Major natural gas development in Uintah Basin could mean up to 4,000 jobs

WASHINGTON, D.C. — A major natural gas development in the Uintah Basin that could create more than 4,000 jobs over the life of the project moved closer to reality Thursday following the announcement of a plan to mitigate air quality impacts of developing more than 3,675 natural gas wells.

The wells could produce more than 6 trillion cubic feet of natural gas over 10 years.

Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar announced Thursday that the Bureau of Land Management and the Environmental Protection Agency worked closely with Kerr-McGee Oil & Gas Onshore LP to develop a mitigation plan to significantly reduce the project's potential impact on air quality in the surrounding area.

"This project has the potential to create hundreds of jobs for Utah, infuse millions of dollars into local communities, and help power our economy with natural gas as part of our nation's comprehensive energy portfolio," Salazar said in a statement.

The Greater Natural Buttes Area Gas Development Project has been delayed over concerns about its impacts on air quality in the Vernal area, which has some of the unhealthiest ozone levels in the nation. In the first two months of 2011, the Uintah Basin experienced 23 days where its ozone exceeded the acceptable levels of pollution. Five of these days were considered "very unhealthy" for people, Salazar said.

The agreement includes new innovations such as requiring the energy development firm to conduct a pilot project that uses low emissions natural gas to power drilling rigs. The air quality Supplement to the Draft Environmental Impact Statement for the Greater Natural Buttes Project will be published in the Federal Register shortly. A public comment period will follow.

Salazar said the BLM and EPA had been pulling in different directions on the project regarding their respective regulatory roles. The agencies, working with the energy development firm ultimately found a "collaborative path," which ultimately resolved the issues.

"We are going to work to institutionalize this type of collaboration between the BLM and EPA to ensure that future proposals receive prompt and thorough reviews and are not delayed by unnecessary bureaucracy," he said.

The delays in resolving the air quality were costly to the company and delayed the extraction of needed energy, Salazar said. Energy development firms need "certainty and clarity" as much as Americans need energy, he said.

The Memorandum of Understanding between the BLM and EPA that resulted from tussling over this project shows the nation does not have to choose between clean air and safe, responsible energy development, Salazar said.