A Wyoming guide to recent Bureau of Land Management rules and land use plans

Over the past year, the Bureau of Land Management has been busy with a bevy of rules that, once finalized, will impact public lands across Wyoming and the West. (You might remember hearing from us about the Public Lands Rule, Methane Rule, and Oil and Gas Rule — and you may have even written comments on these proposed rules.) Now, it seems April is the month that all these efforts have begun to bear fruit: With near-weekly announcements of finalized rules, it’s certainly been a busy time for the agency. And, I’ll add, for anyone trying to keep up!

Fortunately, these new rules contain plenty of conservation victories worth celebrating. But we can’t blame you if keeping them straight has led to some serious head-scratching.

To add to the confusion, the publishing of these rules has happened alongside the comment periods for additional BLM land use plan revisions and proposed rules. (With any luck, we’ll have even more to celebrate when the Western Solar Plan, Rock Springs Resource Management Plan, and updates to the rangewide Greater sage-grouse plan are finalized.)

Whether you’ve been closely following the news, are just tuning in, or are one of the many WOC supporters who shared comments with the BLM, this quick guide will help you get a handle on the agency’s recent activity — and what each of these rules and plans means for Wyoming’s public lands and wildlife.

RECENTLY FINALIZED BLM RULES

PUBLIC LANDS RULE

The Public Lands Rule adds conservation to the list of multiple uses allowed on public lands, placing it on equal footing with uses such as grazing, energy development, and recreation. It does not prevent oil and gas drilling, mining, or grazing on public lands — but it does enshrine protection and restoration as necessary components of responsible management. In doing so, our wildlife habitat, areas of cultural importance, water quality, and landscape intactness all stand to benefit.

The BLM manages 18.4 million acres of land across Wyoming — nearly one-third of the state. While drought, wildfires, and decreasing land health threaten these lands, the Public Lands Rule provides a cohesive framework for implementing conservation measures to address these threats and slow negative impacts from climate change — while continuing to manage for the many uses of these lands that allow Wyoming communities to thrive.

OIL AND GAS RULE

The most significant update to oil and gas leasing on federal lands in decades, the Fluid Mineral Leases and Leasing Process Rule directs development away from lands with little to no potential for oil and gas — thereby allowing better management of places with important habitat, recreational values, and cultural resources. It also ensures that companies set aside more money to plug wells after drilling, which is significant considering that previously, required clean-up money would have covered the cost of fewer than one out of 100 wells. These common-sense reforms, that follow in the footsteps of state policy, are a win for the health of Wyoming landscapes and for Wyoming taxpayers, as increased oil and gas royalty rates will result in better returns for Wyomingites and fund vital public services.

METHANE RULE

This rule aims to reduce emissions of methane, a potent greenhouse gas, from oil and gas operations on public lands. Also known as the Waste Prevention Rule, it updates regulations more than 40 years old by requiring oil and gas operators to take reasonable steps to prevent wasted methane during operations such as venting and flaring. The reduced emissions will benefit Wyoming’s air quality, and conserved methane will be available to power homes and industries. Through additional required royalty payments on natural gas emissions that could have been avoidable, the rule will also ensure Wyoming taxpayers are fairly compensated for natural gas that is unnecessarily wasted during production.

(Note: While similar in aim, this rule is separate from the Environmental Protection Agency’s final methane rule, which was published in December 2023. BLM’s rule curbs wasted methane on federal and Tribal lands and will go into effect this summer, while EPA’s sweeping rule curbs methane emissions on both public and private lands and will take several additional years before it is enforceable.)

RECENT BLM PLANS OF NOTE, YET TO BE FINALIZED

UPDATED WESTERN SOLAR PLAN

This region-wide plan (also known as the Solar Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement) will identify the best locations across 11 Western states for future utility-scale solar development on federal lands, along with areas that should be closed to solar. By proactively screening for wildlife, sensitive habitats, cultural resources, and other values and resources, it aims to reduce foreseeable land use conflicts. Our climate future depends on the addition of renewables to our energy portfolio — and the Western Solar Plan represents an opportunity to ensure solar doesn’t come at the cost of our iconic wildlife and other Wyoming values.

The Western Solar Plan is currently in draft form, and the period for comments on the plan concluded earlier this month. If you wrote to the BLM in favor of responsibly sited solar in Wyoming, thank you! Read WOC’s Western Solar Plan comments here.

Updated Greater Sage-Grouse Management Plan

Building off the BLM’s 2015 and 2019 plans for Greater sage-grouse, this plan enhances protections for this most-loved of Western birds — a prominent symbol of the threatened and ever-diminishing sagebrush biome. Drawing on ample new data and research, the update covers 77 resource management plans across 10 Western states, including Wyoming. Because the BLM manages the vast majority of Greater sage-grouse habitat on the continent, it is imperative that the agency takes bold action with this plan revision to shore up remaining, quality habitat and stave off further declines. As we dive deeper into the plan’s management alternatives, count on us to keep you informed and keep your eye out for opportunities to speak up for sage-grouse protections. Wyoming is the beating heart of the sagebrush biome and what happens here has outsize implications for the bird’s future, so your participation and local knowledge will be of added benefit to the agency. The plan is currently in draft form, with a public comment period ending June 13.

Rock Springs Resource Management Plan

A plan nearly 12 years in waiting, the Rock Springs Resource Management Plan outlines how much of the northern Red Desert — including the Big Sandy Foothills, Adobe Town, and more — will be managed for the next 15–20 years. The draft plan favors conservation of the Red Desert’s extraordinary habitat, cultural resources, and wide-open spaces while protecting opportunities for recreation. In December, WOC represented conservation on a task force convened by the governor to form consensus recommendations for the BLM alongside livestock, oil and gas, sporting groups, and other interests. Much common ground was found as we defended the Red Desert’s key landscapes from potentially damaging proposals.

There’s a good chance you heard and answered our calls to advocate for the Red Desert’s treasures. The public comment period on the draft RMP ended in January, and we’re confident that your passionate advocacy will result in a strong final plan. Thank you for your many supportive comments.

THANK YOU

As time marches on, it’s essential that we continually revisit, refine, and revise the rules and plans guiding management of our public lands. The items listed above are the finalized and in-progress products of this important process. They represent the modernizing of old policies that often had the effect of undermining conservation interests. They are also significant strides towards more proactive management of our public lands.

Importantly, the true value of these rules and plans lies with the public input that helped to build them. They are valuable because people like you spoke up — people who care for, understand, recreate or work on, live near, and love these public lands. As these frameworks for management move from draft stage to final rule or plan, we can’t thank you enough for your support and advocacy. Wyoming’s public lands are better for it!

Have lingering questions about recent BLM rules and land use revisions? Send us an email or write a comment below.

MORE THAN MEETS THE EYE

HOW UNSEEN EMISSIONS CONTINUE TO IMPAIR AIR QUALITY IN WYOMING’S UPPER GREEN RIVER BASIN

Whether you ranch, farm, hunt, fish, or ski, there is a season for most things in Wyoming. But there are some seasons that we could do without. Topping that list is “winter ozone season” in the Upper Green River Basin of Sublette County.

For nearly two decades, the Wyoming Outdoor Council and Pinedale-based Citizens United for Responsible Energy Development (CURED) have been actively working to improve winter ozone conditions in this region, which is home to the state’s largest natural gas fields. This seasonal phenomenon typically occurs when the right combination of weather patterns, surface reflectivity from snow and ice, and emissions like nitrogen oxides and volatile organic compounds (known as VOCs) all combine to create ozone molecules. When the ground-level ozone concentration exceeds 70 parts per billion, it can have harmful respiratory effects and cause lung damage in people who breathe the polluted air.

While there have been some modest improvements in the region’s air quality since development in the basin started, the basic fact remains that the UGRB, which once boasted some of the cleanest air in the country, remains dangerously close to violating the Clean Air Act’s standards for ozone. The consequences of this violation could be significant not only for the people living, working, and breathing in Sublette County, but for the industry operators who would likely see new regulations to bring the region back into compliance with air quality standards.

The UGRB, which once boasted some of the cleanest air in the country, remains dangerously close to violating the Clean Air Act’s standards for ozone.

To better understand why this area continues its seasonal struggle with high ozone levels, the Outdoor Council teamed up with CURED and a trained thermographer from Earthworks, a community-based advocacy organization, to visit the Upper Green in November 2020 and inspect roughly a dozen oil and gas sites on the Jonah and Pinedale Anticline fields. Our goal was simple: to document examples of permitted emissions from oil and gas facilities on public lands and consider what appropriate next steps regulators can take to continue improving this region’s air quality.

Engine stack emissions from the Enterprise Products’ Bridger Compressor Station are an obvious example of a “major source” facility permitted under the Clean Air Act. This footage shows the stark contrast between what an observer can see with the naked eye versus through the lens of specialized infrared camera equipment. (Infrared video footage by Earthworks, Nov. 19, 2020.)

Almost all of the sites our team visited had some detectable levels of fugitive emissions — none of which would have been visible without the use of a state of the art forward-looking infrared camera. These FLIR cameras, which individually cost as much as a high end sports car, provide a glimpse of the otherwise invisible emissions occurring across the Jonah and Pinedale Anticline oil and gas fields.

As part of their operating permits, companies are typically allowed to emit certain levels of pollutants into the atmosphere. Sometimes emissions are vented and released intentionally, while other times they are accidental and the result of old or leaky equipment that needs to be updated or repaired. Both contribute to poor air quality and the region’s ozone season.

Natural gas producers operate thousands of facilities in Wyoming’s Upper Green River Basin. These facilities collectively leak or vent thousands of tons of methane and VOCs each year.

Fugitive emissions seen on Jonah Energy LLC’s Stud Horse Butte Tanks #10-28. The basin’s windy conditions can make it more difficult to see the gas plumes leaking from infrastructure in the UGRB. The region’s poorest air quality is typically on calm days during inversions when concentrations of pollutants build up. (Infrared video footage by Earthworks, Nov. 19, 2020.)

One routine and permitted practice in the Upper Green that contributes to the region’s wintertime ozone problems is when oil and gas wells are intentionally “blown down” to clear them of debris and sludge that accumulates over time. Blowdown tanks are often used to hold the residual fluids and gases that are expelled during these events, but this process frequently results in large volumes of fugitive gasses and VOCs escaping into the atmosphere. During a two-month period in the winter of 2020, Jonah Energy reported 1,008 blowdown events totaling over 159 hours of uncontrolled emissions venting. Dozens of other production companies operate in the region and, collectively, blowdowns result in hundreds of thousands of dollars in wasted gas annually and thousands of tons of vented methane and VOCs.

Emissions venting from tanks at Ultra Resource’s Stud Horse Butte Tanks #7-21. (Infrared video footage by Earthworks, Nov. 19, 2020.)

Emissions from leaking equipment or intentional venting can combine to create ground-level ozone, which can cause respiratory problems and lung damage.

When added up across the landscape, blowdown events and other forms of permitted emissions have the potential to play a big role in the seasonally unhealthy air that impacts the Upper Green. In our day in the field, we were able to document these emissions coming from blowdown tanks, combustor units, and dehydrators. It’s not hard to imagine what that impact could be when multiplied by the thousands of permitted facilities currently operating in the basin.

A leaking tank at Pinedale Energy Partners’ Mesa #1 well. Oil and gas companies operate thousands of facilities in the Upper Green River Basin. (Infrared video footage by Earthworks, Nov. 19, 2020.)

Pinedale Energy Partners’ Mesa well #3-17 shows blowdown tanks that are badly venting emissions. The harmful gasses being released into the atmosphere could be controlled by flaring which would turn these emissions into less harmful ones like carbon dioxide and water vapor. (Infrared video footage by Earthworks, Nov. 19, 2020.)

If the oil and gas industry is going to continue to serve Wyoming as it has historically, it needs to adapt and change to meet the expectations of mostly out-of-state consumers who are increasingly holding energy production to higher environmental and social standards. Based upon our own field observations, a good starting point for Wyoming regulators would be to reduce, and ultimately end, the common practice of using uncontrolled blowdown tanks to vent emissions from oil and gas operations. These emission sources and others should be minimized by being routed to combustors, and more work is needed to reduce the amount of wasted gas that is vented into the atmosphere. While blowdowns are just one of many emissions sources that need to be addressed by operators and regulatory agencies, this would protect public health and air quality. It would also be in the best interest of the industry in the long term.

We look forward to a future trip to the UGRB where the only things to see through a FLIR camera would be the silhouettes of mountains and clouds. But for that future to become a reality, there is still clear work to be done. With states like New Mexico and Colorado taking strong steps to clamp down on uncontrolled venting and set high standards for leak detection and repair, Wyoming’s operators should be following suit to address growing concerns over fugitive emissions, air pollution, and climate change.

methane emissions

Field Notes