Increased Drilling Prompts Wyo. Ozone Alert
By THE DENVER POST
Wyoming officials issued an unprecedented health alert in a rural gas-drilling area for a buildup of ozone- usually a summertime air pollutant in urban areas.
The high ozone readings Wednesday in the Pinedale area come a week after the Environmental Protection Agency criticized the federal Bureau of Land Management for planning thousands of new gas wells in the area without adequate air-quality protection.
“This should be a walk-up call for the Bureau of Land Management,” said Linda Baker, director of the Upper Green River Valley Coalition. “What’s going to happen to our air when we have 4,400 … additional wells, as the BLM proposes?”
In Colorado, state regulators are targeting gas wells as a major contributor to the Denver metro area’s troublesome ozone levels and are considering new restrictions on equipment and operations.
The Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality issued its first- ever health alert for the Pindale area, in Sublette County, after recording ozone levels nearly 50 percent higher than the federal health standard.
Ground-level ozone – a component of urban smog formed through a mixture of sunlight, heat and gases from combustion – can impair breathing. Groups particularly at-risk include infants, the elderly and those with respiratory problems.
“We wanted to let those susceptible know that today might not be the best day to run a marathon,” said Dave Finley, administrator of Wyoming’s air-quality division.
Gas producers in the west-central Wyoming area were asked to limit unnecessary activities during the next several days when high ozone levels are forecast, said Andrew Bremner, director of government affairs for the Independent Petroleum Association of Mountain States.
“We are looking for ways to further lessen our emissions during this time,” he said.
Industry officials say that operational activity is no different than last year and that they are working on a solution in their plans with the BLM.
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