WildEarth Guardians

Wednesday, February 11, 2009
WildEarth Guardians Challenges Failure of BLM to Protect Clean Air Along Colorado Front Range

Despite Mounting Smog, Bureau of Land Management Plowing Ahead to Authorize More Drilling
Contact: WildEarth Guardians

DENVER - In spite of the region's mounting air quality problems, the Bureau of Land Management is pushing ahead to lease more than 3,680 acres for oil and gas drilling along Colorado's Front Range. The push comes as the agency has deferred oil and gas leasing throughout western Colorado on the basis of environmental concerns.

"The Front Range is in the midst of a smog crisis, yet the Bureau is blindly plowing ahead with more drilling," said Jeremy Nichols, Climate and Energy Program Director for WildEarth Guardians. "While the agency is deferring leasing in western Colorado, they're letting the Front Range choke on smog."

The nine county Front Range region-from Douglas County north to Larimer and Weld counties-is already in violation of federal health standards for ozone, the key ingredient of smog. Ozone is a corrosive gas that can irritate and scar the lungs and trigger asthma attacks. It forms when volatile gases and engine exhaust react with sunlight.

Special requirements under the Clean Air Act require the Bureau of Land Management to ensure its actions do not make the Front Range's ozone problem worse than it already is. Despite this, the agency is pushing to lease 12 parcels totaling more than 3,680 acres without addressing and limiting harmful air pollution.

On January 27, 2009, WildEarth Guardians and other groups filed a protest challenging the Bureau of Land Management's failure to safeguard air quality and comply with the Clean Air Act. Yet the agency announced yesterday it plans to sell the rights to drill these areas this Thursday, February 12.

"It's time for the Bureau of Land Management to start taking clean air seriously. They need to be a part of solving our smog problem," said Nichols. "This is about looking before leaping; before the agency sells away the rights to drill for oil and gas, they need to address the air quality impacts and adopt measures that limit harmful pollution."

The agency's push to lease more of the Front Range for oil and gas drilling threatens to make the region's air quality problems worse. Although many sources of air pollution contribute to the region's ozone problem, oil and gas drilling operations are a major source of ozone forming pollution. According to the State of Colorado, oil and gas operations release nearly 40% of all volatile gases and more than 10% of the region's engine exhaust.

And while the State of Colorado has adopted some rules to limit pollution from oil and gas operations, a number of sources fall outside the rules. For example, air pollution from drill rig engines is not limited, yet they release more than 3,000 tons of ozone forming pollution just in Weld County-more pollution than most coal-fired power plants release.