Aethon permit still in the works

Things are still not over for Aethon when it comes to the proposed expansion of drilling at the Moneta Divide field.

Water quality issues that surround both Alkali and Badwater Creeks are still under heavy scrutiny by the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ), Aethon and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

Originally, the DEQ, along with Aethon, did a sampling of water and soils in the two creeks and the DEQ determined the addition of the 4,200 wells Aethon plans to drill would not further degrade the levels of pollution already working their way down the creeks due to produced water they intended to release downstream.

After much criticism from both the public, the Wyoming Outdoor Council and other conservation groups, the EPA stepped in, asking for a more thorough accounting of the contamination already there.

It is understandable that Aethon would like to be able to pass down their produced water in the most cost effective manner, however, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) already commented in a draft analysis of the creeks, that Aethon is already severely impacting the two creeks.

Generally, oil and gas companies will inject their byproducts back into the ground, but Aethon has had trouble finding appropriate injection sites at the Moneta field, therefore, they want to surface discharge more than eight-million gallons of tainted water into the creeks every day.

Currently, there is a visible black slime along Alkalai creek that fish avoid altogether as shown in a video taken by the DEQ. The video negates the idea the produced water would not affect fish or wildlife in the area as previously reported.

Throughout this process, it has been maintained that the produced water wouldn’t have such an impact, but with the new video evidence and a new two-year study, Aethon may not get the discharge permit they’re looking for.

Accusations are floating around that the DEQ hasn’t been doing their job protecting waterways like Alkalai and Badwater Creek, in spite of their comments to the contrary. Some conservation groups are even suggesting the department is protecting oilfields and their expansion in the state over water quality for Wyoming’s citizens.

Another question that keeps popping up is why Aethon is involved in the DEQ’s study in the first place, some saying an outside entity should be conducting the study without Aethon’s influence in the findings.

At the onset, the DEQ attempted to “grandfather” the pollution ranges, specifically the chloride or salt limits, into Badwater Creek. Those limits were set in 1990 as 250 mg/L for drinking water.

Discharges are running anywhere from 2,000 mg/L to 3,000 mg/L per the DEQ’s own study. In trying to grandfather the pollution ranges to before 1990 levels, the DEQ said in that area the discharges could not meet the 1990 levels so they needed more flexibility.

The EPA effectively stopped the grandfathering of Badwater Creek as federal limitations outweigh state limitations.

There is still hope that the Moneta field will be able to do its expansion due to the number of jobs it could bring to the state, not to mention the millions of dollars that would go into the state’s coffers, but for now, its going to be a slow process.