Wyoming gains many financial benefits from the energy industries within the state; however, there are many environmental costs that come with the financial gains, specifically the air and water quality. 

In March, the Associated Press reported preliminary data showing ozone levels reached up to 124 parts per billion in Pinedale, which they cited as two-thirds higher than the Environmental Protection Agency’s maximum healthy limit of 75 parts per billion.

Bruce Pendery, staff attorney and program director for the Wyoming Outdoor Council, described ozone as a chemical composed of three molecules of oxygen, making it highly reactive. 

Ozone is responsible for an array of health problems, Pendery said. They include general lung irritation, inflammation, asthma exasperation, heart problems and increased mortality.

Pendery said the effects are especially dangerous to children, older people and those who spend large amounts of time outdoors as their lungs are more susceptible. 

As the levels are above the EPA’s threshold for ozone levels, they must be deemed nonattainable (above the legal limit) by the EPA, Pendery said.  

He added the state will eventually develop a state implementation plan, which will help determine how to handle the ozone and get it back under the federal limit.

"If the state fails to meet the EPA standards the EPA can bring down the hammer,” Pendery said. However, he expects the state to comply.

According to Pendery, the state of Wyoming analyzed the problem in the Green River area, and the prominent contributor of the ozone is the oil and gas development in that area. 

Proposed oil and gas drilling is also placing one of Wyoming’s rivers on a national endangered list.

According to www.americanrivers.org, proposed drilling could also affect Wyoming rivers, specifically the Hoback River. The website ranked the Hoback seventh amongst America’s most endangered rivers of 2011. 

Compiled by the Washington D.C. conservation organization American Rivers, the list claims the Hoback’s “clean water is threatened by industrial chemicals and toxic wastewater from the hydraulic fracturing, or 'fracking,' process.”

National Forest and Parks Program Director for the Wyoming Outdoor Council Lisa McGee said she agrees with the Hoback’s placement on the list. “We are very concerned with the proposed gas development near the Hoback,” McGee said.

The proposal calls for 136 drilling wells by Houston-based Plains Exploration and Production near the river. McGee said the drilling would decrease vegetation along the river while increasing the amount of sediment inside the river. She described the river as a whitewater favorite for kayakers and anglers. She was worried about the sediment’s effects on the river’s fish. “Trout don’t like to reproduce in muddy water,” she said.

McGee also added there was always a risk for river contamination because of spills or well blowouts. She added that Congress has designated the lower parts of the river as “wild and scenic.” 

The forest area is home to a variety of wildlife. However, it is not only a source of water for wildlife, it is also a source for humans as it is designated as a “Streamflow Source Area” for the Eastern Snake River Plain Sole Source Aquifer by the EPA, according to www.wyomingrange.org, which is run by a group against the proposed drilling. 

McGee said it was conceivable that PXP could begin drilling by summer 2012, but it all depends on the Forest Service's decision after considering public comments on the Environmental Impact Statement. 

McGee added she was encouraged by the Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality’s strong comments to encourage testing. She said she felt they were very proactive. “I hope their support for the safeguards in the area remain,” she said.

Although the state government could appear to be listening about the proposed Hoback drilling, Program Director Pendery seemed less optimistic about the air in the Green River Basin. “No we don’t feel they are doing enough,” Pendery said. “It is very clear.”

The AP also made a comparison as it pointed out the worst ozone day in Los Angeles last year only reached 114 parts per billion, according to EPA records.