Western Wyoming: from wildland to wasteland?
Posted June 14, 2011 in Health and the Environment, Saving Wildlife and Wild Places
The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is reviewing a proposal for what has been called a "massive" natural gas project in western Wyoming. The project could involve more than than 4,000 new gas wells, interfering with important habitat for mule deer and sage grouse populations -- species that have already suffered significant declines due to energy development in the area.
This project would take place in the Upper Green River Valley of Wyoming. This area used to be among Wyoming's wildest and most pristine landscapes. Now it is home to some of the worst air quality in the nation and groundwater contaminated with the carcinogen benzene. Residents report serious health symptoms including respiratory problems, burning eyes, and nosebleeds.
Government officials have not been able to reduce current air pollution to safe levels, so it is not clear how air pollution will be controlled with any new development, much less 4,000 wells. Even so, taxpayer dollars are being spent to forge ahead with plans for more drilling that will hasten Wyoming's path from wildland to wasteland.
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Comments
WyoBlue — Jun 15 2011 01:36 PM
There are currently around 3,500 wells proposed over the 150,000 acre area. The actual scope of the development of the field won't be known until the ROD from the BLM comes out in a few years - after all the environmental assessment work is done. Let's not get ahead of ourselves. While the area is, I guess. in the "Upper Green," the field is a sage desert more than 40 miles south of Pinedale and hardly qualifies as pristine - which is not an excuse to drill there, don't get me wrong, but it's certainly better than proposed drilling in a place like the Hoback. We need energy - let's get it from the more resilient landscapes and not people's backyards in PA. Supposed health concerns in the area are a cause for concern, but having lived here for more than a decade I have yet to meet anyone that has experienced any trouble. Good thing reporters are good at finding the handful.
David Orr — Jun 15 2011 07:08 PM
Wyoming is already being slammed more than any state should by gas development. I disagree with the view of WyoBlue (above) that a low-population area is by definition more acceptable for environmentally damaging practices by dint of its population density (excepting places of outstanding beauty). The Pinedale area suffers from serious air pollution from oil and gas yet it's there are probably more wellheads per square mile in Sublette County than people.
I appreciate that fewer people are impacted by a given amount of smog around Pinedale than would be around Dimock PA. My point is that we should not be willing to grant permission to such activities on the basis of their proximity to population centers. The open spaces of the West have seen much destructive development justified on the basis of their being seen as "national sacrifice areas." This can be seen also as a result of the Not In My Backyard approach to land use planning. The correct response, in my view, is to question whether the 4000 gas wells planned for Wyoming are needed in the first place. Now that we have a growing body of evidence that gas and fracking in particular have a much higher carbon and pollution footprint than was previously known, it's a valid point of investigation to question whether the electricity that would be created by burning the gas to be produced in Wyoming might better be generated by solar or wind power.
Utah Pro — Jun 17 2011 02:43 PM
We are way past the point of advocating for sage grouse territory because our federal government has enabled and even encouraged the systematic poisoning and thus murders of millions of Americans. Thank you for addressing human health in this article. We are facing these issues in Utah as well and also a looming tar sands/ oil shale project as well as a huge strip mining increase by Rio Tinto who causes almost 30% of our air pollution. Most days it seems that there is no end to human stupidity.
Carol Dailey — Jun 17 2011 03:42 PM
Why, oh why, can't we get it through our thick skulls, that we must, must, stop destroying our nation. I enjoy looking into the woods daily. How this would be missed, if we don't preserve more. I pray for wisdom, and guidence.