The Utah Division of Air Quality is interviewing for a new staff position — a compliance officer based in the Uintah Basin.
The basin contains thousands of oil and gas wells and support facilities, and they’re blamed for an odd ozone-pollution problem there during the winter. The pollution is bad enough that U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is expected to order a final cleanup plan by the end of the year.
“The focus right now is in the oil and gas industry," says DAQ Director Bryce Bird, "making sure that we have a compliance effort there, especially looking at leak-detection-repair programs and looking at some efficiencies."
The oil and gas industry is already working on plugging leaks. But having a compliance officer in place in the basin will show EPA the state’s serious about reducing the industry’s pollution in this rural area. New ozone cleanup plans are also being readied for Wasatch Front counties that struggle with ozone pollution in the summer.
