WildEarth Guardians

Wednesday, November 26, 2014
Clean Air in Western U.S. at Risk from Fracking

New Smog Limits Proposed by Environmental Protection Agency Promise to Protect Public Health from Oil and Gas Pollution
Contact: Jeremy Nichols (303) 437-7663

Denver – New limits on smog proposed today by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency expose the toll that fracking is taking on clean air in the American West and the need to rein in pollution from oil and gas development throughout the region.

“Today’s proposal is a big step forward in keeping people safe from air pollution,” said Jeremy Nichols, WildEarth Guardians’ Climate and Energy Program Director.  “With the American West under siege by smog, these limits give renewed hope that we’re on track to rein in fracking pollution and safegaurd our health.”

The proposal from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency would establish a new standard limiting the allowable amount of ground-level ozone, the key ingredient of smog, in the air we breathe.  The Clean Air Act, which provides bedrock protection for air quality, requires the agency to set a standard based solely on what is needed to protect public health.

Currently, standards limit smog to concentrations to no more than 75 parts per billion.  Today’s proposal would lower the standard to between 65 and 70 parts per billion.

Under a new standard as low as 65 parts per billion, virtually all major oil and gas producing regions of the western U.S. would be in violation.  The Environmental Protection Agency’s proposal indicates southeastern New Mexico, the Four Corners region of Colorado and New Mexico, parts of western Colorado, much of Wyoming, and northeastern Utah.

A map prepared by WildEarth Guardians illustrates the overlap between high ozone areas and major oil and gas producing regions.

“There’s no other way to put it, fracking is fueling dangerous levels of smog, choking the West and it’s wide open spaces,” said Nichols. “New ozone limits promise to restore clean air and curb this harmful pollution.”

The proposal comes as science and health advisors to the Environmental Protection Agency have recommended for nearly a decade that limits on ground-level ozone be reduced to as low as 60 parts per billion in order to protect public health.

The economic benefits of a stronger limit on smog are reported to be as high as $31 billion annually, with new standards projected to prevent 180,000 lost work days and more than four million days of missed school for children. The rules also stand to prevent thousands of premature deaths. 

“These proposed ozone limits herald an unprecedented opportunity for our nation to reap enormous economic and public health benefits,” said Nichols. “Less smog isn’t just good for public health, it’s good for business.”

Formed when pollution from smokestacks, tailpipes, and oil and gas operations reacts with sunlight, ground-level ozone is lethal at high concentrations. At low concentrations, the poisonous gas can trigger asthma attacks, send kids and seniors to the hospital, and permanently scar the lungs of active adults.

Although normally a summertime problem, in the western U.S., ozone has become a wintertime problem due to the recent surge in fracking pollution.  Studies have definitively linked fracking operations with high ozone in areas like the Uinta Basin of northeastern Utah, the Upper Green River Basin in western Wyoming, and the Denver Metro/Front Range region of Colorado.

The Environmental Protection Agency is under a court order to finalize its proposed standard by October 1, 2015.  The agency’s proposal today kicks off a public comment period and an aggressive public outreach effort.