Daniel, Wyo.
Perry Walker’s galaxy had vanished.
By 2000, the amateur astronomer could no longer see his favorite celestial body – the Sombrero Galaxy, a flat dish of gases and dust, with a radiant core of stars equal to 800 billion suns.
“At first, I thought I was looking in the wrong place, and then I realized, no, it’s there, you just can’t see it,” said Walker, who returned to Wyoming in 1991 after a career in the U.S. Air Force.
What Walker could see, however, was an orange glow rising from nearby Jonah Field, where more than 1,000 wells are tapping natural-gas deposits.
Now EnCana Corp., Canada’s biggest oil company, wants to drill another 3,100 wells in Jonah Field, raising concerns that more than the Sombrero Galaxy may disappear.
From Wyoming to Colorado to New Mexico, state and federal officials say air pollution may be the first wide-scale environmental impact of the West’s energy boom.
Under one federal analysis, Pinedale, about 32 miles northeast of Jonah, could see about 21 hazy days a year as a result of increased activity in Jonah.
The haze, in a worst-case scenario, could reach Yellowstone National Park, more than 130 miles to the north.
“I couldn’t wait to return to Wyoming and its glorious night sky,” Walker said. “But it’s just not the same anymore.”
The western Wyoming hills aren’t the only place that has been affected:
In Weld County, Colorado environment officials estimated pollutants from gas-field tanks were responsible for about one-fourth of the Denver area’s volatile organic compounds – a prime ingredient in smog.
In the Four Corners region, New Mexico and Colorado regulators have identified oil and gas operators as sources of increasing ozone in rural counties and declining visibility at Mesa Verde National Park.
In western Colorado’s Piceance Basin, studies show nitrogen-oxide levels are increasing. The Colorado Oil and Gas Commission expects to approve more than 2,100 permits in Garfield County this year, a 33 percent increase from last year.
The Colorado Front Range’s Wattenberg Field was one of the first places oil and gas development was linked to a decline in air quality.
In 2000, rising Front Range ozone levels led the state health department to check emissions in the field, which holds about 12,000 wells – more than Saudi Arabia.
“We always knew about the emissions but were quite surprised by the magnitude,” said Mike Silverstein, planning manager for the state Air Pollution Control Division.
Division scientists determined that burps of vapor from storage tanks were responsible for about 150 tons a day of volatile organic compounds.
The state required oil and gas operators in the nine-county Front Range region to install emission-control equipment.
State environmental regulators say the equipment paid off last summer as the Denver area was able to meet federal ozone rules.
Still, oil and gas operators aren’t convinced the changes to the tanks made a difference.
“I think the jury is still out,” said Ken Wonstolen, attorney for the Colorado Oil and Gas Association.
In the Jonah Field – with 13.5 trillion cubic feet of gas reserves worth an estimated $6 billion in taxes to local, state and federal governments – the federal Environmental Protection Agency has proposed a slower pace for drilling unless emissions are cut by 80 percent.
EnCana officials say new technologies will achieve that goal. The company is testing a $9.5 million natural-gas-fired rig that officials say could curtail emissions by more than 90 percent.
“I’d say (when) we get another well or two under our belt, we’ll make a decision,” said Jeff Johnson, EnCana’s Jonah team leader. “But we’re definitely seeing favorable results already.”
Johnson said the company also has been able to reduce flaring – the burning of excess gas – reducing pollutants by about 90 percent.
EnCana officials dispute the findings of the federal Bureau of Land Management Jonah air analysis, saying it relies on overly conservative and sometimes inaccurate information.
Monitors placed in the 23,500-acre field by the Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality, which has among the strictest air standards in the West, show emissions levels below federal standards.
“Monitoring provides real data and, we believe, tells us what’s really going on,” said Robin Smith, an EnCana consultant.
Views of the nearby Wind River Mountains, however, are already vanishing, said Linda Baker, director of the Upper Green River Valley Coalition, a Pine dale-based environmental group.
“This fight over the Jonah Field is about the very reason why we live here,” said Baker, a Pinedale resident for 25 years. “If it weren’t for those mountains out there, we might as well live in Kansas.”
Walker – an Air Force physicist who worked on heat-seeking missiles – bought a $3,500 spectrometer to measure well flaring. While not sensitive enough to pick up nitrogen oxides, Baker’s device shows potassium, sodium and lithium in the flares’ smoke.
While lauding EnCana for cutting down flares, Walker said other operators in a nearby field still burn off excess gas.
“What it all boils down to is there is no one silver bullet,” Walker said. “It’s going to take an investment into several different kinds of technologies to make a difference.”
In the Four Corners, the air- quality issue is just emerging as drilling focuses on natural-gas and coal-bed-methane deposits in the San Juan Basin.
Environmental regulators last year formed a task force to tackle the area’s air-quality problems, including haze and ozone pollution.
At Mesa Verde National Park, ozone levels came close to exceeding federal standards last summer. Visibility in the park also has been declining in recent years.
The region’s air problems are complicated by new coal-fired power plants and drifting pollution from other states, environmental officials say.
Mary Uhl, manager of the New Mexico Air Quality Bureau, said the state is assessing emissions from the well heads used to extract shallow deposits of coal-bed methane gas.
“Many of these small facilities do not fall under the provisions of an air permit,” Uhl said. “They’re kind of like your lawn mower. You know they produce emissions, but most people don’t worry about it.
“But when you think about adding 10,000 lawn mowers, well then it becomes a little overwhelming.”
Back in Wyoming, Walker continues to count gas-field flares and says he hopes more companies start using emissions-reducing equipment.
“The companies have absolutely no excuse for not investing in technology,” Walker said. “Just look at their profit margins.”
Staff writer Kim McGuire can be reached at 303-820-1240 or kmcguire@denverpost.com.
