Wetlands Destruction Permit Under Increasing Scrutiny

by Dan Heilig

One doesn’t ordinarily think of the U.S. Army’s top brass as caring and sensitive types, but in this case the guys with the biggest guns appear to have a soft spot when it comes to protecting Wyoming’s wetlands.

Prompted by a series of letters from WOC, the Chief of the Army’s Corps of Engineers’ (COE) Operations Division has ordered a review of a general permit, GP 98-08, first proposed last March by the COE’s Wyoming office. The general permit is intended to streamline existing procedures and eliminate redundancy involved in processing individual applications under section 404 of the Clean Water Act, a process the oil and gas industry claims has generated delays and uncertainty in the permitting of new wells.

As reported in earlier Frontlines, the initial version of GP 98-08 would have authorized the destruction of up to two acres of wetlands for each oil and gas well drilled in Wyoming. But complaints from WOC and others caused the COE’s Cheyenne office to reduce by half the amount of wetland disturbance allowable under the permit.

Still, with tens of thousands of gas wells projected in Wyoming over the next decade, the loss of wetlands and damage to surface waters caused by this permit could be significant. For example, besides facilitating the destruction of wetlands, the revised permit will allow gas wells and roads within 100 feet of springs and the construction of reservoirs (containing "produced water") of unlimited size directly on top of rivers and creeks. In its comments on the revised draft permit, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service wrote: "GP 98-08 has a high potential for authorizing projects that would cause significant cumulative impacts to waters of the United States — impacts that could far exceed the minor impact limit necessary for issuance of a general permit."

The letter from the COE’s Washington, D. C. office announcing the internal review arrived in the WOC office August 14th. Although the agency’s headquarters correctly pointed out that some of our earlier concerns have been addressed in the revised permit, they nonetheless acknowledged that "the District agrees that other concerns identified in your June 14, 1999, letter warrant further consideration in their on-going development of GP 98-08."

We’ll let you know when we have additional information to report, but in the meantime, please let the COE know you’re watching.
 

What You Can Do

Send your letter or email to:

Matthew A. Bilodeau
State Supervisor
Cheyenne Regulatory Office
Corps of Engineers
2232 Dell Range Blvd., Suite 210
Cheyenne, WY 82009
Phone: (307) 772-2300
Fax: (307) 772-2920
E-mail: Matthew.A.Bilodeau@nwo02.usace.army.mil

Please send a copy to:

Charles M. Hess
Attn: CECW-O
Chief, Operations Division
Directorate of Civil Works
Department of the Army
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
Washington, D.C. 20314-1000
Phone: 202-761-0196
Fax: 202-761-5095
Email: Charles.M.Hess@hq02.usace.army.mil

Points to consider making:
• Question the need for this general permit. If construction of wells and roads in wetlands rarely occurs, as industry asserts, why is necessary to "streamline" the permitting process? Proposals to construct wells and roads in wetlands should be reviewed on a case-by-case basis, pursuant to the individual permit provisions.

• Wetlands and native aquatic communities should be off-limits to oil and gas activities. Reservoirs containing produced water (which often contains pollutants) should not be constructed in perennial water bodies or in wetlands. Wells, reservoirs and roads can easily be located in upland areas, well away from aquatic resources.

• Mitigation measures need to be strengthened. Mitigation should be required for ALL wetlands and perennial waters filled — not just those greater than 1/3 acre.