text: BLM agrees to re-evaluate air quality of 34 Colorado oil and gas projects - Denver Business Journal
  Professional Services BLM agrees to re-evaluate air quality of 34 Colorado oil and gas projects
  Aug 5, 2013, 4:40pm MDT
  Updated Aug 6, 2013, 6:57am MDT
  Professional Services, Energy, Oil & gas Heather Draper
  The federal Bureau of Land Management has agreed to re-evaluate the air quality impacts of 34 oil and gas projects proposed on Colorado's Western Slope.
  That's according to a stipulated settlement agreement filed Monday in U.S. District Court for Colorado.
  As part of the settlement, the BLM also will establish and maintain a publicly accessible Internet tracking system for federal drilling permits in its Colorado River Valley Field Office.
  Lori Albert Akerman LLP See More People on the Move The settlement comes more than two years after Earthjustice filed a lawsuit on behalf of four groups: The Natural Resources Defense Council, Sierra Club, Wilderness Society and the Wilderness Workshop in Carbondale. The lawsuit alleged that the BLM violated federal law by claiming that the air pollution potential from hundreds of newly permitted wells in Garfield County had been evaluated in a 2006 environmental impact statement (EIS) of the Roan Plateau, which is outside of the area in which the wells were permitted.
  The BLM argued that coming up with air pollution modeling is complex and takes a great deal of time, and the Roan Plateau model was "the most recent and up-to-date analysis" they had for the Western Slope until 2011, said David Boyd, a BLM spokesman.
  "In late 2011 we completed a new model. We've been revising our land use plan for whole area and part of that is looking at impacts from oil and gas," Boyd said. "As soon as we had a new model available, we started using that."
  Basically, he said, the settlement "memorializes" what the BLM had already been doing since 2011, and provides more public access to air quality data.
  "We still feel that was a valid use of the [Roan Plateau] model. But we think the settlement is an efficient way to avoid litigation and that expense," Boyd said. "It will help the public understand the air quality analysis that we do, and make more information available to the public on our website."
  The 34 oil and gas projects that will be re-evaluated are those of companies such as Encana Corp. (NYSE: ECA), Williams Cos. (NYSE: WMB) and Noble Energy Inc. (NYSE: NBL), according to the settlement agreement.
  Earthjustice said the re-evaluation affects more than 1,300 wells and will examine drilling's effect on air quality, public health and visibility.
  "We're pleased that BLM is reconsidering these projects and finally addressing the smog and toxic air pollution they cause," said Michael Freeman, Earthjustice attorney. "This settlement will allow the agency and the public to better protect the health of Coloradans, and to preserve the remarkable scenic vistas in our state."
  Boyd said the BLM doesn't know how many wells would be affected, but said any proposed well seeking approval since 2011 has been evaluated using the new model.
  The BLM has already re-evaluated 116 wells proposals since 2011, and this settlement will continue that process, he said.
  "As we get applications for permits for wells that we already looked at using the Roan Plateau model, we'll redo the air quality analysis," Boyd said. "It will take more time, but it's not going to bring drilling to a halt."