By Lisa McGee

DEAR MEMBERS AND SUPPORTERS,

Yesterday we received a final decision from the Bureau of Land Management that ensures the Shoshone National Forest will remain free from oil and gas development for at least another year. This is great news.

More than a year ago, we filed a “request for state director review” of the BLM’s decision to allow a company to drill, near Dubois, what would have been the first new well on the Shoshone in more than 20 years.

In that request, we echoed the concerns of more than 75 Dubois residents who signed a petition asking the BLM for greater assurances that drilling wouldn’t pollute the town’s drinking water supply. In response, the BLM issued a stay, which halted surface disturbance that could have begun last summer.

The agency issued a final decision yesterday and affirmed our claims that citizens—especially the people of Dubois—deserve disclosure of the company’s subsurface drilling plans and a thorough analysis of the potential threats to drinking water supplies. The BLM told the Lander Field Office that it must supplement its analysis before drilling can be approved.

The area where the drilling would have taken place is a much-loved hunting and recreation area and important elk winter range and spring calving grounds, and is right in the middle of an elk migration route that links the forest to Yellowstone National Park.

We’ll keep you updated as this process continues to unfold. Thank you for your continued support of our national forests.

Other posts you might want to see:

WyoFile: Aftermath of a Drilling Boom — Wyoming stuck with abandoned gas wells

Spring Frontline 2013, the Wyoming Outdoor Council Newsletter

Media Release: Groups Appeal Fracking Chemical Case to Wyoming Supreme Court

The Upper Hoback will be protected in perpetuity

CST: Wyoming should be a role model and require baseline water testing

This coal-bed methane gas well in the Powder River Basin leaked water, which caused some erosion. The facility was abandoned by its operator, and the state later plugged the well and reclaimed the area. (Courtesy of Jill Morrison — click to view)

The Powder River Basin coal-bed methane gas industry that drilled at a pace of 2,500 wells annually for a decade has been in sharp decline in recent years. Operators have mostly stopped drilling and are now idling thousands of wells, and perhaps thousands more have been abandoned —  “orphaned” — by operators struggling financially.

Last week, Wyoming lawmakers heard testimony that the number of orphaned wells likely exceeds 1,200 — and more will be added to the list of liabilities to the state.

The Powder River sometimes runs dry in this arid region of northeast Wyoming, yet only a small portion of groundwater associated with coal-bed methane gas development was put to beneficial use. (Dustin Bleizeffer/WyoFile — click to view)

State officials say they’re having difficulty measuring the exact scope of the problem due to complex record-keeping among multiple agencies. Ryan Lance, director of the Office of State Lands and Investments, told WyoFile that his staff is working through stacks of files to try to determine which operators owe money, and how much.

In some cases, the orphaned wells devalue ranch properties, and in other cases they complicate a promise that the industry made at the onset of the play: that some wells would be transferred to ranchers for use in watering livestock on the arid high plains.

Coal strata are often aquifers in the region. In some areas, the production of coal-bed methane gas has substantially drained the coal aquifer because operators had to pump large volumes of water from the coal to get the methane gas also contained there to flow to the surface. By 2010, the industry had pumped 783,092 acre feet of water from the coals, according to the Wyoming State Geological Survey. That’s enough water to fill Lake DeSmet three times.

Only a small percentage of that water was put to beneficial use.

“There’s concern from land and mineral owners who are not getting surface use and damage payments anymore. … Money is spent on attorneys trying to recoup surface use payments,” as well as royalties, said Jill Morrison of the Powder River Basin Resource Council, a landowner advocacy group based in Sheridan.

Morrison testified before the Joint Minerals, Business and Economic Development Interim Committee last week in Gillette.

Committee member Rep. James Byrd (D-Cheyenne) said that for years he and others on the committee have heard warnings about the potential for orphaned wells and unpaid bills in the coal-bed methane gas play, “and now it is happening.”

While some operators, such as Anadarko Petroleum Corp., are financially sound enough to plug wells that are no longer commercial, a handful of smaller operators flirt with bankruptcy and fail to conduct required maintenance on the wells, creating potential hazards to human health and the environment. Some operators have simply walked away from their coal-bed methane properties in the basin.

That leaves the job of plugging wells and reclamation to the state, which will rely on an industry-funded orphan well account to cover the cost. The task of plugging and reclaiming orphaned coal-bed methane facilities, and collecting unpaid user fees and royalties, is divided among state agencies and the Wyoming Bureau of Land Management. So far, the state agencies do not have a complete picture of the scope of the problem and the resources available to address it.

The clean-up job

The state’s orphan well fund comes from a “conservation tax” mill levy imposed on all oil and gas producers in the state. “There are no citizen tax dollars paid to plug these wells,” Wyoming Oil and Gas Conservation Commission supervisor Grant Black told the commission.

The state legislature allocates $2 million per biennium from the fund to the Oil and Gas Conservation Commission. A portion of the money is also used to operate the commission’s operations. The commission’s board can vote to increase the mill levy if it appears in danger of being tapped dry.

The state has plugged and reclaimed about 100 wells per year on average, so it could take more than a decade to fix the current orphan well liability. “So if you’re a rancher or landowner, and you have wells on your property, you may be a decade or more out on getting these wells plugged,” Morrison told committee members.

Black was noncommittal about a timeframe for plugging and reclaiming the current count of 1,200 orphaned wells and many more wells that will likely become orphaned in years to come. That didn’t satisfy members of the minerals committee. Sen. Chris Rothfuss (D-Laramie) said, “I’d like to see that,” referring to a timeframe for completing the job.

Sen. John Hines (R-Gillette) is a rancher in Campbell County. He said he and his neighbors live with idle and abandoned coal-bed methane gas wells. He told Black, “To wait 10-12 years to get a mess on your property cleaned up that you had nothing to do with is unacceptable.”

Ownership of surface and minerals involved in coal-bed methane gas is divided between fee (or private), state and federal. It’s unclear how many wells fall under jurisdiction of the state and how many fall under jurisdiction of Wyoming BLM.  Unlike the state of Wyoming, BLM doesn’t have an orphan well fund.

Wyoming BLM officials said that at the start of fiscal year 2013, there were 196 idle coal-bed methane wells on federal minerals, and no orphaned wells on federal minerals. “The bonds that are in place on the idled CBM wells range from $0 to $300,000 depending on the operator,” Wyoming BLM spokeswoman Lesley Elser told WyoFile via email. “There have not been any actions at this point that would require us to step in and collect the bond.”

Oil and gas bonding

Before the state dips into the industry-funded orphan well account, it collects bonds posted by oil and gas operators responsible for the abandoned facilities. But the amount of bond posted usually covers only a small fraction of the liability. The state allows operators to post a minimum “blanket bond” of $75,000 for an unlimited number of wells, but it can ask for a higher amount.

In recent years, as the orphan well problem became apparent, the Wyoming Oil and Gas Conservation Commission began identifying operators at risk of abandoning coal-bed methane wells, and demanded additional bonding. The agency also aided at-risk operators in finding potential buyers in hopes that more financially-solvent companies would maintain the properties.

But the effort has yielded limited success. For example, the Oil and Gas Conservation Commission was able to get California-based USA Exploration & Production to increase its bonding level for its holdings of nearly 150 coal-bed methane gas wells at risk of being orphaned. When the commission revoked USA Exploration’s bonds earlier this year for failure to meet testing and reclamation requirements, it collected a total $154,000. Yet the total cost to plug and reclaim the properties could cost an estimated $1.4 million.

(Courtesy of U.S. Energy Information Administration.)

“This is probably one of the most important things before the commission right now that we have to address,” said Black.

The state’s assurances that it will rectify the problem fall flat with some landowners in the region who, at the onset of the coal-bed methane gas play more than 10 years ago, warned that the state and federal bonding requirements were too low to ensure proper de-commissioning and reclamation.

Contacted by phone, Johnson County rancher Steve Adami said a coal-bed methane operator abandoned some facilities on state sections of his ranch about five years ago, and the facilities still have not been properly reclaimed. “It’s so frustrating. We just shouted from the rooftops — from 10 years ago until now — that ‘the bonding is inadequate, the bonding is inadequate,’ and their attitude was, ‘Leave us alone you whiny snots,’” Adami said.

During public comment before the minerals committee last week, Campbell County rancher Marge West said the state needs to fundamentally change its bonding rules for the oil and gas industry. West, and the Powder River Basin Resource Council, say the state ought to follow the federal model applied to the coal mining industry, which requires mining operators to post bond for 100 percent of the reclamation liability.

A 2009 University of Wyoming study suggested a new formula for setting reclamation bonds in the oil and gas industry. Primarily, the state should link bonding rates to production, and account for loss of suface land value. The study pointed to weaknesses in the current system. “One of the big shortcomings of the current bonding system is that it does not properly handle  the time value of money,” according to the study’s authors. “The average life of an oil and gas well can be decades, and the value of  having a small bond returned at the end of the production period is negligible from the operator’s standpoint. … At an annual rate of inflation of 3 percent, $25,000 in reclamation cost today will cost the state $45,553 in 20 years.”

Shifting from CBM to shale oil in the PRB

Ever mindful of maximizing returns for shareholders, oil and gas producers constantly shed marginal properties and replace them with what’s hot on the commodities market, and what can deliver quick returns.

The resulting migratory pattern of drilling rigs followed by production is making a complete circle in Wyoming’s Powder River Basin. Anadarko Petroleum Corp., for example, is shifting from dry gas (coal-bed methane) to liquids, plugging some 1,100 coal-bed methane gas wells last year while tapping deep shale oil in the basin.

The Powder River between Gillette and Buffalo runs through the center of Wyoming’s largest coal-bed methane gas field. (Dustin Bleizeffer/WyoFile — click to enlarge)

Anadarko has drilled 15 horizontal shale oil wells in the basin since 2011, and it plans to drill up to 17 more this year, according to company officials. In some instances, Anadarko will drill for deep oil on the same properties where it used to produce coal-bed methane gas.

“So we see (the Powder River Basin) moving from a gas province into an oil province,” said Ryan D. Helmer, subsurface manager of coal-bed methane for Anadarko.

Helmer and Anadarko general manager, Nichols W. Schoville, both testified before the Joint Minerals, Business and Economic Development Interim Committee in Gillette last week. Anadarko, one of the biggest coal-bed methane gas players in the basin, plans to continue plugging hundreds of its coal-bed methane gas wells each year.

The decision to switch from coal-bed methane to oil stems from a combination of low natural gas pricing, strong oil prices, and the fact that coal-bed methane gas is mostly played out in the basin.

“The play is maturing. The best spots have been drilled,” said Helmer, adding that the industry may still continue to drill some new coal-bed methane wells in the basin’s remaining sweet spots.

One of the sweet spots is in the Fortification Creek area between Gillette and Buffalo where the industry wants to drill some 500 wells. But that full development scenario has been on hold while the BLM considers special protections for prime wildlife habitat in Fortification Creek. The area is home to a rare high plains elk herd — a prime hunting resource.

Anadarko officials asked Wyoming lawmakers for assistance in convincing federal land managers to allow the industry’s drilling plans to move forward.

Wyoming lawmakers asked if overly burdensome federal regulations were to blame for the demise of coal-bed methane in northeast Wyoming. No, said Helmer. The coal-bed methane is simply played out — at least beyond the hayday decade when the industry averaged 2,500 new wells per year.

Helmer said Anadarko has already developed primary production from about 95 percent of its coal-bed methane fairway  properties along the Powder River. There are still limited opportunities in the fairway he said, where the resource looks to be commercially viable in the $4 to $6 per thousand cubic feet (mcf) range. But other coal-bed methane properties in the region won’t reach commercial viability until prices climb to the $7 to $9 range, he said.

“A large part of this is the field is maturing. … We would not expect to get back to 2,500 wells per year even if prices got back up,” said Helmer.

The Powder River Basin was once Wyoming’s largest natural gas producer at more than 1 billion cubic feet per day, due to the boom in coal-bed methane gas.

Anadarko expects the national average price of natural gas to remain in the $4 to $5 range for the next eight to 10 years, citing forecasts from the U.S. Energy Information Administration. “That’s primarily driven by the amount of the gas supply we have in the U.S. right now,” said Helmer.

That $4 to $5 per mcf stability depends on the nation maintaining a normal annual cycle of filling natural gas storage during the warm season and drawing it down in the cold season. Natural gas is still prone to slipping below $4 per mcf — a particular concern in Wyoming because natural gas is the state’s single largest source of revenue. “It’s very winter dependent and very weather dependent at this point in time,” said Helmer.

“There are better oil and liquid opportunities to invest in,” added Schoville.

Lawmakers asked whether some existing pipeline gathering systems for coal-bed methane could carry natural gas that’s associated with the current shale oil play in the basin, helping to curb the need to flare, or burn, that gas, for which there are no immediate gathering systems tied to new oil well drilling locations — a major economic, human health, and environmental concern.

Anadarko officials said that’s not likely, because the existing coal-bed methane gathering systems were built for low-pressure, dry gas, as opposed to the gas that’s associated with deep oil, which is wetter and under higher pressures.

— Dustin Bleizeffer is WyoFile editor-in-chief. Contact him at 307-577-6069 or dustin@wyofile.com. Follow Dustin on Twitter @DBleizeffer

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Published on May 21, 2013

Other posts you might want to see:

Spring Frontline 2013, the Wyoming Outdoor Council Newsletter

Media Release: Groups Appeal Fracking Chemical Case to Wyoming Supreme Court

The Upper Hoback will be protected in perpetuity

CST: Wyoming should be a role model and require baseline water testing

This guest column by Jon Goldstein, with the Environmental Defense Fund, provides an excellent example of one simple, yet powerful, way the state of the Wyoming can start to fix its ozone pollution problems.

For more on this topic, check out Pinedale resident Elaine Crumpley’s column: “Not Enough: DEQ plan needs to be better.”

This Is Your Final Warning: Enforcement Needed To Curtail Continued Pollution Problems

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 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.

Other posts you might want to see:

The Mega Fields Are Coming—We need to apply lessons learned to Protect Wyoming

Guest Column: As Feds Cut Spending, Charging Royalties on Flared Gas Makes Sense

Proposed Wyoming gas field would be one of the largest on the planet

Why We’re Seeking Fracking Chemical Information

Groups seek better disclosure of fracking chemicals in Wyoming

Come out this Thursday and Friday for the Wild and Scenic Film Festival in Riverton and Lander, co-hosted by the Wyoming Outdoor Council and Wild Iris Mountain Sports!

The festival will take us to some of the most beautiful places on the planet, introducing us to wildlife, adventurers, and activists from around the world—including Wyoming and the Rocky Mountain Region.

WHEN AND WHERE:

• 6:30–9 p.m., April 25, 2013, The Little Theater at CWC, Riverton, WY.
• 6:30–9 p.m., April 26, 2013, The Monarch Room, Pronghorn Lodge, Lander, WY

Get your advanced purchased tickets in Lander at Wild Iris Mountain Sports at 166 Main Street or the Wyoming Outdoor Council at 262 Lincoln Street.

TICKETS:

Advanced purchase: Adults $8; 12 yrs and under $4 At the door: Adults $10; 12 yrs and under $5 Students $5 (includes a one-year membership)

FREE ADMISSION with a first time Wyoming Outdoor Council membership, $15

Films Showing Thursday and Friday

The Man Who Lived on His Bike
Guillaume Blanchet
JUST FOR FUN

“I love being on a bike. It helps me feel free. I get it from my dad. After 382 days spent riding through the streets of Montreal, being sometimes quite cold, sometimes quite hot – and sometimes quite scared, I dedicate this movie to him.” Best Short Film, Francophone FF; Jury, Boston Bike FF; People’s Choice, Bike Reel FF. (Canada, 2012, 3min)

The Last Ice Merchant (El Último Hielero)
Sandy Patch
CLIMATE CHANGE

For over 50 years Baltazar Ushca has harvested the glacial ice of Ecuador’s Mount Chimborazo. His brothers, both raised as ice merchants, have long since retired from the mountain. This is a story of cultural change and how three brothers have adapted to it. Best Short Doc, Woodstock FF, Woods Hole FF and Napa Valley FF. www.thelasticemerchant.com  (USA/Ecuador, 2012, 14min)

The Soil Solution
Jess Phillimore and Carol Hirashima
AGRICULTURE/FOOD & CLIMATE CHANGE

What if an answer to climate change was found beneath your feet? The Soil Solution explores the fascinating world of soil and documents the ranchers, farmers, and scientists who conserve, protect, and regenerate our natural resource. Healthy soil may provide a biologically-based, low cost solution to global climate change. We speak with those on the cutting edge of soil science who are ushering in a new system of farming and ranching that works with nature, instead of against it. These methods have the potential to provide us with nutritious food, improved health, cleaner water, and a healthier planet.  www.sustainableworldmedia.com (USA, 2012, 30 min)

Sand Rider
Samuel Bricker, Nathan Ward, William Kreutzer
ADVENTURE

Colorado native Marc Pastore grew up snowboarding the snow covered peaks of the San Juan Mountains but in the warm months he earns his turns climbing up the North America’s largest sand dunes in The Great Sand Dunes National Park & Preserve. With his hand-made, sand-specific board in hand, Marc climbs 2,000 vertical feet per run to experience other worldly views and a unique riding experience in the middle one of the U.S.’s natural wonders. Spanning over 100,000 acres and 6,000 feet of elevation gain up to 13,600 feet, Elk, Bison and reptiles roam the area at the base of the 14,000 foot Sangre De Cristo Range. (USA, 2011, 4min

INTERMISSION

Stories of TRUST: Calling for Climate Recovery
WITNESS, Our Children’s Trust and the iMatter Campaign
ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE/ACTIVISM , CLIMATE CHANGE,  & KIDS
www.ourchildrenstrust.org  (USA, 2011)

• Stories of TRUST: Calling for Climate Recovery, Part 6: TRUST Colorado | Stories of TRUST is the perfect trifecta of law, science, justice and daring youth who are pursuing what has been recognized as the last best chance to protect our atmosphere. In Part 6, meet Xiuhtezcatl Martinez, an 11-year old activist who shares, “The proof of climate change is everywhere. In my lifetime the amount of forest killed by beetles has expanded. The number of acres burned has intensified. My generation is losing our forests. We are losing our homes. It’s not too late to ensure a livable future but we need to listen to the science and act now.” Best Environmental Film, Backcountry FF. (8min)

Tailings
Sam Price-Waldman
ENERGY

Just outside the snowy, crumbling town of Grants, New Mexico, is a 200-acre pile of toxic uranium waste, known as tailings. After 30 years of failed cleanup, the waste has deeply contaminated the air and water near the former uranium capital of the world. While those in town want the prosperity that new uranium mining would bring, the 200 residents who live near the tailings pile have had enough of the uranium legacy. TAILINGS is a cinematic, Gasland-esque investigation into the little-known conflict that is a grim reminder of the past, and a timely notice for the future of nuclear energy. Best New Mexico Short Film, Santa Fe Independent FF. www.tailingsfilm.com (USA, 2012, 12min)

How The Kids Saved The Parks
Andy Miller, Robin Moore
KIDS, ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE/ACTIVISM, WILDLIFE/NATURE

You know those movies where the kids get together and do something awesome? When they unite to overcome insurmountable odds? Maybe win the championship from the favored bad guys. Maybe embark on an epic quest to stop the grown ups from doing something stupid. This is one of those movies, except this one really happened. This is the story of a group of great kids that worked day and night to save the California State Parks that they love – this is ‘How The Kids Saved The Parks’. www.plusmproductions.com  (USA, 2012, 14min)

Streams of Consequence
James Q Martin, Chris Kasar
WATER & ENERGY

In summer 2010, photographer James ‘Q’ Martin and conservation biologist Chris Kassar started an organization called Rios Libres. The organization uses multi-media to join the fight to protect the wild lands of Patagonia from proposed dams that threaten two of the most pristine rivers in one of the world’s most spectacular regions. Last April, Q traveled south once again and landed in the thick of some of the largest anti-dam protests the country has ever seen. He captured historic footage of the protests, then spent nine weeks traveling the length of the country talking to gauchos, scientists, activists and the public in search of answers. The result is a solution-based film that addresses the hard questions that remained unanswered in Rios Libres’s first film: “What does an alternative energy model look like?” “How do the Chileans feel about it?” and “Could Chile become a global leader by gaining energy independence via green technology?” www.rioslibres.com  (USA, 2012, 25min)

Last Light
Nick Waggoner, Ben Sturgelewski
ADVENTURE

There is an undeniable magic in alpenglow– the final seconds of a day’s light that give mountains impossible texture and life before falling into shadow. In the endless spring hours of Haines, Alaska, light is as bountiful as snow. But to capture the best of both, that singularly lit moment that turns powder into frozen red fire, you must live all day in the midst of them; ready to drop in long after the helicopters have gone home and your line is made magic in the last of the light. Featuring Stephan Drake, Forrest Shearer, and Johan Jonsson and presented by Patagonia. Best Short Film, New Zealand FF. www.sweetgrass-productions.com (USA, 2011, 6min)

To see previews of the films go to: http://www.wildandscenicfilmfestival.org/trailers

Thank you for attending!

The 2013 Wild & Scenic Film Festival, April 25 and 26 in Riverton and Lander

Click here for a printable PDF of the Wild & Scenic Film Festival posters.

Other posts you might want to see:

A Silk Purse From A Sow’s Ear: Federal Cuts May Spur Environmental And Energy Savings

The Mega Fields Are Coming—We need to apply lessons learned to Protect Wyoming

Proposed Wyoming gas field would be one of the largest on the planet

Why We’re Seeking Fracking Chemical Information

Groups seek better disclosure of fracking chemicals in Wyoming

By Julia Stuble, Richard Garrett, Jr., and Lisa McGee

You are most likely already making great choices throughout the year to benefit the environment.

Thanks for all the good things you do on a daily basis!

The Outdoor Council staff is using the upcoming celebration of Earth Day as an opportunity to ask ourselves what additional things we might try this year in an effort to make our local and global community a better place to live.

(Further below you can find information on great Earth Day events in Fremont County.)

Earth Day Resolutions from the Staff

The Council regularly analyzes its carbon footprint and we work actively to reduce it. Our rooftop solar panels, low thermostat settings, carpooling strategies, and frequent teleconferencing help us to be more efficient and conserve resources. All this and more is thanks to our members.

But we are always looking for ways to do even better.

Please share your own helpful hints and inspiration on our Facebook page to help spread the word!

Here are some Earth Day resolutions Wyoming Outdoor Council staff members have made for 2013:

• Drive even less; carpool, bike, or walk. Consolidate errands and share tasks with friends.
• Turn off cars if we would otherwise idle more than 10 seconds (unless the car has an advanced fuel/energy management system). Here is what our friends at Environmental Defense Fund say about this. Also, accelerate and slow down as gradually as possible to drastically increase fuel efficiency.
• Sign up for an energy audit of our homes and work to implement the recommended efficiency suggestions.
• Be sure to unplug appliances not in use and also unplug rechargeables when they have been charged up.
• Remember to use those cloth grocery bags.
• Reduce waste by reusing containers and bags, and compost food scraps. Buy in bulk and bring prepared meals or leftovers for lunch: food packaging waste accounts for more than two-thirds of the total packaging loads in the U.S.
• Support local agriculture (yes, even in Wyoming!). Purchasing from local and regional growers at farmer’s markets, buying a quarter cow from a local rancher, and finding sources for “backyard eggs” can dramatically reduce the carbon footprint of foods our families eat. Plus, it all tastes better than meat and vegetables shipped transnationally, if not trans-continentally. There is a surprising array of resources for local foods in this state.
• Actively prevent unwanted mail. Visit www.catalogchoice.org for an easy and free way to stop unwanted catalogs.
• Plant a tree, or donate to have trees planted. http://www.earthday.org/campaign/canopy-project
• Landscape using native grasses and plants that require less water and attract pollinators.
• Support elected officials who are committed to conservation. Have encouraging and friendly conversations with the officials with whom we disagree; focus on shared community interests rather than positions.
• Support green businesses and conservation organizations at all scales.
• Make mini-cooperatives with friends—whether it is sharing space in a chest freezer and the half of a cow in it, exchanging the latest books and magazines, passing along children’s clothing and toys, and sharing the work of processing bulk foods, like late-summer cases of peaches!
• And, of course, get outside often to enjoy the environment we all love and work to protect.

Earth Day Events in Lander and Riverton

In Fremont County, the Outdoor Council is hosting or partnering in three events to celebrate Earth Day and our local communities.

You may be interested in special Earth Day yoga classes, which will benefit the Outdoor Council—or join us at our Wild & Scenic Film Festival, co-hosted by Wild Iris Mountain Sports. This year’s films are both uplifting and thought provoking about local and regional environments.

Earth Day Yoga

Where: Ananda Yoga studio, 145 N. 3rd St., Lander.
When: April 22, 5:30-7 p.m.
Cost: This session of Yoga 101 will donate $1 to the Outdoor Council for every attendee. Use your membership, punch card, or drop-in rate to help Ananda reach their goal of donating $100 toward our work!

Additionally: Ananda Yoga will also donate $1 for every attendee at two kids’ yoga sessions:
When: April 24, 2:45-3:30 p.m. (ages 8-12) and 3:45-4:30 p.m. (ages 5-8)

More details can be found at www.anandayogalander.com

All skill levels are welcomed—for first-time visitors, bring along a signed waiver (available on the website) to save time before the class begins.

Wild & Scenic Film Festival “A Climate of Change”

Where: The Little Theater at CWC, Riverton, WY
When: April 25, 6:30-9 p.m.

Where: The Monarch Room, Pronghorn Lodge, Lander, WY
When: April 26, 6:30-9 p.m.

Cost: Advanced purchase at Wyoming Outdoor Council office or Wild Iris Mountain Sports: $8 adults, $4 for those 12 years and younger. At the door: $10 adults, $5 for those 12 years and younger. $5 students. OR, with a first time annual membership of $15 to the Outdoor Council, free admission! Bring your friends.

Additionally: We will be selling advance tickets from 12-4 p.m., Saturday, April 20, at Wild Iris Mountain Sports. With each ticket purchase you can take home a free pansy donated by Sprouts Greenhouse to celebrate Earth Day.

Details: The same films will show both nights. The diverse selection ranges from examinations of cultural change and climate change, adventure, lighthearted perspectives and in-depth investigations, as well as portrayals of environmental challenges and solutions. Join us for this globetrotting and backyard-exploring festival of fun and provocative films.

One last ongoing event: Advocate Weeks at Wild Iris Mountain Sports

On behalf of the Wyoming Outdoor Council, have a great Earth Day and thank you for your continued support of the work we’re doing to safeguard Wyoming’s environment and quality of life now and for future generations.

For Immediate Release

April 17, 2013

Media Contacts:

Laura Beaton, Earthjustice, (406) 586-9699

Shannon Anderson, Powder River Basin Resource Council, (307) 672-5809

Bruce Pendery, staff attorney, Wyoming Outdoor Council, (435) 752-2111; bruce@wyomingoutdoorcouncil.org

Bruce Baizel, Earthworks, (970) 903-5326

Brian Gumm, Center for Effective Government (formerly OMB Watch), (202) 683-4812

Groups Appeal Fracking Chemical Case to Wyoming Supreme Court

Public interest organizations are seeking disclosure of chemicals that are injected underground

Cheyenne, Wyo. — Several public interest and government watchdog groups have appealed to Wyoming’s highest court, asking it to compel the state’s oil and gas permitting agency to disclose the chemicals that are injected underground during the oil and gas production process of hydraulic fracturing, or fracking.

Represented by the public interest environmental law firm Earthjustice, the Powder River Basin Resource Council, Wyoming Outdoor Council, Earthworks and the Center for Effective Government filed the appeal to the Wyoming Supreme Court today.

The groups argue that the Wyoming Oil and Gas Conservation Commission should be required to reveal the identities of the chemicals that are pumped underground during fracking because Wyoming citizens and landowners have a right to know what chemicals are transported across, stored on, and disposed of on and below their properties.

Public disclosure is required by the Wyoming Public Records Act and the Commission’s fracking chemical disclosure rule, the groups say, and it would help protect the people of Wyoming by allowing them to know what chemicals to test for in baseline water tests prior to fracking. However, since disclosure of chemical identities was first required in 2010, the Commission has granted trade secret protection to hundreds of chemicals used in fracking.

In Wyoming, nearly all new and ongoing oil and gas production involves fracking. Transport, use and disposal of fracking chemicals could potentially affect ground and surface water, which is — or could be — used for drinking water, livestock, irrigation or other important uses.

“As a landowner living near hydraulically fracked oil wells, I have the right to know what’s going down the well,” said Marilyn Ham, a Cheyenne area landowner and member of the Powder River Basin Resource Council. “We don’t want to know the fracking formula recipe, but landowners like me have a right to know the ingredients — in this case the specific chemicals that are being transported, stored, and injected underground during fracking.”

Under regulations approved in 2010, Wyoming became the first state in the nation to require well operators to disclose the identities of chemicals that are mixed with water and sand and injected into the ground to break up rock during fracking.

But since the regulations were adopted, the Commission has approved more than 50 secrecy requests, shielding identifying information for more than 190 different chemicals that are being used by Halliburton and other oil and gas service companies in fracking.

A centerpiece of the groups’ appeal is the lax level of review the Commission exercises when granting trade secrets exemptions to the oil and gas industry.

“Wyoming’s groundbreaking fracking chemical disclosure rule amounts to very little if companies can shield information as ‘trade secrets’ nearly at will,” said Earthjustice attorney Laura Beaton. “We are asking the Wyoming Supreme Court to enforce the broad public disclosure mandate of the Public Records Act and the fracking chemical disclosure rule.”

The groups argue that when it comes to fracking chemicals and the potential harm to landowners and residents, the interests of public health and the public good far outweigh the interests of protecting companies’ so-called trade secrets.

“Groundwater belongs to the people of Wyoming,” said Bruce Pendery, staff attorney with the Wyoming Outdoor Council. “While water rights can be granted for its use, we all have an interest — and a responsibility — to ensure that groundwater is protected and kept clean not only for those of us living here today but for the people who might need it after we’re gone.”

The result of this appeal could help establish broad legal precedent — as the states of Texas, Arkansas, Pennsylvania, Colorado, Montana, and Michigan all have fracking chemical disclosure regulations similar to Wyoming’s on the books.

With this appeal, the groups are asking the Wyoming Supreme Court to reverse a lower court decision, which allowed the commission to withold from disclosure many of the chemicals despite the fact that companies often provided scant or no explanation of why the chemical ingredients should be held confidential.

The groups are arguing that only in rare, extensively justified circumstances can individual chemicals themselves be witheld from public disclosure.

“The recipe for Coca-Cola is a trade secret, but the ingredients are not, and they’re all listed on the back of the can,” said Sofia Plagakis with the Center for Effective Government.

“Some of these fracking chemicals can cause cancer, nerve damage, and other public health concerns,” said Bruce Baizel with Earthworks. “We appreciate Wyoming’s leadership in making more of this information available. But by then allowing the identity of these chemicals to be withheld as trade secrets, this forward looking law is defeated. Without a complete list of fracking chemicals — a simple list of ingredients — it’s much more difficult for residents to determine whether their drinking water has been contaminated by oil and gas development.”

“We are arguing that protecting public health by requiring broad disclosure of fracking chemicals should be the state’s priority,” said Beaton. “And we will make the case that a policy of fracking chemical secrecy is decidedly not in the public’s best interest.”

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Other posts you might want to see:

A Silk Purse From A Sow’s Ear: Federal Cuts May Spur Environmental And Energy Savings

The Mega Fields Are Coming—We need to apply lessons learned to Protect Wyoming

Proposed Wyoming gas field would be one of the largest on the planet

Why We’re Seeking Fracking Chemical Information

Groups seek better disclosure of fracking chemicals in Wyoming

Gas flaring from a drilling rig in Wyoming’s Upper Green River Valley. Photo by Linda Baker

A Silk Purse From A Sow’s Ear: Federal Cuts May Spur Environmental And Energy Savings

By Jon Goldstein, Environmental Defense Fund | Bio | Published: April 2, 2013, republished here by permission: April 5, 2013

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.

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

Other posts you might want to see:

The Mega Fields Are Coming—We need to apply lessons learned to Protect Wyoming

Proposed Wyoming gas field would be one of the largest on the planet

Why We’re Seeking Fracking Chemical Information

Groups seek better disclosure of fracking chemicals in Wyoming