Environmental groups are urging the Bureau of Land Management to quickly develop a plan for preventing future groundwater pollution in the Pinedale Anticline gas fields.

The BLM released a report this week that said groundwater contamination in the area was mostly not a result of natural gas production. But Bruce Pendery with the Wyoming Outdoor Council says regulators still need to be vigilant in preventing potential future problems.

“Oil and gas development uses a wide array of chemicals, some of them quite toxic – known carcinogens and that kind of thing,” Pendery said. “And so I think care – the precautionary principal, if you will – should continue to really guide mitigation efforts out there.”

The BLM says it will draft a new plan for monitoring and dealing with future groundwater issues in the area. The agency has not said when that plan will be finalized.