WildEarth Guardians

Wednesday, January 19, 2011
Clean Air at Risk from Expanded Oil and Gas Drilling Along Colorado's Front Range

WildEarth Guardians Files Suit in Federal Court Over Bureau of Land Management's Authorization of More Drilling Despite Mounting Smog
Contact: Jeremy Nichols (303) 573-4898 x 1303

Denver—WildEarth Guardians today filed suit in federal court to put an end to the Bureau of Land Management’s practice of issuing oil and gas leases in and around Weld County, Colorado in defiance of clean air. 

“The Front Range is in the midst of a smog crisis, yet the Bureau is rubber stamping more drilling,” said Jeremy Nichols, Climate and Energy Program Director for WildEarth Guardians.  “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, in late 2009, the agency leased 12 parcels in Weld and Morgan Counties, totaling more than 3,680 acres, without addressing and limiting harmful air pollution.

In early 2010, WildEarth Guardians put the Bureau of Land Management on notice of its illegal actions, yet the agency never responded or made any effort to fix the problem.  In today’s lawsuit, WildEarth Guardians is challenging the Bureau of Land Management's failure to safeguard air quality and comply with the Clean Air Act.  Under the Clean Air Act, the Bureau could be assessed penalties of $37,500 for every day the agency violated the law.

“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, ozone forming 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 many coal-fired power plants release.

Today’s lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado.