Reported by Staff

CHEYENNE — Wyoming’s oil and gas supervisor said Friday that he’s begun reviewing more than 50 written comments on proposed changes to the agency’s rules and regulations for development, including hydraulic fracturing.

The state’s oil and gas supervisor, Thomas Doll, said late last week that he is in the process of reviewing dozens of written comments on proposed changes to the agency’s regulations and rules for development.

Doll said he plans to incorporate substantive comments into the rules before they go before the Wyoming Oil and Gas Conservation Commission next month.

“There are substantive comments and then there are editorial comments. I can only deal with the substantive comments.”

The commission is hosting an informal public discussion on the rules in its Casper offices on Tuesday, and then a public hearing at the same location on April 14.

One of the key issues rules changes could address is hydraulic fracturing, a common technique used for years in Wyoming gas fields. The state is considering a requirement that operators disclose “proprietary chemical component detail” of the fluids used in the fracturing process.

Critics of the fracking process point to instances of water well contamination near the town of Pavillion, where officials investigating drinking water contamination have found that at least three water wells contain a chemical used in the natural gas drilling process of hydraulic fracturing. Scientists also found traces of other contaminants, including oil, gas or metals, in 11 of 39 wells tested there last year.

Colorado Congresswoman Diana DeGette has authored a bill in Washington to regulate the fracking process, essentially by requiring companies to
begin disclosing the proprietary chemicals used in their fracking processes, under the federal Safe Drinking Water Act.

In Wyoming, the proposed rules would require wells undergoing hydraulic fracturing to be cased in a way that prevents groundwater contamination. In addition, energy operators Companies would also need to be aware of all permitted water wells within a quarter-mile of an oil or gas well being fractured.