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Beneath the Surface

BENEATH THE SURFACE

The quiet work of watchdogging Wyoming’s water

Like the rest of the landscape, water in Wyoming is dramatic. Rivers carve through canyons, geysers erupt from below ground, reservoirs emerge from arid shrublands, and idyllic trout streams meander down from the mountains. And with water for agriculture and industry in limited supply, any conversation about water management is likely to turn heated. 

Clean water is vital to our health, economy, and quality of life in Wyoming — and to the fish, wildlife, and plant life that surrounds us. Protecting clean water is a core part of the Wyoming Outdoor Council’s mission. But with a few notable exceptions, it’s a quiet undertaking: Much of this work happens behind a desk or on the phone, pouring over technical documents to identify threats to water from industrial development or shifting regulations. 

The nitty gritty work of an advocacy group like the Outdoor Council is watchdogging government actions at the state level. This can involve reviewing proposed rule changes within the Department of Environmental Quality or actions by the legislature. Or we may focus on more discrete topics, like permits to allow companies to inject polluted water underground or to dispose of pollutants into bodies of water on the surface. Oftentimes, opportunities to review and comment on proposed actions escape the attention of citizens and other advocacy groups who can’t dedicate a full-time staff member to water quality. Fortunately, the Outdoor Council can serve this role. And we often work with partner groups around the state to divide and conquer, ensuring these issues have the attention they deserve. 

Reading public notices for draft wastewater discharge permits, proposed state agency rule changes, or legislative bill drafts is not what most folks consider exciting. Still, it’s essential: Sifting through these dense and technical documents is the front line of protection for clean water. Eventually we may show up at public meetings to ask tough questions. But if and when we decide to provide comments to regulators and decision makers on an issue and encourage citizens to do the same, we’ve done the legwork to identify and understand the problem and any possible solutions. 

The ability to engage with agency staff and lawmakers, and to access the draft permits and regulations as well as the underlying data, is critical. Transparency keeps government accountable to the public and gives everyday citizens the ability to take action. 

The Outdoor Council is working on some important water issues right now — like oilfield wastewater that’s flowing to Boysen Reservoir and could potentially be injected into the Madison Aquifer, and septic system rules and water quality planning in Teton County — but they weren’t dropped in our lap. We have to dig deep to uncover problems, bring them to the public’s attention, get agencies or decision makers to take a harder look or change their approach. It’s this work that often — but not always — yields positive outcomes. 

We’re a small staff with a broad mission, and we can’t read every permit — much less conduct an in-depth review. But we’ve found success in focusing on geographic areas that are particularly sensitive or vulnerable to pollution, and on specific issues we’ve worked with communities on in the past. The quiet work of watchdogging water helps Wyoming citizens make their voices heard, loud and clear.

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Local input essential for development on federal public lands

For the first time in history, the federal government has proposed significant rollbacks to how the National Environmental Policy Act reviews the environmental impacts of development on public lands. The draft regulations would make major cuts to public participation, and in many cases, completely remove the public from the decision making process. The rollbacks would also prevent agencies from considering the broader impacts of projects to the region and the country. 

What’s more, removing the public from the equation won’t speed up the review process — the stated intent of the rollbacks. In cases when the act requires detailed environmental reviews it’s typically federal agencies — not the public — that cause delays. In fact, there are multiple cases in recent years where Wyoming residents made the process more efficient by contributing their local expertise to projects.

The people of Wyoming share a strong connection to our public lands, and should have a seat at the table when decisions are being made. Join us in asking Gov. Mark Gordon to stand up for public participation in the management of our public lands. Read our letter to the governor for just a few examples of how public input has helped safeguard natural resources, outdoor recreation opportunities, and private property rights in Wyoming.

The governor will be submitting comments to the federal government regarding these changes on March 10. We’ll be sure to keep you updated as we hear more.

If you would like to read the proposed rule change in its entirety, or submit comments of your own to the federal Council on Environmental Quality, you can do so by following this link.

Your voice made a difference for Boysen; and we need it again!

First, thank you. Your earlier comments to the Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality persuaded the agency to deny Aethon Energy Company’s proposal to increase the discharge — from 2 million to over 8.25 million gallons per day — of oil and gas wastewater from the Moneta Divide field. Polluted wastewater from this facility is currently dumped into Alkali and Badwater creeks which flow into Boysen Reservoir and the Wind River. 

We can’t thank you enough for writing the DEQ and attending the public meetings. Your voice made a big difference, but our efforts must continue to ensure long term protection of Boysen and its tributaries!

Although the DEQ has denied the increase, the existing discharge will be allowed to continue, despite having already caused significant damage to Alkali and Badwater creeks and likely having impacted aquatic life and water quality in Boysen Reservoir.  


THE PROBLEM

While we support the improvements proposed by the DEQ in the revised draft permit, additional changes are needed to protect water quality and aquatic life. The revised permit must include more stringent pollution limits on the existing discharges to ensure that our surface waters — and all the uses and activities they support such as fishing, swimming, and irrigation — are protected for future generations. 

The company’s existing DEQ discharge permit allows 908 tons per month of salts and other oil field pollutants to be discharged into Alkali and Badwater Creeks. Yet the DEQ’s own data reveals that this has already impacted the streams. And the existing discharge has exceeded legally required limits for pH, oil and grease, and chlorides, and contains no limits for benzene and other harmful chemicals. 

The revised draft permit allows the same amount of salts and other harmful pollutants. The DEQ needs to do more to protect our lakes and streams from polluted oil and gas field wastewater.


WHAT YOU CAN DO

Please write to DEQ and thank them for their efforts, and for hearing your concerns. Then ask them to develop stronger limits on pollutants to ensure oil and gas wastewater does not continue to damage our streams and reservoirs. 


ASK THE DEQ TO DO THE FOLLOWING: 

  • Work with Aethon to clean up the existing damage caused by decades of oil field pollution in these streams; 
  • Immediately reduce the monthly load of salts currently authorized in both the existing and proposed discharge permit;
  • Implement a one or two-year compliance schedule to achieve significant reductions in the concentration of chloride allowed in Badwater Creek. The DEQ’s proposal to allow Aethon four more years to achieve full compliance with chloride standards is just too long; 
  • Deny any future requests to weaken the regulatory chloride standard currently applicable to Badwater Creek. 

You can submit your comments online or mail them to:
Kevin Frederick, DEQ/WQD Administrator
200 West 17th Street, Cheyenne, WY 82002

Comments must be received by February 17, 2020 for them to be considered. 

The DEQ’s announcement, responses to your public comments and a copy of the revised draft permit are available here

Thank you for your continued effort to deliver this critical message to the DEQ: “Don’t Poison Boysen.”