Wyoming has to reimagine how it regulates a pollutant from oil and gas operations, per new federal government rules. The state is holding a series of public meetings this month to hear suggestions.
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is requiring the oil and gas industry to dramatically cut methane emissions – which are a top contributor to climate change. This will apply to both new and existing production sources. The agency’s goal is to curb impacts from climate change both for human and the environment’s health.
Each state is getting some flexibility on how they want to regulate methane. So, Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality’s Amber Potts said they’re looking to residents.
“We are all ears. We really want to make this work for Wyoming,” Potts said.
A series of public meetings are happening across the state this month. The dates and locations are as follows, with more details here:
- Oct. 15, Pinedale
- Oct. 16, Lander
- Oct. 21, Douglas
- Oct. 23, Gillette
- Oct. 25, Cody
- Oct. 31, Virtual via Zoom
“We need folks throughout the state that have expertise in oil and gas that just want to have input in the process,” Potts said.
Meanwhile, Wyoming, along with 23 other states and industry groups, is suing over the EPA’s rule that set all of this in motion.
“The only goal appears to be destroying Wyoming’s fossil fuel industry by further burdening our power plants, increasing costs to consumers and threatening the stability of our nation's electrical grid,” said Wyoming Governor Mark Gordon in an earlier press release about the lawsuit.
Gordon and Wyoming industry leaders have long touted their success at regulating emissions like methane.
Federal data show that Wyoming’s Green River Basin, a top natural gas producing region, is one of the lower emitters of methane in the nation. However, another report from the Environmental Defense Fund shows the Basin more in the middle of the pack.
