The Wyoming Oil and Gas Conservation Commission says it hopes to file a report about well bore integrity in Pavillion by the end of the year.
The report will be part of a larger effort to figure out the causes of groundwater contamination in Pavillion. The study will include a total of about 50 oil and gas exploration and production wells located within a quarter mile of 14 domestic water wells.
The commission, along with the Department of Environmental Quality, will also file reports on pit reclamation efforts and domestic well water quality in the area. Once the reports are completed, the agencies will develop a plan of action.
The announcements came during a public meeting today. Landowner Louis Meeks says after years of waiting, he doesn’t trust the state.
But Supervisor of the Oil and Gas Commission Grant Black says the state is working hard to address public wariness, too.
“I think first and foremost we’re being as transparent as we can,” Black said. “I think that’s important. And that we stress a scientific approach. We do not have any preconceived ideas, we have no assumptions, we want to gather all the data, and approach it that way.”
Black stresses that plans for the reports are preliminary.