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Field Notes

Field Notes


Field Notes: February updates from the Wyoming Outdoor Council

Posted on by Alan Rogers

NITRATE RULE SETBACK

In a disappointing move, the Teton District Board of Health declined to adopt a proposed rule that would alert residents when increasing levels of harmful nitrates are detected in drinking water. The rule, drafted by the Wyoming Outdoor Council and Protect Our Water Jackson Hole, would have required the county health department to notify the public when elevated levels of nitrates are detected in any of the county’s 114 public water systems and investigate the source of the pollution.

While this is an unfortunate delay, the residents of Teton County have made it clear that clean, safe drinking water should be a priority in their community. Together with our partners, the Outdoor Council will continue working with county officials to enact this important safeguard. 

OIL AND GAS LEASING

In late January, the Biden administration announced an executive order pausing new oil and gas leasing on public lands so the Department of the Interior can conduct a “rigorous review of all existing leasing and permitting practices related to fossil fuel development on public lands and waters.” 

The oil and gas industry is an important part of Wyoming’s economy and, when done properly, development has a place on our public lands. However, the federal leasing program is decades out of date. We’ll continue to push for common-sense leasing reforms that will place the many other uses and values of our public lands (like wildlife habitat, historic cultural sites, and outdoor recreation) on equal footing with development, while also ensuring a fair return for taxpayers. Importantly, we want to see an end to noncompetitive “over-the-counter” leases as well as leasing of lands with low potential for producing oil and gas.

Field Notes


Field Notes: January updates from the Wyoming Outdoor Council

Posted on by Alan Rogers

AMENDED NET METERING BILL ADVANCES

Thank you, members, for your phenomenal engagement with the Senate Corporations Committee to protect our rooftop solar industry and oppose SF 16 — the latest attempt to remove or weaken Wyoming’s net metering law.

The chair of the committee noted that they received “about 1,000” emails regarding this bill. As usual, only utility companies supported this legislation. The rest of those testifying at Tuesday’s meeting, including representatives from local governments, solar installers, and the general public, spoke out against SF 16 and highlighted the many benefits of this small-scale renewable industry for our state.

The committee voted to delete the most egregious part of this bill, and changed timelines to be more reasonable, but then voted to move the bill forward to the legislature’s virtual session next week. We still have grave concerns about the bill, because it requires a study by the Wyoming Public Service Commission that is biased against net metering, and does not consider the benefits of small-scale solar. We will keep you informed of what can be done next. Thank you again for the tremendous support — you were heard!

VIRTUAL LEGISLATURE GETS UNDERWAY

Last week marked the beginning of the very unusual 2021 Wyoming state legislative session. You might have noticed that, unlike most years, you didn’t get a weekly recap email. That’s because this year, to cope with the many logistical obstacles that the COVID-19 pandemic poses to running a normal session, the state legislature is breaking the legislative calendar up into several parts. Between January and the end of March, you can expect to hear from us on bills that are moving — and where we need your help. You can find our guide to the legislature and more resources here.

This week, House and Senate committees are meeting remotely over Zoom to consider bills that were worked on by joint committees over the interim and assigned to one chamber or the other. Bills that pass committee will move on to the full chamber during an 8-day virtual session between January 27 and February 5.

However, the work won’t be over. After the virtual session is wrapped, the legislature will reconvene, either virtually or in person, for the month of March. Any bills that are still alive at the end of the 8-day virtual session, but haven’t yet been passed by both chambers, will return at that time. We expect to see lots of new bills considered, too.

If this sounds confusing, we understand! The legislative session is always chaotic and tumultuous, and we are expecting this year to be even more so as we navigate the many ups, downs, and “what ifs” of trying to communicate with a legislature that is meeting both in person and remotely. Throughout this disjointed session we will keep you informed about what you can expect and where your voices are most critical for protecting the Wyoming conservation values we cherish most.

Field Notes


Video: Thank you for supporting the Outdoor Council in 2020!

Posted on by Alan Rogers

THANK YOU FOR SUPPORTING THE OUTDOOR COUNCIL IN 2020!

It’s hard to express how grateful we are for the support of Wyoming Outdoor Council members and the greater Wyoming conservation community. During a turbulent year, your dedication has remained constant and been a source of hope and motivation. The staff put together this short video as a virtual thank-you card for all you do.

If you’d like to be part of the Wyoming Outdoor Council community and help make sure our work has a fighting chance in 2021, you can join today or renew your membership.

Field Notes


Field Notes: December updates from the Wyoming Outdoor Council

Posted on by Alan Rogers

PLATTE VALLEY DEER NEED YOUR HELP

On December 11, the Platte Valley mule deer migration corridor working group met for the first time. The seven people appointed to the group — representing agriculture, industry, conservation and recreation — are the first corridor working group established under Gov. Mark Gordon’s migration corridor executive order. Unfortunately, the initial meeting indicated that this group will likely consider removing the Platte Valley migration corridor designation, and weakening protections for this important herd. We’ll be blunt: the governor’s office appears to be prepared to yield ground to a small, loud group of voices that oppose the designation of migration corridors. But we know that many more of you value our big game and support common sense, locally-driven conservation protections.

If the Platte Valley is a special place to you, or if you know the iconic Platte Valley mule deer herd well, we encourage you to reach out to us as soon as possible. As the inaugural working group created under the governor’s order, Platte Valley will set an example for how other corridor working groups will operate in the future. And it’s important that this working group hear that the public supports science-based wildlife management that will help sustain our herds — and local wildlife economies — long into the future.

Mark your calendars for our next Conservation Cafeteria on Wednesday, January 6 — we’ll discuss the Platte Valley working group and all things migration. And if you are passionate about Platte Valley deer, please reach out to Kristen Gunther at kristen@wyomingoutdoorcouncil.org.

HOBACK RV PARK RESIDENTS AT RISK

Early this month the owner of Hoback RV Park informed tenants that they can stay on site through the winter, but their water and septic connections will be cut off after December 31. Residents will have the option to hire a private company to provide septic service to their trailers. This is a slight improvement — longtime residents previously faced eviction at the end of the year — but not a workable solution for all.

The owner, Crowley Capital, faces a number of serious violations of state and county regulations stemming from an inspection of the Teton County property that was requested by the Wyoming Outdoor Council, including liquid sewage seeping up from a failed septic system, disposal of concentrated nitrate waste into an unpermitted sump on the property, discharges exceeding permitted capacity limits, and water treatment equipment that was installed without a permit.

The Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality and the Teton County Commission have the authority to potentially fine the owners hundreds of thousands of dollars for the violations, some of which may date back 20 years and which left residents living in an unsanitary environment. The responsible parties, not their vulnerable tenants, should face the consequences, and the Outdoor Council has encouraged the regulatory agencies to work with the owners on a solution that is considerate of residents’ needs.

If you want to chip in, you can help support residents of the park with a donation through their GoFundMe page. The funds will help tenants pay for alternative septic services or the cost of moving their trailers.

RENEWABLES SITING GROUP BEGINS WORK

The Outdoor Council is taking part in the Wyoming Renewable Energy Siting Collaborative, an effort organized by the University of Wyoming to study issues related to utility-scale wind and solar energy development. Members of the group represent a wide range of interests and will be working together on policy recommendations that would minimize conflicts with wildlife, viewsheds, and other resources.

With sunny skies, plenty of wind, and a skilled workforce, Wyoming has great potential for renewable energy. But like all types of energy development, renewables projects can have unintended consequences if not sited in appropriate locations. A proactive approach to siting will help ensure future development is done right.

Field Notes


Field Notes: November updates from the Wyoming Outdoor Council

Posted on by Alan Rogers
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TETON COUNTY COMPREHENSIVE PLAN UPDATES

The Teton County Board of Commissioners and Jackson Town Council voted to approve a number of updates to the county’s comprehensive land use plan. This document, which will guide development over the coming years, was revised to include important water quality protections proposed by the Wyoming Outdoor Council and Protect Our Water Jackson Hole. Chief among them is a directive for the county to develop a wastewater management plan that will address rising levels of nitrates in the Snake River Aquifer, which serves as the county’s only source of drinking water. 

A patchwork of small wastewater plants, independent sewer districts, and private septic systems are serving Jackson Hole’s growing population, and some of these systems are unable to keep up with the demand or otherwise not functioning as intended. The wastewater management plan is expected to lead to improved regulation of treatment facilities and septic systems. 

In the comprehensive plan, the county recognizes the public’s right to clean, affordable drinking water and the importance of the Snake River Aquifer. The plan also commits the county to:

  • Gather baseline data and coordinate with other agencies to monitor water quality.
  • Investigate regulations and ordinances to protect public water systems.
  • Examine new tools to protect water quality, such as an aquifer protection overlay.
  • Encourage public water suppliers to establish or update source water assessments and protection plans.

AETHON INJECTION REQUEST

The Wyoming Oil and Gas Commission voted to allow a company to inject oil and gas wastewater from the Moneta Divide field into the Madison formation, an aquifer protected under the Safe Drinking Water Act. This is unfortunate: More than 100 written comments, as well as public testimony before the commission, were unanimously opposed to this decision.

The company argued the depth of the aquifer at the well site, and levels of benzene in groundwater samples taken from the well, make it an impractical fresh water source. But the benzene may in fact be contamination from drilling mud used to bore the well and the state Department of Environmental Quality previously determined the aquifer was a viable source of drinking water. There’s also evidence that wastewater injected at the site will eventually spread.

In the arid West, faced with the uncertainty of a changing climate, we aren’t willing to sacrifice a source of fresh water that may prove invaluable to future generations. The EPA has final say on whether to approve the Oil and Gas Commission’s action and we’ll continue to defend potential drinking water sources.

 

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Field Notes


Field Notes: October updates from the Wyoming Outdoor Council

Posted on by Alan Rogers
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MONETA DIVIDE

The Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality recently issued a final wastewater discharge permit for the Moneta Divide oil and gas field. In response to environmental concerns and strong public opposition, the permit rejects Aethon Energy’s request to increase (by almost 400 percent) the amount of contaminated water it discharges into tributaries of Boysen Reservoir, and includes stronger pollution controls. Engaged citizens like you were crucial to guiding this decision: thank you! 

This new permit is still not without flaws, however. It gives Aethon four years to come into compliance with the new standards despite ongoing violations of the previous, more lenient permit. The Outdoor Council will continue to advocate for an accelerated compliance schedule. 

Aethon is now seeking to inject some of its contaminated water into the Madison formation, a drinking water quality aquifer protected under the Safe Drinking Water Act. The Wyoming Oil and Gas Commission will hold a hearing November 10 to consider this proposal. We’re asking Outdoor Council members to contact the commission and ask them to protect our drinking water by denying Aethon’s request.


TETON COUNTY STATE LANDS

During the 2020 session, the Wyoming Legislature passed a bill soliciting proposals for parcels of state land in Teton County. The Outdoor Council has collaborated with several partner organizations to submit recommendations on these parcels to the Office of State Lands and Investments. 

Most of the parcels in question are adjacent to federal public lands — primarily Grand Teton National Park and Bridger-Teton National Forest. We support selling these parcels to the federal agency in question to keep them open to the public and free from development, while also generating revenue for the state. For parcels surrounded by private land we recommended a mix of solutions including conservation easement, transfer to the Wyoming Game and Fish Commission to manage as wildlife habitat, and private development adhering to the Teton County Comprehensive Plan. 

Because these land transfers could take years to implement, we also proposed uses of these lands that could produce revenue for the state in the short term. These include conservation leasing, leases for recreation or tourism, and maintaining existing cattle grazing.

 

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Field Notes


Field Notes: September updates from the Wyoming Outdoor Council

Posted on by Alan Rogers
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FROM THE LEGISLATURE: Without any public disclosure that the topic would be discussed, and after public comment had closed, a Wyoming legislative committee decided September 11 to once again consider legislation that could effectively kill the state’s rooftop solar industry by changing our net metering law. Why does this sound vague? Because the committee never defined the content of the bill nor had a draft bill on the agenda. We’ll be discussing this topic at our next Conservation Cafeteria session, 12 p.m. Wednesday, October 7 on Zoom. Watch for an upcoming email to register.


LEASING PAUSED IN GROUSE HABITAT: The Bureau of Land Management has deferred all parcels in Greater sage-grouse habitat management areas from Wyoming’s upcoming oil and gas lease sale. This came in response to a federal court ruling early this summer that determined the BLM had failed to prioritize leasing outside core habitat as required by 2015 land management plan revisions. The Wyoming Outdoor Council formally protested the September sale, which originally included all parcels from a postponed June sale and more than 330,000 acres of sage-grouse habitat.

Also in the past weeks, Outdoor Council staff submitted a protest of a Converse County oil and gas project that has the potential to destroy sage-grouse leks and harm hawk, falcon, and owl populations.


TETON COUNTY WATER QUALITY: In the continued effort to protect drinking water in Jackson Hole, the Outdoor Council took several steps in recent weeks to guide county officials toward more effective regulations. First, we submitted detailed recommendations on water quality protections that should be included in Teton County’s Comprehensive Plan, which is currently being updated. These include modernized regulations for small wastewater facilities, requiring septic system inspections when property is bought and sold, providing incentives for homeowners to connect to existing sewer lines, creating a management plan to address the high levels of recreational use on rivers and lakes, and establishing a water quality database. We have also proposed a new rule that would require the Teton County Public Health Department to notify the public when elevated levels of nitrates are detected in any of the county’s 114 public water systems, investigate the source of the pollution, and require remedial action if necessary.

 

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Field Notes


Field Notes: August updates from the Wyoming Outdoor Council

Posted on by Alan Rogers

WASTEWATER PLANNING: The Teton County Commissioners have approved funding to begin crafting a comprehensive wastewater management plan. The Wyoming Outdoor Council advocated for this important step toward addressing nitrate pollution in the area’s groundwater and our partner organization Protect Our Water Jackson Hole is contributing half the cost of the planning effort, up to $250,000.

TETON COUNTY CREEKS: The Teton County Board of Health has placed signs at public access points along Fish and Flat creeks, warning tubers and anglers about high levels of harmful bacteria in the water. The Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality listed all of Fish Creek and a portion of Flat Creek as “impaired” by E. coli earlier this year, meaning the water isn’t considered safe for swimming. The Outdoor Council is working toward solutions to address this dangerous condition.

CONVERSE COUNTY OIL AND GAS PROJECT: We are preparing to file a protest of the final environmental impact statement for a 5,000 well oil and gas project in Converse County and related amendments to a federal land use plan. If approved, the alternative selected by the Bureau of Land Management would waive existing protections for hawks and falcons, and potentially wipe out dozens of sage-grouse leks.

ENERGY TRANSITION: We recently submitted comments to the Wyoming Public Service Commission on Rocky Mountain Power’s Integrated Resource Plan, which seeks to add new wind and solar energy generation in Wyoming and other Western states as coal-fired plants are retired over the coming years. We urged the PSC to work with Rocky Mountain Power to prepare for changes to the energy economy and develop transition plans for affected coal workers and communities.