Energy Exchange

In Wyoming, New Drilling Raises New Questions About Air Quality

By Jon Goldstein / Published: January 22, 2015

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. Read More »

Posted in Air Quality, Natural Gas, Wyoming / Tagged air quality, Clean Air, Natural Gas, Wyoming | Comments are closed

What We Can’t See Can Hurt Us: New Study Provides Insights to Find, Fix Oil and Gas Pollution

By Jon Goldstein / Published: November 24, 2014

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.

Posted in Air Quality, Climate, Methane, Natural Gas, Wyoming / Tagged methane studies, Natural Gas Policy, science | Read 1 Response

Wyoming’s Second Swing at Curbing Oil, Gas Air Pollution Could be Home Run

By Jon Goldstein / Published: November 6, 2014

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. Read More »

Posted in Air Quality, Natural Gas, Wyoming / Read 2 Responses

Clean Air Opportunity Knocks, But Will Wyoming Answer?

By Jon Goldstein / Published: July 30, 2014

$frackingwyo_92689731_rf_0$ 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. Read More »

Posted in Air Quality, Wyoming / Tagged Oil And Natural Gas Air Pollution Standards | Comments are closed

Wyoming’s Opportunity to Head off Pollution at the Pass

By Jon Goldstein / Published: July 11, 2014

$frackingwyo_92689731_rf_0$ 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.

Posted in Air Quality, Methane, Natural Gas, Wyoming / Comments are closed

A Wyoming Two Step for Better Air Regulations

By Jon Goldstein / Published: July 10, 2014

Photo credit: 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. Read More »

Posted in Air Quality, General, Natural Gas, Wyoming / Read 1 Response