BLM - New Mexico Four Corners Air Quality Group

The San Juan Basin is the second largest natural gas producing field and the second largest royalty producing region in the United States. However, in recent years the region has experienced air quality issues centered on ozone and regional haze impacts to Class I areas. The state of New Mexico Environment Department, Air Quality Bureau (NMAQB), through delegation of authority by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), has been granted primacy to manage and regulate air resources for the state. The Four Corners Air Quality Task Force (FCAQTF) has developed a report of over 200 mitigation options for state and tribal regulatory agencies. The agencies are conducting review, analysis and feasibility studies related to the mitigation options. The state will begin implementing specific options. It is likely that many new programs will be initiated that reduce emissions from oil and gas exploration and productions (mandatory and voluntary). In order to better understand the relative impact of various mitigation options the FCAQTF (now known as the Four Corners Air Qulaity Group (FCAQG) engaged the ENVIRON company to complete modeling comparing potetntial ozone emissions under different mitigation scenarios for a baseline year of 2005 and an outlook year of 2018. Upon completion of the modeling it was found that emissions from outside the area, or boundary conditions, may have a significant influence on ambient ozone levels in the area. It has been proposed to evaluate the senstitivity of model predictions to uncertainties in boundary conditions. BLM will provide partial funding for this study, and upcon completion, a report is to be delivered to the NMAQB and made available to the membersof the FCAQG and the BLM. The NMAQB, in conjunction with the FCAQG, is working on mitigation options along with federal, local and tribal governments to prevent the region from exceeding federal air quality standards while still allowing for economic growth and expansion and the continued development of energy resources in the region. The NMAQB reported in April 2002 that ozone levels in the New Mexico portion of the San Juan Basin were approaching non-attainment levels. When EPA lowered the standard in 2008 the area again came very close to exceeding the standard. EPA further lowered the standard in 2015, again making non-attainment a possibility. The NMAQB is also concerned that the San Juan Basin may exceed federal standards for visibility from NOx, SO2, and PM-10, due to the proximingty of federal Class I areas (Wieminuche Wilderness, Mesa Verde National Park, San Pedro Parks Wilderness) to the planning area. Proposed oil and gas development sources have the potential to impact both ozone levels and visibility in these Class I areas. The Clean Air Act (CAA) allows almost no degradation of air quality in Class I areas from proposed emissions sources. A non-attainment designation for ozone may affect business activities that do not produce large scale pollution and federal highway funds could be cut off if actions are not taken to reduce pollutant levels. Gas production activities from the projected development are estimated to substantially increase ozone and visibility precursor emissions of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and nitrogen oxides (NOx) in the San Juan Basin. The NMAQB has identified the need for additional modeling studies, in order to recommend the most effective air quality mitigation measures.