EPA Agrees To Review Oil And Gas Pollution Standards After Lawsuit

DENVER — Federal officials have agreed to review air pollution standards for oil and gas operations to decide if they need to be updated.

The proposed settlement of a complaint by two environmental groups calls for the Environmental Protection Agency to start the review in January 2011. The settlement needs court approval.

WildEarth Guardians and the San Juan Citizens Alliance filed a complaint in January saying the EPA hasn't updated air quality standards for oil and gas development despite increased activity. The groups also want the EPA to set standards for pollutants not currently regulated, including greenhouse gases.

The Denver-based Independent Petroleum Association of Mountain States, a trade group, says the industry has worked hard to reduce its emissions.

Comments

[mizwell]

11:46 AM on 12/09/2009

Yes siree, let's all congratulate the members of Denver's Independent Petroleum Association of Mountain States for extreme efforts to reduce their emissions out here in the West. I heard they have all agreed to switch from baked beans to foi de grais and truffles.

Great job boys. Thanks for your sacrifice on the public's behalf.

A real thanks to WEG and SJCA for helping protect the treasure that is our American West.

[wadenelson1]

08:24 PM on 12/08/2009

We've got the San Juan oil and gas fields here in SW Colorado / Northern New Mexico.

There are literally THOUSANDS of diesel powered compressors pumping the gas to the refineries, and on to your home. None of them have advanced emissions controls like you would find on a Ford Superduty, with a particulate trap, NOX catalyst, and so forth.

They run 24x7x365, aside from breakdowns.

As a result Farmington NM is often blanketed in a brown haze, the result of all these compressors AND three nearby coal fired power plants --- some of the dirtiest in the nation, the result of lax EPA rules on power plants on "sovereign nations" --- read: Navajo reservation.

Driving down from Durango Colorado to a job in Farmington every day for almost two years, I got a bird's eye view of the "brown blanket."

There's no REAL reason, other than SLIGHT additional cost, all these compressors can't be as clean as your new truck, which hardly spits any emissions whatsoever.

The power plants are making progress--- slowly --- at cleaning up their act. But if you believe in "Clean Coal" come stand downwind awhile.