Two environmental groups are challenging a plan to allow gas drilling in a remote region of the White River National Forest, but unlike previous challenges, which have mostly focused on the impacts on the ground, this one is focusing on impacts to the air.
Carbondale-based Wilderness Workshop and the Natural Resources Defense Council have filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Denver, arguing that the two federal agencies charged with approving gas drilling in far-flung Hell’s Gulch failed to take into account the threat of worsening air quality as a result of more gas wells.
The lawsuit strikes at the heart of one of the thorniest issues surrounding the boom in western Colorado’s natural gas industry. Some residents have complained about foul odors and health effects. Air monitors have shown rising levels of airborne chemicals that appear to be due to the spreading landscape of wells, waste pits and condensate tanks, but exactly how much effect they have had is hard to quantify.
The Hell’s Gulch project is proposed for a remote spot south of Silt, close to where Pitkin, Garfield and Mesa counties join. Environmentalists have sought to keep the region free from roads because of its unique position as a wildlife corridor connecting the Crystal and Colorado River valleys.
“As a result of rapidly expanding oil and gas exploration and production, air pollution in the communities of Colorado’s Western Slope has dramatically worsened,” the groups wrote in their lawsuit, which was filed by attorneys for the NRDC in Washington and the Earthjustice Legal Defense Fund in Denver. “Monitoring of air quality in the area, such as in nearby Garfield County, has documented high levels of ozone. Health officials have become increasingly concerned about the harmful effects of the drilling rigs, compressor stations, dehydrators and diesel trucks that accompany oil and gas drilling. In addition, the pristine air of the wilderness and ski areas in the nearby mountains has rapidly deteriorated.”
The lawsuit, filed Oct. 31, accuses the Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management of violating the Clean Air Act and other regulations when it allowed Plains Exploration and Production Co. to drill up to 45 gas wells on six pads, cut roads and bring in pipelines, tanks and dehydrator units last May. It says the agencies failed to take into account the cumulative impacts of these wells with others spreading across the region.
Both the NRDC and Wilderness Workshop had unsuccessfully filed administrative appeals of the decision.
“The landscape is quickly becoming industrialized as drill rigs move in, bulldozers blade new roads, and new pipelines crisscross the hills and streambeds,” the attorneys wrote. “Places like Silt, Rifle and Parachute are losing their small-town appeal.”
The environmental groups argue that along with increased revenue to Western Slope communities, the gas boom is bringing increased water and air pollution, including a rise in ozone and particulate matter, impacting both health and views. Air monitors have shown high ozone levels, they said, and reduced visibility in nearby wilderness areas.
A recent Garfield County health study found no “health crisis” due to the gas boom, but researchers said the rise in chemicals may be causing some residents to get sick. Air monitors throughout the county generally found fairly low levels of airborne chemicals, with some notable spikes near gas wells, which researchers said might cause illness.
A Forest Service analysis found the Maroon Bells-Snowmass Wilderness Area, downwind from the gas boom, could see 98 days a year with unacceptable visibility.
In its analysis of the Hell’s Gulch proposal, the Forest Service found no significant impact would come from the wells. The finding followed a 2005 request to drill from Laramie Energy. That company transferred the leases to Plains Exploration and Production two years later. The Forest Service approved the request, with some provisions to protect steep slopes and views, and temporary closures to protect big-game migration.
In its review, the Forest Service acknowledged the cumulative impact of emissions from gas wells and power plants could mean “substantial adverse air quality effects” on nearby wilderness areas, but it found the contributions from the Hell’s Gulch project would be minimal.
dfrey@aspendailynews.com