Willow Belden

Wyoming strives to curb ozone levels to meet federal mandate

Sublette County is home to two of Wyoming’s major oil and gas fields … and emissions from the energy production have caused smog to form – a type of smog called ozone. Ground-level ozone can cause and exacerbate respiratory problems. It’s also a problem for legal reasons: ozone levels in Sublette County have exceeded federal limits several times in the past few years. Now, the Environmental Protection Agency is stepping in. It’s designating Sublette County a “nonattainment area,” which means Wyoming is obligated to fix the problem. But as Wyoming Public Radio’s Willow Belden reports, there’s no ready solution

The Wyoming Community Development Authority is encouraging people to buy houses – especially if they’ve never owned a home before. They’re launching a campaign called “Buy Now” – putting up flyers in real estate offices, and offering classes to help first-time buyers navigate the process of purchasing a home. The group’s executive director, David Haney, talks with Willow Belden about the initiative. He says conditions are excellent for buyers at the moment.

Lee Hackleman is a water supply specialist with the Natural Resources Conservation Service. He speaks with Willow Belden about what the warm, dry spring means for Wyoming. He says the snowpack has gotten extremely low, which will make for a tough year.

The Natural Resources Conservation Service is warning that the warm, dry weather this spring could drive up winter hay prices.

Wyoming’s snowpack is less than 30 percent of average, and Water Supply Specialist Lee Hackleman says farmers who get their water by diverting streams and rivers will be left high and dry.

“There’ll be a lot of people who will probably get their first cutting irrigated but won’t have any water for their second cutting,”
Hackleman said. “So there’s liable to be a hay shortage again this winter.”

Hackleman says people who get their water from reservoirs should be OK, since the reservoirs are still full from last year. But he says everyone else will have much less water than usual to work with.

The Wyoming Community Development Authority is encouraging people to buy houses – especially if they’ve never owned a home before. Executive Director David Haney says conditions are favorable for buyers at the moment.

“Interest rates are as low as they have ever been,” Haney said. “Prices have pretty much stabilized throughout most of Wyoming. And so the combination of both those things makes for a really terrific time to buy.”

Still, he says, first-time buyers need to be aware of the risks they’re taking. To help them navigate the process, Haney’s group is offering online classes.

More than half of the public lands in the continental U.S. that have been leased to oil and gas companies are not actually being drilled, according to a report by the Department of the Interior.

Bruce Hinchey of the Petroleum Association of Wyoming says that’s because there are so many hoops that oil and gas companies have to jump through. He says it often takes over a year to get a permit to drill. And Environmental Impact Statements, which are required for large-scale energy development, take even longer.

“Those used to take about 18 to 24 months,” Hinchey said. “We’re up to eight years and counting right now. So until the BLM and the Department of the Interior decide to reduce the time frame on that, I’m sure there’s going to be lots of idle leases out there.”

Laramie-based author Alyson Hagy just published a new novel called “Boleto.” It takes place in rural Wyoming and tells the story of a young man who seeks to make a name for himself by training a beautiful young horse. But Hagy says you don’t have to be a horse lover to appreciate the book.

“As much as I love animals – and I love them very much – I’m more interested in human character,” Hagy said. “And so I want this to be a novel where you don’t have to know anything about horses or ranches or trailers or raising cattle or anything, in order to appreciate that this is a young many who wants to try to make something lovely in a not-so-lovely world.”

Election year politics are derailing efforts to improve Wyoming’s economy.
President Obama is chiding Congress for not acting on his slimmed down plan to spur economic growth in Wyoming and elsewhere. Matt Laslo reports from Washington that election year politicking is expected to derail this latest effort to get the economy moving.

We tend to think about scanning and printing as something that you do with pieces of paper – two dimensional objects. But now, a geological museum in Wyoming is scanning and printing things in 3D. They’re using 3D scanners and printers to make plastic replicas of dinosaur bones and other fossils, which can help with research and make collections accessible to scientists and museum goers around the world. Wyoming Public Radio’s Willow Belden went to Casper and filed this report.

 It’s official: The Environmental Protection Agency says Sublette County and parts of neighboring counties are violating federal air quality standards because ozone levels have gone above the legal limit multiple times in the past few years. It’s widely recognized that the problem stems from emissions in the oil and gas industry. When you get the right combination of two types of emissions -- NOX and VOCs  -- coupled with certain wintertime weather conditions, ground-level ozone forms. Ground-level ozone is the main component of smog and can cause respiratory problems.

Laramie-based author Alyson Hagy has a new novel that just came out called “Boleto.” She joins us to talk with us about the book, which tells a story of a young man from rural Wyoming named Will Testerman.

The Environmental Protection Agency has sent a letter to governor Matt Mead, saying it will be formally listing Sublette County as an area in violation of federal air quality standards.

Over the past several years, emissions from oil and gas development near Pinedale have caused ground-level ozone to form. On some days, the pollution has rivaled that of major cities and has caused respiratory problems for area residents.

Now, the EPA has announced that it will formally designate Sublette County a “non-attainment” area. That means the state will have to come up with a plan to improve the air quality.

The Sierra Club and Wild Earth Guardians are suing the federal government over planned coal leases in the Powder River Basin.

The BLM has approved the sale of four new coal leases in the area, which could produce up to two billion tons of coal. The Sierra Club’s Connie Wilbert says her group worries about the greenhouse gas emissions that could result from the additional mining and subsequent use of the coal.

“The federal agencies have all been clearly instructed to include analysis of climate change impacts in all of their planning documents going forward,” Wilbert said. “And we believe that the BLM simply did not do an adequate job of this in this case.”

Wyoming will have six political parties on the ballot this year, which is more than in any election since the 1930s.

State Election Director Peggy Nighswonger says minor parties often try to get on the ballot in presidential election years, but they often fail to get the required number of signatures from registered voters. She says this year, they’re more organized.

“A couple of the parties that circulated actually paid circulators this time, and so they were able to get more signatures,” Nighswonger said. “But the other thing is … people are questioning the two major parties in our country and just wondering if there’s a better solution.”

The minor parties will run candidates for president, and some may also certify candidates for Wyoming’s U.S. House seat.