EPA Blasts Powder River Basin CBM Study

by Tom Darin

Imagine your English teacher handing back your 900-page essay, with not just one, but two "F"s. That's exactly what happened to the Wyoming Bureau of Land Management when the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency reviewed its draft environmental impact study for 51,444 coalbed methane wells in the Powder River Basin. Typical of this administration, the story behind the story is a compelling one.

Failing Twice

The BLM released its draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) in January, with a deadline for public comments of April 18. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is required to review every EIS undertaken by a federal agency, as well as rank them on two criteria: one on the nature of the impacts of the proposed action and a second on the integrity of the analysis itself.

In early April, Region 8 of the EPA, which covers Wyoming, finalized its comments and ranking of the Powder River Basin DEIS and sent them to EPA headquarters in Washington for final approval.

The BLM's analysis of an anticipated 51,444 coalbed methane (CBM) wells in the basin proposed no new technologies to lessen the enormous impacts from an expected 1.4 trillion gallons of CBM discharge water that will be dumped onto the basin's surface and into its streams. Accordingly, the EPA gave the document its two worst rankings: Environmentally Unsatisfactory (EU) and a numeric score of 3.

EU means that the EPA considers the likely adverse environmental impacts to be of "sufficient magnitude that they are unsatisfactory from the standpoint of public health or welfare or environmental quality." For example, a major impact ignored by the BLM and highlighted by the EPA was that sodium-laden CBM discharge water dumped into the basin's streams and rivers would render them unsuitable for irrigation.

The EPA's "3" ranking means that the DEIS did not properly assess the numerous impacts of CBM development and that the BLM should have analyzed reasonable alternatives to reduce "the potentially significant environmental impacts."

Not So Fast

The EPA rarely renders such harsh judgments, and its comments underscore the BLM's woefully inadequate environmental analysis. The EPA's comment letter recommends that the BLM not proceed to a final EIS, but rather start over with a new draft EIS that considers all the reasonable alternatives it ignored the first time around. It will likely take months to produce an acceptable DEIS.

The EPA's negative rating of the BLM's environmental study deals a serious blow to the Bush Administration's national energy plan, which has as its centerpiece fast-tracking and expediting oil and gas projects in Wyoming and other western states.

Enter Deputy Secretary of Interior Stephen J. Griles, former lobbyist for the CBM industry. When EPA's Region 8 sent its ranking to Washington, Griles quickly caught wind of it. Running interference for his friends in the oil and gas industry, he wrote a memorandum to EPA headquarters on April 12, just days before the comment deadline.

Griles' memo suggested that the EPA and the Interior Department could rework Region 8's comments (and ranking) to avoid "imped[ing] the ability to move forward" on the Powder River Basin CBM project. Almost instantly, the BLM announced a one-month extension for final comments.

Media Scrutiny

It was clear to us that Bush Administration political appointees were attempting to influence the EPA's review so that the project could remain on a fast track. We decided that the best way to counter the administration's behind-closed-doors maneuver was to ensure that the Griles memo was made public. WOC provided copies of the memo along with the EPA's draft comments, which contained the EU-3 ranking, to national news media eager to report the story. Within days, details of the Interior Department's attempted interference with EPA Region 8's comments and rankings made national news.

Our tactic succeeded. Faced with public scrutiny, the EPA stuck to its guns, allowing its career scientists and professionals to make the final decision, rather than be sabotaged by Washington politicos.

Starting Over

Because EPA Region 8's flunking grades are the final word, the BLM must now likely start over. The EPA has indicated that if the BLM does not conduct a thorough environmental study that considers a full range of alternatives to lessen CBM impacts on the Powder River Basin's residents, livestock, crops and streams, the matter may be referred to the Council on Environmental Quality. Further, if the BLM's new draft environmental analysis ignores the serious concerns raised by the EPA, the final EIS will be a likely target for a court battle.

In addition to submitting our own comments on the DEIS, WOC will remain involved in the process to ensure that CBM impacts on the Powder River Basin are appropriately assessed, disclosed and mitigated in a proper environmental analysis.