Headwaters Economics | June 20, 2011 | Drilling Returns to Pre-Recession Levels, Nears Twenty-Year High

New analysis shows price and technology remain key drivers of oil and natural gas drilling activity

CONTACT:
Julia Haggerty Ph.D., report author, 406-600-1766, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it ;
Chris Mehl, 406-570-8937, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

BOZEMAN, Mont. – Oil and natural gas drilling in the United States has returned to pre-recession levels, and the drilling rig count is nearing a twenty-year high according to new graphical analysis by the independent, research group Headwaters Economics in Bozeman, Montana.

“When it comes to land-based oil and natural gas drilling in the United States, there is little evidence that state and federal regulations are hampering industry's ability to respond to market signals,” added Haggerty. “Price and the “primeness” of resource plays, determined by how well resource qualities fit with drilling and production technology, are the key drivers of the location of drilling. That drilling activity has recovered so quickly, and the location of new activity, suggest strong capacity on the part of industry to respond to market opportunities.”

Full report available at Headwaters Economics: http://headwaterseconomics.org/

American Lung Association | State of the Air 2011

Sublette County Receives an ozone grade of "F"!

Sublette County air quality has received an ozone grade of “F” from the American Lung Association. Of our residents, more than 2,300 people are at greater risk for cardiovascular disease, and 2,255 of our children, more active when they are outdoors, face greater risk of infection, coughing and bronchitis from air pollution. They may even suffer from lower lung function, putting them at greater risk of lung disease as they age.  Over 770 older residents also face a greater risk of respiratory and cardiovascular problems from breathing ozone. Full report available at the American Lung Association: http://www.stateoftheair.org/2011/states/wyoming/sublette-56035.html

OMBWatch | May 10, 2011 | An Agenda to Strengthen Our Right to Know: Empowering Citizens with Environmental, Health, and Safety Information

Today, individuals and governments at all levels are facing various environmental and public health dilemmas. Dealing with these issues requires open and accountable government processes; expanded and improved data collection, analysis, and distribution; and greater public engagement.

After more than a year of work, a broad coalition of groups and individuals, including the Upper Green River Alliance, have taken a major step on the path toward greater government transparency and public participation. These public interest advocates have produced a comprehensive list of policy recommendations that would greatly strengthen our right to know and increase the government’s level of community engagement. The recommendations outlined in this document are an action plan for the federal government; a plan that is bold yet feasible, ambitious yet realistic.

Now the opportunity to advance this proactive agenda is upon us. We call on our leaders and decision makers to take up this call to action and ensure that every person in the country has access to the information needed to make decisions that enable all of us to live, work, play, and learn within a healthy environment.

See the full report: http://www.ombwatch.org/files/info/eiirecommendations.pdf

Western Ecosystems Technology Inc. (WEST) | September 14, 2010 | Mule Deer Monitoring in the Pinedale Anticline Project Area: 2010 Annual Report

Since development of the Pinedale Anticline natural gas field began in 2000, well pad and road construction on the "Mesa" has resulted in approximately 1,857 acres (2.9 mi2) of direct habitat loss to mule deer winter range.  The vast majority (85%) of habitat loss on the Mesa was associated with well pads. 

Based on year-to-year comparisons, deer abundance declined by 60% between 2001
and 2009, and was 28% lower in 2009 compared to 2005.  During the same time period, Wyoming Game & Fish Dept. population estimates for the entire Sublette herd declined by 25% since 2001.

Following the 2008 record of decision that allows through-winter drilling in mule deer crucial winter range, the level of winter drilling activity increased on the Mesa. It is possible that this increased winter disturbance affected fawn survival or adult reproduction.

See the full report: http://wyofile.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/Deer.2010annualreport_muledeer.pdf

THE WHITE HOUSE | Washington | January 21, 2009

Memorandum on Transparency & Open Government

The Obama Administration is committed to creating an unprecedented level of openness
in Government. We will work together to ensure the public trust and
establish a system of transparency, public participation, and collaboration.
Openness will strengthen our democracy and promote efficiency and effectiveness
in Government.

Government should be transparent. Transparency promotes accountability
and provides information for citizens about what their Government is doing.
Information maintained by the Federal Government is a national asset.

See the full Memorandum: Transparency and Open_Government.pdf

Headwaters Economics | April 2011 | Fossil Fuel Extraction and Western Economies

Fossil fuel development involves the extraction of enormously valuable resources, which are largely publicly owned. Development of fossil fuels also involves significant costs and risks. Private energy companies assume many of these risks, while the public bears others. The purpose of this report is to evaluate whether the approach taken to fossil fuel development in the Rocky Mountain West in the decade of the 2000s worked to maximize benefits and minimize costs to the region’s public.

Chapter 3 of this report focuses on the natural gas surge in the Greater Green River
Basin in Wyoming and other states. Case studies of municipal and county trends in Sublette, Sweetwater and other counties highlight the opportunities and challenges related to integrating volatile fossil fuel industries within a broader program of economic development.

Full report available at Headwaters Economics: http://headwaterseconomics.org/wphw/wp-content/uploads/Fossilfuel_West_Report.pdf

Ecosystem Research Group | September 28, 2009 | Sublette County Socioeconomic Impact Study Phase II - Final Report 

Prepared for Sublette County Commissioners by Ecosystem Research Group

The Phase I Sublette County, Wyoming Socioeconomic Impact Study documented concerns over insufficient socioeconomic analyses for both the Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) Pinedale Field Office (PFO) Resource Management Plan (RMP), and the Final Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (FSEIS), which analyzed an additional 4,399 wells in the Pinedale Anticline Project Area.

The Phase II report analyzes many socioeconomic indicators including population, housing, employment, wages, unemployment, personal and household income, education, roads and transportation, crime and law enforcement, medical services, and water and sanitary waste.

Specifically, the Socioeconomic Impact Study focuses on 1) identifying and quantifying the impacts of energy development; 2) determining the cost of mitigating those impacts; and 3) developing ongoing monitoring and mitigation strategies to refine the processes.

The Phase II report shows that:

• 1997–2007 average annual sales price of homes in Sublette County increased 172.47%
• In 2009 Sublette County school district #1 had 240 new students, which is 24% of the school district’s enrollment
• Sublette County school district #1 (2000–2007) expenses increased 724%
• Overall traffic in Sublette County increased 86% between 2000 and 2007
• Between 1995 and 2007, traffic accidents more than doubled
• From 2000 to 2007, total index crimes (murder, forcible rape, robbery, aggravated assault, burglary, larceny-theft, and motor vehicle theft) in Sublette County increased by 44%
• The number of juvenile arrests rose 92% from 2000 to 2007
• Total arrests in Sublette County increased by 111% between 2000 and 2007
• In 2007 Sublette County funded a new Pinedale clinic at a cost of $10,551,278
• The number of patients without health insurance increased in tandem with oil and gas development; the Rural Health Care District estimated a deficit of approximately $5 million for FY 2009-2010.

Full report available at: http://wy-sublettecounty.civicplus.com/DocumentView.aspx?DID=392

Nature Geoscience | January 18, 2009 | Rapid photochemical production of ozone at high concentrations in a rural site during winter

By Russell C. Schnell, Samuel J. Oltmans, Ryan R. Neely, Maggie S. Endres, John V. Molenar and Allen B. White.

Ozone is an air pollutant that can cause severe respiratory health effects. Photochemical ozone production near the Earth’s surface is considered a summertime, urban phenomenon.  Researchers report rapid, diurnal photochemical production of ozone during air temperatures as low as -17 °C in the rural Upper Green River Basin, Wyoming, in the vicinity of the Jonah–Pinedale Anticline natural gas field. Researchers find that hourly average ozone concentrations rise from 10–30 parts per billion (ppb) at night to more than 140 ppb shortly after solar noon, under the influence of a stagnant, high-pressure system that promotes cold temperatures, low wind speeds and limited cloudiness.

Full report available at: http://www.nature.com/ngeo/journal/v2/n2/full/ngeo415.html