WildEarth Guardians

Tuesday, July 14, 2009
Citizens' Groups Call for Clean Air in Fremont County, Wyoming

Petition Filed Challenging Air Pollution Permit for Oil and Gas Company's Natural Gas Processing Plant; Groups Urge Wyoming DEQ to Follow Through With Air Monitoring, Emission Controls
Contact: WildEarth Guardians

PAVILLION, Wyo. - A coalition of citizens’ groups have petitioned the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to overturn an air pollution permit allowing EnCana Oil and Gas to jeopardize public health while operating the Pavillion natural gas processing plant. The groups have also called on the Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) to follow through with a commitment to monitor air quality and require emission controls.

“The Pavillion natural gas processing plant is endangering clean air and healthy communities,” said Jeremy Nichols, Climate and Energy Program Director for WildEarth Guardians. “We need stronger safeguards and we need the DEQ to follow through with its commitment to protect the safety of the residents of the Pavillion area.”

The Pavillion natural gas processing plant is located near the town of Pavillion, a ranching community 30 miles northwest of Riverton in Fremont County. The area has experienced a recent resurgence in oil and gas drilling, leading to increased air pollution and concerns over the health and safety of the community.

On July 2, WildEarth Guardians, Pavillion Area Concerned Citizens, and Powder River Basin Resource Council petitioned the Administrator of the EPA in Washington, D.C. to overturn an air pollution permit issued by the DEQ for the Pavillion natural gas processing plant. The processing plant, operated by EnCana Oil and Gas, annually releases 281.8 tons of smog forming nitrogen oxide gases and 21.3 tons of toxic air pollution, including benzene, a known carcinogen.

The petition challenges the failure of the DEQ to keep air pollution below unhealthy levels, to require monitoring of all harmful air emissions, and to address the cumulative air quality impacts of oil and gas drilling in the Pavillion area. Several hundred natural gas wells supply the processing plant. Although these wells are integral to the operation of the processing plant and collectively contribute to air quality problems, they were ignored by the DEQ.

“We need a strong permit that ensures full protection of our health and welfare,” said Deb Thomas with the Pavillion Area Concerned Citizens and the Powder River Basin Resource Council. “Sadly, the permit for the Pavillion natural gas processing plant falls short.”

Following the petition, the groups called on the DEQ to follow through with a commitment to install air quality monitors and emission controls in Fremont County. The letter, submitted on July 3, follows an April DEQ visit to the Pavillion area, which was prompted by increasing citizen concerns over degrading air quality and public health risks.

The air pollution permit for the Pavillion natural gas processing plant was issued under Title V of the Clean Air Act. Under Title V, permits are issued by states, but citizens can petition the EPA to veto them if they fail to meet the Clean Air Act. In the case of the Pavillion natural gas processing plant, the permit fails to meet key safeguards under the Clean Air Act.

The groups’ call for cleaner air comes as oil and gas operations in Wyoming are increasingly degrading clean air and threatening public health. Oil and gas drilling operations in neighboring Sublette County, Wyoming have been responsible for pushing ground-level ozone levels above federal health standards. Ozone is a corrosive gas and the key ingredient of smog. It can trigger asthma attacks and permanently scar lungs.

Under the Clean Air Act, the Administrator of the EPA has 60 days to grant or deny the petition. A copy of the petition and letter can be obtained from Jeremy Nichols, jnichols@wildearthguardians.org or Deb Thomas, dthomas@nemontel.net.

To view the petition, you can also click here.