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Oil and gas

Field Notes


SETTING THE RECORD STRAIGHT ON STATE OIL AND GAS LEASING: DIRECTORS’ MESSAGES ON RECENT PRESS, PT. 2 OF 2

Posted on by Alec Underwood

DIRECTORS’ MESSAGES ON RECENT PARCEL 194 PRESS, PART 2: ON THE Ground

Recent press concerning the Wyoming Outdoor Council’s efforts to protect critical pronghorn migratory habitat has caused a bit of a stir in certain circles — and we’d like to set the record straight with an important message for the WOC community and other Wyomingites.

In this second part of a two-part message, WOC’s program director, Alec Underwood, responds to biased reporting and industry perspectives on WOC’s involvement in the July 2023 oil and gas lease sale, and lays out the need for reforms. If you haven’t already, be sure to read Part 1: On the Media, in which executive director Carl Fisher lays out this recent experience with the media in greater detail.

Setting the Record Straight on State Oil and Gas Leasing

There’s that common saying, that wildlife don’t know political or human-made boundaries. The complicated matrix of Wyoming land ownership can vex people, too — making it all the more important that we work together to build common-sense plans and policies to protect our uniquely Wyoming values.

Wyoming is not immune to major challenges for wildlife and occasionally, we see the threat of short-sighted development that warrants bold action to prevent it. Recent articles penned by Cowboy State Daily reporter Pat Maio paint a misleading picture of WOC’s involvement in state oil and gas lease sales, while taking as fact the lone perspective of industry. In an effort to provide transparency and factual information to the public, we at the Wyoming Outdoor Council would like to set the record straight. 

Though we are not against oil and gas leasing or other forms of industrial development, most people can agree that some places are just too special to develop. That was the case with ‘parcel 194’ in the Office of State Lands and Investments’ July 2023 oil and gas lease sale. The 640-acre tract of land is located squarely in a bottleneck portion of the Sublette Pronghorn migration corridor, a pinch-point that is vital to the herd’s seasonal movements.

Many Wyomingites know the story of how nearly 50 percent of the Sublette herd perished during the winter of 2023 — dropping from an estimated 43,000 animals to 24,000. That’s why we were alarmed when the state offered a development lease directly in this incredibly sensitive habitat for pronghorn. After raising our concerns with state leadership, the auction went forward with parcel 194 included, and without any stipulations in place to protect migratory big game. Left with no other options and the threat of future development in this sensitive habitat, we decided to participate in the oil and gas lease auction. 

Parcels offered in OSLI’s July 2023 oil and gas lease sale, overlaid with migratory data for the Sublette Pronghorn herd. Each yellow line represents a single radio-collared animal’s journey between summer and winter range. Parcels offered are bordered in blue; parcel 194 is visible at the bottom of the image. (Image: The Wilderness Society)

We did not take this action lightly nor is it a standard practice for WOC. In our eyes, our bid was an effort to demonstrate that we could still produce revenue for our state while also preserving important wildlife habitat. It was not an effort to “drive up prices” or start a “bidding war,” as falsely mischaracterized in Cowboy State Daily’s articles. Regardless, we were not the high bidder for the parcel, and we turned our efforts toward the State Board of Land Commissioners, urging them not to issue the lease. 

Despite having the support of both OSLI and the Wyoming Game and Fish Department for a new protective stipulation for the parcel, and hearing from hundreds of Wyomingites who wrote in opposition to leasing the ground in the first place, the Board issued the lease as-is — without any considerations for migratory pronghorn. 

The story of parcel 194 represents a larger issue within the system of state trust lands: There is no clear alternative to protect key habitat or other values from development, while also respecting the mandate to provide revenue for state trust beneficiaries. Given there is great interest from the public in how state lands are used (think Casper Mountain or Munger Mountain), we hope our state leaders are listening and will commit to solving this very real problem.

The recent changes to defining “qualified bidders” in state oil and gas lease sales brings into question how the Board of Land Commissioners makes decisions on state lands leases. Take for example that according to testimony from OSLI in a February 2024 legislative committee hearing, only 27 percent of state land oil and gas leases ever make it to production. Does that sound like a system that is fulfilling the Board’s constitutional charge of optimizing revenue?

Also important to note, the Board has full discretion in their duty to protect and care for all state lands This includes the ability to withdraw lands to protect economic or environmental interests. In addition to what conservation groups may be willing to pay for protecting a parcel, what is the long-term value of protecting the most sensitive habitat for thousands of migrating pronghorn?

The Wyoming Outdoor Council has always been committed to finding common-sense solutions to any issue that we work on. That’s why we’ve been calling for increased screening for conservation conflicts before sensitive habitat is leased, as well as urging state leaders and OSLI to develop a formal conservation leasing program. We believe the state can, and should, do better to address these known conflicts with other values.

Oil and gas production on state lands is undoubtedly a primary driver of revenue for our schools and other public institutions, and we respect that. But that shouldn’t preclude us from discovering new avenues to conserve important habitat on state lands and monetize them for the beneficiaries in a sustainable manner.

Using a word recently penned to describe our advocacy, the real “shenanigans” being played are by those who, on occasion, would rather sell out our wildlife for short-term gains. Rest assured, we’ll keep seeking solutions and advocating for conservation of the things that make Wyoming such a special place. We invite anyone who cares about healthy landscapes, clean air, clean water, and wildlife to join us in those efforts.

Alec Underwood is the program director for the Wyoming Outdoor Council. He resides in Lander.

Banner Image: © Scott Copeland Images

Field Notes


YOU REALLY CAN’T BELIEVE EVERYTHING YOU READ: DIRECTORS’ MESSAGES ON RECENT PRESS, PT. 1 OF 2

Posted on by Carl Fisher

DIRECTORS’ MESSAGES ON RECENT PARCEL 194 PRESS, PART 1: ON THE MEDIA

Recent press concerning the Wyoming Outdoor Council’s efforts to protect critical pronghorn migratory habitat has caused a bit of a stir in certain circles — and we’d like to set the record straight with an important message for the WOC community and other Wyomingites.

In this first part of a two-part message, WOC’s executive director, Carl Fisher, lays out a recent experience we had with the media. Be sure to also read Part 2: On the Ground, in which program director Alec Underwood responds substantively on issues concerning parcel 194 and needed reforms for leasing of state lands.

You really can’t believe everything you read

For one Wyoming media outlet, the state’s Fourth of July celebrations must have fallen short,  because it decided to set off some fireworks of its own. Unfortunately, their bombastic display was itself pretty short on substance — being composed instead of the sorts of fictions that only exist in the imagination. As such, the Wyoming Outdoor Council was the undeserving recipient of what you might describe as an industry hit job. The result? WOC will no longer respond to media inquiries from Cowboy State Daily, until trust can be restored and these issues resolved. 

The issue erupted around a well-known news story from last year, about WOC going to great lengths to protect a state parcel within the Sublette Pronghorn migration corridor — including bidding on parcel 194. Subsequently, in this past Legislative Budget Session, an industry-initiated bill, HB141, directed modification of administrative rules defining what constitutes a “qualified bidder” in state oil and gas lease sales, and directed the Office of State Land and Investments to develop criteria for qualified bidders. The bill was passed and signed by the governor on March 8, 2024. From what we can tell, Governor Gordon recently put through an emergency order in an effort to enact the legislated policy (which had yet to take effect), due to pressure from industry and fear-mongering that “billionaires” and “activists” would wreak havoc on the auction. WOC, for one, had no intentions of this, and the media firestorm created by the Petroleum Association and Kirkwood Cos. could have been resolved with a simple phone call, as we frequently do for them.

For years, WOC and other wildlife and conservation organizations have had concerns about development of land, which lies directly in the path of migrating Sublette Pronghorn. These concerns became urgent in July 2023, when parcel 194 was put on the auction block for leasing. WOC did, in fact, legally bid on parcel 194 in last year’s July auction. WOC is not fundamentally against leasing for oil and gas, or the auction process for that matter. Just as oil and gas wishes there was better guidance around what constitutes a qualified bidder, we believe the state has an obligation to develop better guidance around which state parcels should be leased for development, and which should be protected for their importance for wildlife and other irreplaceable environmental attributes. 

According to Cowboy State Daily, WOC “duped” oil and gas companies during this auction and our sole intent was to drive up costs, play shenanigans, and start a bidding war. The titles and subtitles of the articles were bad, really bad, and the accusations of the reporter about WOCs intentions were malicious. Here are the reporter’s own words: “There’s a lot of disdain, I’m finding out, for the Wyoming Outdoor Council because they’ve gotten to the point now where, I mean, theoretically, you know, if you’re taking leases out of the hands of oil and gas companies, that hurts education in Wyoming, right? Because a lot of that money, that royalty money goes directly to education.” We think Cowboy State Daily was duped into carrying water for industry in penning these biased and one-sided articles. The reporter’s own bias clearly comes through in his words.

Over the course of several days (July 4–8), four articles (three written and one video) were published. As the situation developed, I had a very pleasant call with the editor of Cowboy State Daily, who ultimately agreed to modify the headlines, bylines, and add an accompanying editor’s note, and I look forward to working with them over the coming weeks and months to build trust. On one hand, I sympathize: The issues we and media outlets work on are complex and require a level of policy wonkiness I wouldn’t wish upon most people. Expeditiously translating these into the public vernacular is more an art than a science. On the other, it is the job of the media to report the facts, and Cowboy State Daily is, as its name implies, a daily — meaning the damaging and false narrative that was perpetuated is impossible to unsee. I remind my staff that you can’t un-ring a bell, and that it’s virtually impossible to put a bullet back into the barrel. Honesty and integrity are vital to our kindling of the public trust and our way of accomplishing our mission.

The irony is that Cowboy State Daily’s accusations lack basic understanding of the system that is set up to fund schools and a dozen or so other entities that benefit Wyoming citizens. And to put a bid in during an auction naturally increases the cost for the next person. We’d welcome Pat Maio, Pete Obermueller, and Steve Degenfelder to any livestock auction in the state to show that this is common practice — it’s how auctions work. Further, if another energy company offered up $5 when the last bid was $3, you’d say they were “outbid.” Cowboy State Daily stated that WOC “duped” them. Even the Office of State Land and Investment acknowledged we did nothing wrong. So, it appears the energy industry concocted a media strategy to drag WOC publicly, and Cowboy State Daily took the bait — hook, line and sinker.

Pronghorn and natural gas infrastructure (Image: Theo Stein / USFWS / FlickrCC)

Our intentions in bidding on parcel 194 were two-fold. First, we wanted to protect critical habitat in a migration bottleneck. Second, we sought to demonstrate that conservation interests and values could monetize state lands for beneficiaries. WOC showed up with real money over three times the prior bid. We were proud to try, and sad we failed — not for ourselves, but for the Sublette Pronghorn herd. And at the end of the day, the beneficiaries of state land leases won the day, as they do at any competitive auction that generates revenue for critical programs. Let’s talk about what royalties could and should emerge from a conservation lease. 

So, there is no mechanism for conservation leasing and a rule was just passed that clarifies who can bid on oil and gas lease sales. The amount of bellyaching and press that accompanies state protection of the oil and gas honeyhole — which is now less competitive — is pretty extraordinary. If you want to really generate some revenue for Wyoming’s beneficiaries, it’s time to make lease sales competitive again, and allow a diversity of monied interests to vie for these parcels, be it for energy, conservation, recreation, or one of Wyoming’s many other values in the land. The proof is right there in the pudding: They wanted to get it for $3/acre, we went to $18. Are we promoting auctions for the beneficiaries, or fire sales on Wyoming’s landscapes? We believe we can lease, monetize and protect.

Here’s my promise to the state and energy developers like Kirkwood Cos.: If they’re willing to give up the lease and protect the bottleneck, we’ll cut ’em a check, because we don’t believe you can put a price on the viability of this herd. We get it, energy development is critical to Wyoming, but so too are our wildlife, our water and air, how we manage and lease our land, and for whom. Human and natural systems are complex. Our solutions should not oversimplify the challenges, or else we’re shifting burdens to something else, sometimes unknowingly, but the worst of us do it knowingly and for our own benefit.

At the Wyoming Outdoor Council, we welcome your questions and opinions. As executive director, I encourage them. Your inquiries and ideas (whether from members, partners or media) improve our work. We work to answer them expeditiously, but if you don’t get an answer immediately, we respectfully request that you not fabricate an answer for us. Instead, politely try again, we’ll in turn, reciprocate. We will work to be solutions-oriented, innovative, not positional, pragmatic members of the communities to which we belong and call home.

We felt compelled to share this story because we don’t believe it to be a one-off. It was for me here at WOC, but I’ve heard a number of stories from within and beyond our organization. I look forward to straightening things out with Cowboy State Daily, and frankly with Steve Degenfelder and Pete Obermueller. For more information on what WOC did at the July 2023 lease sale on parcel 194 and what our motivations were, it’s important to read program director Alec Underwood’s piece On the Ground: Setting the Record Straight on State Oil and Gas Leasing.

Carl Fisher is the executive director for the Wyoming Outdoor Council, a statewide organization committed to protecting Wyoming’s environment and quality of life now, and for future generations. Our environment includes land, water, air, wildlife, vegetation, cultural resources, and people — past, present and future.

Banner image: © Scott Copeland Images

Field Notes


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

Posted on by Max Owens

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.

Field Notes


Creating easy passage for wildlife: volunteers modify fences during Stewardship Day

Posted on by Kyle Elmquist

IN A FUN EFFORT TO HELP LOCAL WILDLIFE HABITAT, the Wyoming Outdoor Council teamed up with the Wyoming Wilderness Association and the Bureau of Land Management to host a volunteer stewardship day to improve over a mile and a half of fencing in the Big Sandy foothills outside Boulder, Wyoming. This fence modification project, led by BLM sage-grouse specialist Nate Fronk, offers critical changes to traditional fencing so that pronghorn, mule deer, and Greater sage-grouse can safely pass unharmed. Alongside staff from WOC, WWA, and BLM, six Wyomingites volunteered their Saturday to make this landscape a better place.

Traditional fencing across Wyoming is composed of four barb-wire rows, with the top line at 50 inches and the bottom at 12 inches. Studies show that sage-grouse fly at 50 inches on average, and often collide with the top fence wire, which is a significant contributor to sage-grouse fatalities in the area. Mule deer also have a difficult time jumping over fencing at that height, and pronghorn struggle to duck underneath the bottom line.

Luckily, a few simple alterations can turn this cumbersome barrier into an easy passage. The bottom barb-wire line is replaced with a smooth wire and raised to 18 inches, allowing pronghorn to duck underneath without injury. The top wire is lowered to 40 inches, which dramatically reduces sage grouse fatalities and makes it easier for mule deer to jump over it. While these minor modifications have a huge benefit to local wildlife, it does not compromise any functionality in keeping cattle and livestock where they’re supposed to be.

This is a great example of simple solutions that have a huge impact, making our ecosystems healthier while still serving the needs of our livestock and grazing industries. Thanks to the good work of volunteers, this stretch of fence will no longer endanger our beloved wildlife.

The Wyoming Outdoor Council is always looking for volunteers to help improve our public lands and wildlife habitat. If you’re interested in helping out on a stewardship day or other project, please sign up to receive updates to learn about how you can help maintain Wyoming’s environment and quality of life for future generations.

Field Notes


Bringing oil and gas leasing policies into the 21st century

Posted on by Meghan Riley

THE YEAR 1988 FEELS LIKE A LIFETIME AGO. At the time, the Berlin Wall was still standing, over a million acres in the Greater Yellowstone burned to the ground, and the legal drinking age in Wyoming was 19. It was also the last time the Bureau of Land Management updated the rules that govern its oil and gas leasing program. That’s 35 years without major revisions — which has resulted in an outdated program that threatens the agency’s ability to manage public lands in a way that protects all the uses, including conservation and wildlife values. Thankfully, in July 2023, the BLM took the first steps to change that, publishing a new draft rule to bring its oil and gas leasing program into the 21st century. The rule includes timely improvements that will benefit our public lands and the people of Wyoming in several ways.

The first change is an issue that is close to my heart as the Outdoor Council’s wildlife and public lands advocate. The draft rule takes strides to steer leasing away from lands with little to no potential for oil and gas so that places with important habitat and recreational values can be better managed for those resources. Here in Wyoming, we are blessed with some of the greatest wildlife habitat, blue ribbon fisheries, and untrammeled open spaces in the lower 48. Many of us who live here rely on this surrounding bounty and wouldn’t have it any other way. Unfortunately, when parcels of public lands are proposed for leasing without taking their actual energy potential into account, it allows land speculators to tie up these lands for years, making it difficult for the BLM to manage for other uses, including habitat conservation and recreation. 

For example, areas surrounding Seedskadee National Wildlife Refuge and much of the Red Desert are beset with leases on lands with little to no potential for oil and gas development. Both places have phenomenal value for wildlife and recreationists alike, supporting large herds of ungulates, dense populations of Greater sage-grouse, and opportunities for solitude undreamed of in most of the country. By using new criteria that favor leasing land close to existing development and deprioritizing land with important natural and cultural resources, the new rule better equips the BLM to protect the qualities that make Seedskadee, the Red Desert, and other public lands exceptional.

By using new criteria that favor leasing land close to existing development and deprioritizing land with important natural and cultural resources, the new rule better equips the BLM to protect the qualities that make Seedskadee, the Red Desert, and other public lands exceptional.

In parts of Wyoming where oil and gas leasing and drilling does occur, the new rule would better protect taxpayers and ensure companies pay to clean up after themselves when operations cease. Importantly, the new rule raises federal bonding rates for the first time in decades. At current rates, it’s cheaper for companies to walk away and forfeit the money they put down on a bond rather than plug and reclaim wells. Updated bond rates in the new rule would help quash the orphaned well crisis, protecting the public and promoting landscape health. Moreover, the new rates set forth match those Wyoming has had in place for years to drill on state-owned lands, demonstrating that oil and gas companies can afford to pony up adequate funds for clean-up as part of the cost of doing business.

The new rule would also help Wyoming taxpayers receive a fair return on development taking place on our public lands by modernizing royalty rates, rental rates, and filing fees to reflect the economic realities of today. A 2019 analysis conducted by Taxpayers for Common Sense found that taxpayers lost an estimated $120 million in rental revenue between FY2010 and FY2019 from oil and gas leasing on federal lands in Wyoming, due to previously outdated rental rates. If companies are going to reap the rewards of drilling for oil and gas on public lands, they should be compensating the public properly. The new rule, with provisions to increase royalty rates from 12.5% to 16.67%, will ensure just that.

We all know that oil and gas development plays an important role in Wyoming’s economy and is one of the many uses the BLM manages for on our public lands. Given that, it is gratifying to see the agency moving forward with common-sense reforms that better serve the public and the lands it manages. We have a lot to protect in Wyoming — this draft rule helps us take another step in the right direction.

When it comes to the BLM’s oil and gas program, it’s high time we leave the 1980s behind.

Show your support for the new rule by submitting a public comment to the agency ahead of the September 22 deadline.

Field Notes


How unseen emissions continue to impair air quality in Wyoming’s Upper Green River Basin

Posted on by John Burrows

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.

    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: 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


    Court’s decision on methane rule is win for Wyoming air quality, taxpayers

    Posted on by Lisa McGee
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    On Wednesday, July 15, we received some good news. 

    In a series of challenges that have been ongoing for nearly four years, a federal district court in California found that the Bureau of Land Management illegally repealed a 2016 rule designed to improve air quality, slow the progress of climate change, and provide a fair return for taxpayers by reducing the amount of natural gas lost through leaks, venting, and flaring from oil and gas development on public and tribal lands. 

    The BLM’s 2016 methane waste prevention rule updated 30-year-old regulations regarding the agency’s congressional mandate to prevent waste of publicly owned oil and gas resources. This common-sense and much needed update protects our public lands, air quality, and our health by requiring oil and gas companies to conduct inspections and repair leaks that endanger human health and contribute to climate change. Because the pollution captured is also the product to be sold, these inspections and fixes end up paying for themselves. The rule helps ensure that natural gas owned by the American taxpayers generates revenue for our schools, public infrastructure, and social services, instead of literally being cast to the wind. 

    But oil and gas industry groups — as well as Wyoming, Montana, and North Dakota — challenged the rule. The Wyoming Outdoor Council joined 17 public health, Indigenous rights, and conservation organizations, along with New Mexico and California, to help the BLM defend the rule in Wyoming federal district court. 

    When President Donald Trump was elected, the BLM changed course. At industry’s urging, the BLM first sought to not enforce the rule and then took steps to repeal it altogether. We soon found ourselves on the other side of the courtroom as plaintiffs challenging the BLM’s 2018 “rescission rule.” The court’s decision on Wednesday means that the 2016 rule will be reinstated. 

    While industry lobbying groups will likely challenge the 2016 rule — and we’ll be back in Wyoming district court to defend the rule again — the decision to reinstate it represents a huge victory for common-sense management of a valuable public resource. Notably, during the legal limbo of the past four years, more and more oil and gas companies have voluntarily adopted the requirements of the rule — because they’re cost effective and good PR for an industry under scrutiny for its contributions to climate change. 

    More than $2.5 billion in natural gas has been lost to venting, flaring, or fugitive emissions on public and tribal lands since 2013. This loss also contributes to climate change — methane is a greenhouse gas and a serious contributor to global warming — and releases pollutants such as benzene into the air. 

    As a 53-year old organization, the Wyoming Outdoor Council learned long ago not to rely exclusively on federal administrative rules for lasting policy change. This is a textbook example of why we don’t. The shifting politics of Washington D.C. mean any victories gained under one administration could be on the chopping block during the next. 

    For this reason, even while we sought to defend the BLM’s national rule, we worked tirelessly with the state of Wyoming, the Department of Environmental Quality, and operators here in Wyoming to ensure state-level standards for leak detection and repair of fugitive emissions. In 2018, the DEQ finalized these requirements and they apply statewide in new and modified oil and gas fields. Ultimately, we’d like the state to require the same practices for existing oil and gas fields. 

    Our work to combat climate change, protect public health, and support policies that reduce unnecessary lost revenue for the state of Wyoming will continue and we’ll keep you posted on our progress.

     

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