A: We have several regulatory issues coming to finalization within various departments of the WDEQ. In the Water Quality Division we are continuing to work on water management associated with coal bed natural gas wells. The EQC has received testimony and reports detailing how agriculture and coal bed development can work together. We are hopeful that the EQC will make a decision on the DEQ’s Ag Use Protection Policy that will allow for continued economic development of the resource in the state while also allowing for continued agricultural protection. We expect the EQC will continue to debate the policy in the coming months. PAW has been working with the DEQ to try and find solutions to all interested parties. In terms of the Air Quality Division, PAW has been working to lower the winter ozone levels we have seen in the past years. Do to voluntary efforts to reduce ozone precursors and added monitoring efforts, PAW members were successful in not having an ozone exceedence this past winter. An effort we’re very proud of. We are also working with AQD to develop even more ways to lower emissions by working on Best Available Control Technologies (BACT) on all production equipment. It is our belief that through these efforts we will continue to be able to develop the resource our country so desperately needs, while maintaining our Wyoming way of life.

Q: Activity has slowed. Why should operators remain engaged in the process?

A: Although drilling activity has slowed over the last year or so, the issues involving regulation changes, legislative proposals, and other programs are continuing at an alarming rate. We have seen no slow down in regulatory changes to coincide with the slow down in drilling. It is much more critical to maintain a high level of participation in PAW and all the committees that are offered to work on these efforts when our industry is in a downtime such as now. The regulatory agencies and the legislature don’t slow down when we do, in fact, they maintain or pick up pace. Now is the time when the staff at PAW needs the most input from member companies to maintain a work environment that is conducive to our business. Eventually, this downturn will come back up, and when that happens, we need to be able to continue to do business in Wyoming. PAW is working to maintain that ability, but we need industry to stay engaged and work within the committee structure within PAW.

Q: What is coming up ?

PAW has a new Safety Subcommittee that is partnering with the Wyoming Contractors Association to hold a Safety Summit on October 13. The summit will be held at the McMurry Training Center in Casper. Currently a full agenda is being prepared, however the Governor has agreed to present the opening remarks. We believe the industry needs to show case the commitment to safety we all know exists. Gary Hartman, who staffs the Governor’s Task Force on Worker’s Safety, will also be invited to present. We expect to have booths available for exhibitors as well. This is a follow up summit to the Rocky Mountain Safety Council’s Safety Summit held in Rock Springs earlier this year.

Despite a lull in oil and gas activity in Wyoming in recent months, PAW vice president Cheryl Sorensen and the Public Lands Committee has plenty to do.

She said she will continue to focus on gaining access to public lands, ESA issues, and reclamation.

The importance of RMP revisions “We are focusing on what chang-

es we will see within the BLM with all the changes in Washington within the Department of Interior. We expect to see new rules and policy on Sage-Grouse and other items.

PAW is a leader in working to pre- vent Endangered Species Act (ESA) list- ings. This continues to be a big focus for our committee. Another large project or focus is Reclamation; we are working a lot on this issue. We have two new Re- source Management Plans revisions that have begun within the last year; the Big Horn Basin RMP and the Powder River Basin RMP. These will keep our commit- tee busy as well.”

Stay engaged

With all the changes within De- partment of Interior (DOI) Sorensen is seeing changes within BLM and other regulatory agencies and there is also a push to have more species listed as Endangered. “Our committee workload has expanded tremendously and we have to continued to pay attention and work these issues,” she said. “If we sit back and become unengaged, when things pick up back in the field you may not know what environment you will be working in.”

Focus on reclamation

PAW will host its Second Annual Reclamation Workshop, after a sell-out crowd at the December 2008 gathering. “This year we look forward to having an informational agenda. Governor Dave Freudenthal is slated to speak and we are going to have Steve Ferrell the new direc- tor of Wyoming Game and Fish as well as BLM, University of Wyoming will be on the agenda again, and then great infor- mation from top notch Reclamation con- tractors, companies, etc. I would suggest that our Oil and Gas companies attend, from the decision makers to the guys out on the field, encourage your reclamation contractors to attend as they will see new regulatory information and new science. We also expect quite a bit of staff from Conservation Districts, BLM offices, and other regulatory agencies. The Reclama- tion conference is open to anyone, not just PAW members,” she added.

Sorensen also noted that due to the large amount of committee activity go- ing on a special Public Lands Commit- tee meeting on October 8th in Casper at the McMurry Training Center has been scheduled. “We will have a committee meeting starting at 8 am that day; at 10 am we will have a series of lectures rang- ing from dealing with an ESA listing to how the Utah lease sales can affect Wyo- ming.”