DURANGO, Colo.—An additional 770 natural gas wells on the Southern Ute Indian reservation in southwest Colorado won’t have significant effects on wildlife and the environment, including air quality, a federal review found.
Oil and gas drilling and emissions from coal-fired power plants in the Four Corners area are to blame for ozone pollution that has New Mexico state officials concerned about exceeding federal standards, environmentalists said.
But federal officials said computer models show that new wells with the latest technology wouldn’t significantly increase the area pollution. The decision, made earlier this month, can be appealed.
There are more than 30,000 gas and oil wells in the San Juan Basin, home to one of the country’s largest natural gas fields. The basin is in southwest Colorado and northwest New Mexico and includes the Southern Ute reservation.
New Mexico air quality officials said in February that air quality in the northwest corner of the state wasn’t meeting the federal government’s new, more stringent standard for ozone pollution.
Ground-level ozone is a key component of smog and is a health risk for children and people with respiratory problems. It forms when the sun bakes pollutants such as vehicle exhaust and vapors from everything from paint cans to oil and gas wells.
Josh Joswick of the San Juan Citizens Alliance, an environmental group, said compliance with the tougher air-quality standards will be critical for minimizing the impact of the new wells.
“We are talking about a significant number of wells adding to an air shed that is on the very edge of being in noncompliance,” Joswick said.
There are about 1,300 wells on the Southern Ute reservation. The U.S. Bureau of Land Management, the Bureau of Indian Affairs and the tribe share responsibility for regulating drilling.
The wells extract natural gas from coal beds. Groundwater is pumped out to release the pressure that traps the gas in coal seams.
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Information from: Durango Herald,
