean less product available for sale and a wasted resource.

But, while you can’t always see leaks with the naked eye, you can use modern technology to help you detect and fix them.  Cameras that use infrared technology to “see” leaking hydrocarbons and inexpensive hand held sensors that measure leaks are commonly used to help operators find and fix leaking equipment.  Leak Detection and Repair (LDAR) programs that require operators to check for leaks frequently using these modern technologies, and expeditiously repair them, can produce huge air quality benefits.  Such programs are currently required in permits for a number of operators in Wyoming’s Jonah Pinedale Anticline Development Area.

Wyoming regulators are working on a proposal to expand this requirement by mandating LDAR programs across the Upper Green River Basin, where ozone pollution fails to meet federal health-based standards.  The Wyoming program, which was presented to the state’s Air Quality Advisory Board last week, is an excellent start. This program, with one important modification, will help the state improve the air quality and health of local residents and start to catch more “fugitives” – which are the second biggest source of VOC emissions in the UGRB and projected to be the largest source of VOC emissions in Southwestern Wyoming by 2015.

Admittedly, this may seem like an arcane, acronym-laden issue – but the concept is simple: ensuring operators use the best, modern technology available to find and fix leaks in their equipment.  These leaks both pollute the air we breathe and waste their product. In fact, strong LDAR programs may be the best, most cost-effective way to get these leaks fixed and pollution reduced.  And that is why other states should pay attention to what Wyoming is doing.

While there is more that could be done, Wyoming’s willingness to step up and build consensus around reasonable efforts to cut down on harmful air pollution from oil and gas operations exhibits true leadership on an important issue.  The state’s proposal will require operators to inspect all new and modified facilities with more than four tons per year of fugitive VOC emissions in the nonattainment area on at least a quarterly basis.  Once located, these leaks will have to be fixed.

These proposed LDAR requirements improve on existing state standards in a few key ways:

• The four ton per year threshold is twice as protective as the currently imposed standard of eight.
• The proposal doubles the frequency of inspections for facilities that do not have storage vessels (where inspections are currently required on a semiannual basis they will be quarterly in this proposal).
• The LDAR requirement applies across the Upper Green River Basin Nonattainment Area, not just in the smaller Jonah Pinedale Anticline Development Area, as is currently the practice.  A statewide rule would be better, but a strong program in the nonattainment area is certainly a big step in the right direction.

We give high praise to Wyoming for these aspects of its proposal.  However, all of these improvements could be severely undermined if the state allows operators to identify leaks using nothing more than the human eye, ear or nose — the so called Audio Visual Olfactory (AVO) method.  The fact is, the human senses are simply not as finely-tuned and cannot catch as many leaks as today’s off-the-shelf technologies.

If we only rely on what we can see, hear or smell, huge leaks could slip through the cracks and huge quantities of harmful VOC’s and methane will pollute the air unchecked.  Today’s technology can do this job of detecting harmful substances better, so why not use it?  Allowing AVO is a loophole that can and should be fixed as this proposal moves forward.

It is good news then that Wyoming air regulators indicated at the public meeting last week that they “won’t exclusively accept AVO,” and that it would only be allowed in conjunction with other, more reliable detection methods.  We will continue to work with state regulators on this issue ensure that this important clarification is captured in the final guidance document.

Cost-effective LDAR technologies, utilizing reliable, technologically-precise detection methods, will help reduce emissions, clean up unhealthy air, and – given that methane is also what the natural gas industry sells – help gas producers’ bottom lines as well.

Kudos to the Cowboy State for leading on an issue that, once clarified, will again show that clean air and the oil and gas industry can coexist.

By Jon Goldstein

The Latin phrase “Scientia potentia est” may not ring a bell, but its translation should: knowledge is power.

The oil and gas industry spends millions every year to expand  its knowledge of underground energy reserves. That is because better geologic knowledge is powerful stuff, it can mean the difference between a very profitable well or a very expensive dry hole.

Doesn’t it make sense then for the industry to also invest in better knowledge of local water resources? Investing a small amount in understanding local groundwater quality before you drill, and following up to monitor whether that water is potentially impacted once energy production commences is also incredibly powerful for local residents, state regulators and the industry alike.

Wyoming oil and gas regulators have proposed a testing program that aims to do exactly this – establish a groundwater quality baseline in areas where oil and gas development is planned, and then follow up with two sets of tests to monitor for potential impacts from this specific activity.

Now open for public comment until October 7, the Wyoming draft rule would, on the whole, create a strong, scientifically valid groundwater testing program. This program would provide transparency and a first line of defense for local residents to help detect any groundwater contamination that may result from oil and natural gas development. It will help the state meet its obligations to protect groundwater resources and public health. And it will offer cheap insurance for industry if groundwater contamination that exists before drilling begins is mistakenly attributed to operators.

Wyoming’s groundwater testing proposal has several strong suits. It contains no arbitrary cap on the number of water wells tested and ensures testing happens within a scientifically appropriate distance from development. It relies on state oversight including technical experts at the Wyoming Oil and Gas Conservation Commission (WOGCC) and the Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality. And it includes a strong, universally applied Sampling and Analysis Plan (SAP) that ensures an “apples to apples” comparison of results. To our knowledge Wyoming’s proposed SAP is the most detailed guidance provided by any state regarding how private water wells should be sampled.

Meanwhile, Wyoming’s proposed program would do all this without costing producers any more than they have to spend to comply with other states’ less rigorous programs.

Governor Mead, his staff, and the WOGCC deserve a lot of credit for leading this initiative.

While the framework is strong, there are still a few issues that deserve attention. Based on feedback it received during an earlier, informal public comment period, the WOGCC made several changes to the draft version of rule. At least two changes that have been requested by industry representatives could be problematic.

Dissolved Gasses: The WOGCC’s original draft rule included two levels of dissolved methane with differing requirements: a level of 1 milligram per liter (mg/l) to trigger further scientific analysis of groundwater and a 10 mg/l level to trigger immediate notification of landowners and regulators. At the request of industry, both have been changed to 10 mg/l. This is a major flaw that can and should be fixed. Weakening the scientific analysis trigger by a factor of 10 provides inadequate protection. It would fail to ensure that potential water contamination that is caused by drilling is caught quickly. Both the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission’s rule and the Colorado Oil and Gas Association’s voluntary program include a 1 mg/l level to trigger further scientific analysis. A weak 10 mg/l initial trigger has the potential of subverting the purpose of the groundwater testing program – to better understand potential drilling impacts as quickly as possible so that they may be addressed.

Master Plans: The rule has been amended to allow developers to seek approval for “master plans” that would cover multiple wells over potentially large geographic areas. If these plans are simply a way to better coordinate the required testing protocols with a company’s drilling program, to improve data management or to seek efficiencies in submittals to the WOGCC, this could be positive. However, these master plans should in no way undermine the strong, well-by-well approach taken in the larger rule. Mandating that at a minimum these plans are open for public review could help address some of these issues.

EDF will continue to advocate for these needed improvements as this rule moves toward a hearing scheduled for October 15. In the meantime, we encourage you to exercise your power and comment as well.

By Jon Goldstein

Source: Dustin Bleizeffer/WyoFile

Wyoming is one of the leading energy states in the country. It is the top overall energy exporter in the U.S., the third leading producer of natural gas, and number eight in oil production. In fact, if Wyoming were a country, it would rank tenth in the world in overall energy production.

It makes sense then that Wyoming would want to develop an energy strategy to ensure that these resources are developed wisely. A state that is also home to the nation’s first national park (Yellowstone) and a thriving outdoor recreation and tourism economy would not want one of its leading economic drivers to negatively impact another, or to harm the health of its citizens.

There is strong potential in the strategy released last week by Governor Matt Mead and his staff. The 47 policy prescriptions in the “Leading the Charge” document are broad and varied, but the ones pertaining to oil and gas regulation appear promising. These include:

• Establishing a strong, scientifically-valid groundwater quality baseline testing program that gives landowners important information about potential impacts from oil and gas drilling.
• An air quality management strategy and review of state flaring policies that can take into account the pollution problems in Wyoming’s Upper Green River Basin and seek to make improvements there and across the state.
• Efforts to carefully examine the potential safe reuse of produced water from energy production.
• Subjecting the state’s oil and gas regulations to a complete review by a broad group of experts through the nationally respected STRONGER process.
• A review of state bonding requirements that can ensure well owners have the financial wherewithal to adequately plug wells and reclaim areas where drilling has occurred so the state is not left holding the bag for so-called orphan wells.

Of course, the devil will be in the details which is why EDF and our partners will remain engaged with regulators and industry representatives in Wyoming as these polices are fleshed out and implemented.

First up will be the baseline groundwater quality testing program, which the Governor’s staff has indicated will be released in draft form in early June. Wyoming has a chance here to leapfrog its neighbor, and rival to the south, and establish a program that improves upon Colorado’s mistakes.

A solid, scientifically-valid testing program will provide a first line of defense in detecting if groundwater contamination has occurred, as a result of well development activities either above or below the surface.  Such an effort will help better protect public health. and quickly remediate any problems that may arise.

Not all of these policies will be easy or quick. But by bringing resources and experience to bear, we can help ensure that they are done right.

By Jon Goldstein

Source: Chucker & Reibach

What makes you slow down more, a speeding ticket with a hefty fine or a warning? For most people, getting a ticket for violating the speed limit and having to fork over some cash to pay the fine is a powerful deterrent. In this case, enforcement has done its job. Giving you a penalty for not following the law makes you more careful in the future.

Air pollution rules are no different. Getting the rules right and then following up with strong, fair enforcement actions incentivizes industry to follow them, reduce pollution and clean up our air.

Since 2011, Wyoming environmental regulators have issued an annual study examining air emissions from numerous engines deployed in the state’s oil and gas fields. These engines power things such as compressors used to deliver natural gas to market.

It’s not surprising that the Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) has singled out these engines for special attention. A 2011 emission inventory for the Upper Green River Basin — a portion of the state that has struggled with ozone problems and is designated a nonattainment area by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for high pollution levels — found these engines to be by far the largest source of nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions.

NOx is one of the two air pollutants that lead to harmful ozone, or smog, formation. In fact, the 2011 inventory indicates these engines emitted more than twice the NOx pollution of heaters, the next biggest source in the basin. They accounted for 1,639 of the 4,529 tons, or around 36 percent, of NOx emitted in the basin overall.

Unfortunately, the recent DEQ studies have revealed very poor performance from these engines. In 2011, more than a third of the engines tested statewide and more than half in Sublette County (the heart of the Upper Green River Basin nonattainment area) did not meet pollution standards. While the 2012 results improved somewhat, the state still found more than a quarter of the engines tested statewide to be in violation of air pollution rules. In Sublette County alone the story was even worse with 27 to 38 percent shown to exceed pollution limits. These numbers are far too high.

According to the 2011 report, “all excess emissions noted are attributed to a lack of maintenance or operational problems.” Just like your car, these engines in the oil and gas industry require routine check-ups in order to function at their best. Given the punishing conditions and long hours of operation these engines undergo in Wyoming’s oil and gas fields, this regular maintenance becomes even more important.

And as the DEQ’s 2012 report notes, “[s]imply requiring follow-up testing for failed emissions tests conducted by the Division may be inadequate to ensure that the root cause of exceedances is identified and corrected.” In other words, it may be time for stronger measures to help the oil and gas industry identify and fix these maintenance issues.

Recently the DEQ demonstrated a commitment to increased air pollution enforcement when it issued 20 notices of violation to oil and gas companies in the Niobrara shale area of east central Wyoming. This increased enforcement activity should serve as a model for what measures are needed, among others, to reduce emissions and correct violations in Wyoming’s oil and gas fields statewide — and especially in Sublette County, which recently received an “F” from the American Lung Association for its poor air quality.

The DEQ’s engine study has done its job. It has shown that there is a problem that needs attention. It is now time for the DEQ to follow up with strong enforcement actions to reduce air pollution and bring these engines back into compliance.

By Jon Goldstein

Holly Pearen, EDF’s Attorney for the Natural Gas Campaign, contributed to this blog post.

Source: http://bit.ly/10w6rIi

The federal government notified 36 states last week that it plans to temporarily stop monthly mineral revenue payments as a part of the mandatory sequestration budget cuts. These cuts will hit western states especially hard with an estimated $26 million cut coming to New Mexico over the next six months, $8.7 million to Utah, $8.4 in Colorado and $5.5 in California, while North Dakota and Montana will see $3.2 and $2.5 million in cuts, respectively, according to data from the U.S. Department of Interior’s Office of Natural Resources Revenue.

However, no state will be hit as hard as mineral resource and federal lands-rich Wyoming, which has been notified to prepare itself to lose $53 million in federal mineral revenue payments through July.

The money is the state’s share of royalties paid by producers who operate on federal leases in Wyoming. Not surprisingly, Wyoming officials are very unhappy with the federal plan, both its details and the way it was announced to the states via letter with little forewarning. As Wyoming Governor Matt Mead said in a statement: "As far as communications go, this method of passing along significant information that greatly impacts Wyoming gets a grade of F minus or worse. It is not acceptable."

While Governor Mead has vowed to fight the plan and is working with the Wyoming Attorney General, Wyoming’s congressional delegation and neighboring states to come up with a strategy to oppose the cuts, we would like to offer a suggestion. Perhaps Interior should make up the shortfall owed to the states by charging royalties on vented and flared natural gas?

Under the current regulatory framework, Interior could be losing millions annually by permitting federal lessees to discharge routine amounts of gas during the course of production without notifying federal regulators. This gas that is not captured and sold but rather released to the atmosphere or burned off at the production site, , is not subject to federal royalty payments. In other words, vented and flared gas is “free” and federal taxpayers and state royalty recipients do not receive any monetary benefit from these wasted resources.

Improper and excessive venting and flaring practices harm local residents by increasing smog pollution (a major cause of asthma) and exacerbating air quality concerns. The very sorts of air quality problems currently plaguing areas like Wyoming’s Upper Green River Basin and the Front Range in Colorado.

Charging royalties on this gas would therefore make sense on multiple levels. It would help states make their budget ends meet while also providing an economic incentive toward less gas waste and cleaner air.

This sort of commonsense solution is exactly what the U.S. Government Accountability Office has recommended several times, finding that at least $58 million could be recovered if federal royalty rates were applied to this wasted gas. This estimate is likely low since no solid data exists for what volumes of gas are currently being vented and flared on federal lands. There could potentially be millions more available to states under this policy, translating immediately into state-administered investments in schools, roads and other needed infrastructure.

In fact, the Wyoming State Land Board already took similar and significant measures last year when it implemented its’ own natural gas flaring policy, in an attempt to capture revenues otherwise foregone to wasteful venting and flaring. The Land Board’s policy isn’t perfect, but it is a step in the right direction and could form the basis for stronger guidelines at the federal level.

We would encourage leaders across the West and in Washington, D.C. to take a look at Wyoming’s policies concerning charging for vented and flared gas on state lands. Strengthening the DOI's and U.S. Bureau of Land Management's outdated venting and flaring policies along the same lines could be a huge step toward smart regulation that protects air quality and budgets simultaneously.

While these are not new ideas, they may be ideas whose time has come.

By Jon Goldstein

Wyoming is already one of the country’s top natural gas producers. And large new developments under review by the

Source: Anne Nowell

U.S. Bureau of Land Management totaling more than 25,000 new wells in the coming years could further solidify Wyoming's status as a national energy leader.

But what will this leadership look like? Will this series of development projects lead to worsening air quality or set an example for safe, responsible development?

The first of these, the Continental Divide – Creston Project, is alone one of the largest onshore natural gas developments ever proposed on federal lands in the United States. This enormous development slated for the Wamsutter area of south-central Wyoming, includes drilling nearly 9,000 new natural gas wells across 1,672 square miles (or 1.1 million acres) of public and private lands — an area a bit larger than the state of Rhode Island. The well-known Jonah Field in western Wyoming, by comparison, covers about 21,000 acres and includes about 3,500 wells.

The scale, concentration and vicinity of new wells proposed by the CD-C project are fueling concern for regional air quality issues. If managed improperly, this project could lead to more unhealthy air for local residents and workers.

Unhealthy air, as a result of oil and gas development, has been a particular issue in Pinedale, a community just northwest of the CD-C proposal in Wyoming’s Upper Green River Basin. The past few winters have earned the area unwanted national attention for its U.S. Environmental Protection Agency nonattainment designation for ground-level ozone pollution – one of the first non-urban areas to report such high levels of smog.

Leaks from equipment and other sources of emissions in the nearby oil and gas fields have created California-style smog in rural Wyoming. In recent years, ozone levels in Pinedale (population: around 1400) have at times been higher than the smoggiest days in Los Angeles or Houston.

This is one reason why groups like EDF and the Wyoming Outdoor Council are working with state and federal regulators on commonsense measures to improve regional air quality.

EDF and other groups have submitted comments for the draft environmental impact statement to ensure that BLM fully understands the air quality implications of the CD-C project and that the final proposal contains some of the strongest air emission controls anywhere. Meanwhile in Pinedale, EDF and WOC are advocating for the state to act swiftly on a series of strong actions agreed to by local citizens, industry and environmental groups alike and that are designed to improve the unhealthy air already plaguing the area.

It’s a two-way street. The CD-C project’s proximity to the nonattainment area underlines the need for strong emission controls on any new wells. At the same time, the plans for so many new emissions sources right next door to the Upper Green River Basin make fast action there imperative.

Wyoming has historically been a leader on air quality issues and a national model for holding the oil and gas industry to a high standard. That reputation — and even more importantly, the health of local citizens — is what's at stake here as these new large-scale developments come to Wyoming.