EPA tightens ozone standards
CHRIS MERRILL Star-Tribune environment reporter | Posted: Thursday, March 13, 2008 12:00 am
LANDER - New, stricter air quality rules could have implications for Wyoming's Pinedale region, which has seen elevated ozone levels in three of the past four winters, air quality advocates said Wednesday.
But an industry spokeswoman said the Upper Green River Basin is currently in compliance with federal Environmental Protection Agency standards, and gas drillers will do their part to make sure the area remains in compliance when the new rules go into effect.
The EPA announced Wednesday it will cut the amount of allowable ozone in the air by more than six percent, from an eight-hour standard of 84 parts per billion to 75 parts per billion.The agency is obliged by the federal Clean Air Act to revisit its smog standards every five years. The agency last revised the nation's ozone standards in 1997.
Ozone is a key contributor in smog. The Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality recently issued three ozone advisories for the Pinedale Region, based on the EPA's prior, less stringent guidelines.
The Upper Green River Basin in Sublette County is currently the only region in Wyoming to have any documented air quality issues, a DEQ spokesman said. But the department also hasn't yet tested for air pollutants everywhere in the state.
"At this time, we don't know of any other areas that are dealing with ozone," said Keith Guille of the DEQ. "We are doing a statewide assessment that will look at what types of pollutants are present where, to find out where we should be putting monitors throughout the state."
Although the DEQ has recently issued air quality advisories for the Pinedale region, the area is still in compliance with EPA standards for ozone, Guille said.
However, the DEQ said in a statement that the new standards will require changes by the industry in the area.
"Lowering the national standard to 75 ppb means that we will be seeking emission reductions to reduce ozone formation in the Upper Green River Basin to protect public health and minimize the need to issue ozone alerts in the future," said David Finley, administrator for the DEQ Air Quality Division.
The DEQ has previously linked elevated ozone levels in the region at least in part to emissions from natural gas production.
The EPA's announcement Wednesday was encouraging to local air quality advocates, even though many scientists had advised the agency to make its standards even more stringent than the ones it eventually adopted.
"The new ruling has created a different playing field for the energy industry in the Upper Green River Basin" said Bruce Pendery, air quality expert for the Wyoming Outdoor Council. "They are going to have to find ways to adapt, to ensure public health is protected."
Linda Baker, who heads the Upper Green River Valley Coalition, said during this regional drilling boom area residents are depending on state and federal oversight to make sure their health is protected.
"Shell, Ultra, Questar and EnCana have claimed that they are responsible neighbors committed to minimizing effects on our environment and communities," Baker said. "But all their advertising ink won't protect our children's health, our communities and the air we breathe. Sublette County residents are counting on our state and federal governments to require operators to slow down until we find the best ways to mitigate these dangerous pollutants."
Deena McMullen, a spokeswoman for Shell Exploration and Production Co., prior to the EPA's announcement Wednesday, said regardless of what standards the agency adopts, Shell is going to "continue to look for ways to decrease emissions."
Shell is one of the major companies drilling for natural gas in Sublette County. McMullen said the area is in compliance with the law at this time, and through continuous implementation of more efficient technologies, more directional drilling and better planning as would be afforded by year-round access, Shell will work to reduce its overall contribution to the total emission picture, regardless of the number of wells it drills.
"The area remains in compliance under EPA standards, and we'll continue to work to make sure that stays the case," McMullen said.
Callie Videtich, Director of the regional EPA air program said, hypothetically, if the region were designated "non-attainment," or not in compliance with federal standards, the state DEQ would have three years to develop a plan that would include "control measures" to re-attain compliance with the law.
"The plan would evaluate what all the sources are that contribute to the problem, it would project out what they think the contribution would be in the future, and then develop control measures around most significant contributors," Videtich said.
Those control measures could include curbing industrial activities, she said.