Some Laramie County residents recently submitted a letter to the state, requesting that an air quality monitor be moved to better reflect the air they are breathing in.
For years, a group of concerned Laramie County residents, known as the Cheyenne Area Landowners Coalition (CALC,) have worried about how expanding oil and gas development could be affecting their air. In response, Wyoming’s Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) set up a temporary air quality monitor in the county this year, but CALC insists it is too far away from their homes and the oil and gas development, which are nestled together just east of Cheyenne.
CALC has now officially submitted a letter to the DEQ, requesting the location be changed.
“They want the recognition that as you get closer to oil and gas development, air pollution is higher,” said Katherine Stahl, an organizer with the Powder River Basin Resource Council, which represents CALC. “So with the monitor being so far away, it might not be picking up on sort of the air quality that people are actually experiencing where they live.”
Right now, the monitor is about 10 miles away from the main area residents are concerned about. So far, the monitor is not showing any alarming results, but again, CALC says that is because it is too far away.
The monitor tests for several greenhouse gasses, like methane and nitrogen oxide, that are linked to oil and gas development. If those gasses are found at high levels they can be dangerous to humans. Stahl said residents have noticed related symptoms.
“People are experiencing persisting respiratory problems, neurological health issues and gastrointestinal health issues,” Stahl said.
There is another permanent air quality monitor north of town, but CALC says that it is also too far away and that it is upwind of the development.
Notably, the annual American Lung Association air quality report did downgrade Cheyenne from its 2021 ‘A’ grade to a failing grade in 2022.
The DEQ has not responded to the group yet.
