Aethon (Moneta Divide) Proposed Discharge Permit

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Comment From: Steven Cole

6/18/19 @ 5:10 AM

I visit Thermopolis at least 4-5 times a year for long weekends of fishing the Bighorn, Wind River Canyon, and the surrounding tributaries inside and outside of the res. Fish counts for 12"-1*" fish were down this year according to the recent F&G re...↓

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Comment From: Ned Wonson

6/18/19 @ 2:34 AM

Please do not allow the discharge of harmful chemicals or agents into Boysen Reservoir or any of our waterways. Why do we put humans and wildlife in danger in order to make a few dollars? Let's be bold and take a stand. Stop poisoning our environmen...↓

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Comment From: Roger Bower

6/18/19 @ 12:57 AM

Wyoming has water standards administered by DEQ. I believe Aethon should be granted the permit produce the oil and gas while complying the the water quality standards. Wyoming through their DEQ will monitor the water quality during the life of this p...↓

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Comment From: Mareie McMillen

6/17/19 @ 5:38 AM

I BEG of you NOT to discharge polluted waters into lakes, streams and rivers. We MUST keep our waters CLEAN at all costs or we'll live to regret it!

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Comment From: Georgie Stanley

6/17/19 @ 5:08 AM

I don't understand how this could be happening. You are the Department of Environmental Quality and you are proposing to pump polluted water into our water shed. What are you thinking and how is this possible? Please do not degrade the water qualit...↓

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Comment From: Michael Krall

6/17/19 @ 2:49 AM

Don't dump polluted water into our lakes, rivers, and streams. I feel the DEQ needs to analyze other options for disposing of produced water (wastewater) from the Moneta Divide oil and gas field. If "surface discharge" of produced water is necess...↓ary, it should be purified and piped to Boysen Reservoir, not dumped into Alkali and Badwater creeks, where the effects on fish and water quality could be felt for hundreds of miles downstream. Boysen is one of the most popular state parks in Wyoming — its water quality should remain clean to protect swimming, municipal drinking water supplies, crop irrigation, boating, and fishing. The DEQ needs to maintain the quality of water that existed in the Wind River when it was designated a Class 1 river in 1979, and to not use 2010-2016 water quality levels as the baseline for establishing existing water quality. I think the DEQ needs to require Aethon to clean up its existing discharge before allowing more pollution to enter these streams. In particular, the amount of chloride allowed in Aethon's wastewater must be reduced to no more than 230 mg/L in order to restore and protect aquatic life in Alkali Creek and Badwater Creek. Existing chloride concentrations (in excess of 2,000 mg/L) are already much too high to support sensitive aquatic life found in these desert riparian systems. The DEQ must ensure that the toxic effects of produced water are properly disclosed and addressed in the permit to ensure that sauger (a native species of fish related to walleye) are not harmed by this project. The DEQ's draft permit fails to discuss the potential negative social and economic impacts for the life of the project from increasing oilfield wastewater volumes to downstream communities. Such consideration is required by the Clean Water Act. Impacts to the Wind River's Blue Ribbon fishery, increased salts on crops, and potential retrofits to Thermopolis' drinking water treatment facility could be substantial, yet the draft permit is silent on those issues. Follow the state's anti-degradation policies by requiring this analysis The BLM's Moneta Divide draft EIS indicates that the temperature of produced water flowing from the wells is as high as 186° Fahrenheit, yet this issue is not addressed in the DEQ's draft discharge permit. I feel the DEQ needs to include a requirement to ensure that water temperatures in Alkali and Badwater creeks do not exceed the limits specified in the state's rules to protect fish and aquatic life. Require full toxicity testing. The DEQ should increase the frequency of monitoring and testing of the effluent — liquid waste discharged into surface waters. "Whole effluent toxicity" testing of the discharge into Boysen Reservoir should be required at least quarterly. Once a year is not sufficient. Water quality and flow data is missing. The DEQ cannot adequately assess the impacts to water quality if it doesn't know the existing quality. If the DEQ is going to rely on a dilution model, it needs adequate flow information to ensure that water quality standards are going to be met, and that existing and designated uses in these streams will be protected. "Grandfathering" high levels of chloride authorized in previous discharge permits should not be allowed to continue. Multiple successive owners of the Moneta Divide oil and gas field (including Exxon, Tom Brown, Inc., and Encana) have had 40-plus years to comply with all applicable water quality standards. The DEQ needs to end this legally dubious and environmentally unsound practice. The goal of the Clean Water Act is to restore and maintain water quality. Grandfathering historic and highly damaging pollutant concentrations does not achieve that basic goal. Provide independent review. The DEQ hasn't established the scientific integrity of the model used by Aethon because it lacks the expertise and data to do so. Without this professional expertise in house, the agency must commission its own third-party review and make sure that the cost of that review is paid by the permit applicant, not Wyoming taxpayers. Disclose all chemicals. Tell the DEQ to insist that Aethon disclose the trade names and amounts of all chemicals used in well drilling and fracking operations, and submit a plan to the public that ensures that the fracking chemicals contained in the "flowback" water are completely removed before being discharged into surface waters. M.Krall

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Comment From: J Pistono

6/17/19 @ 2:32 AM

it's your job to protect our waters- as well as the rest of the environment for our future generations- no dumping

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Comment From: Bo Bowman

6/16/19 @ 5:00 PM

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Comment From: Tom Varcalli

6/16/19 @ 11:37 AM

Moneta Divide oil and gas field pollutant discharge permit - WYPDES Permit Number WY0002062 (Aethon Energy) The largest source of greenhouse gas emissions from human activities in the United States is from burning fossil fuels. If responsible d...↓

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Comment From: Priscilla Dillon

6/16/19 @ 3:10 AM

Thank you to all who work in the Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality to keep Wyoming's land, water and air clean and healthy. I ask you to please NOT issue the Aethon (Moneta Divide) proposed discharge permit. PLEASE to not compromise the h...↓

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Comment From: Gregory Epstein

6/15/19 @ 11:09 PM

Every year my friends and family travel to many of Wyoming's blue ribbon fisheries, and the Wind River canyon and Big Horn River have always been at the top of our list. We help local economies by staying in hotels, hiring guides and eating at restau...↓

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Comment From: Terry Solon

6/15/19 @ 4:07 AM

Drinking water for humans, animals, birds, vegetation is far more necessary for our existence than is oil.

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Comment From: Mary Herber

6/15/19 @ 2:22 AM

I am writing as a resident of Lander to present several concerns I have about the proposed discharge permit. Namely, I am concerned with the potential ill effects of the proposed set-up for disposing of the produced water. The proposed system o...↓

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Comment From: Ryan Heesch

6/15/19 @ 2:15 AM

I am strongly opposed to this permit! The company who is applying for this permit has said that as long as the fish stay in the mixture zone (or however it was termed) (the zone in which the waste water is diluted) there won't be any danger to the fi...↓

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Comment From: Bobby Price

6/15/19 @ 12:52 AM

Please do not approve this permit. Keep this wastewater out of our water. WYPDES Permit Number WY0002062 (Aethon Energy).

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Comment From: Emily Parsons

6/15/19 @ 12:03 AM

I'm concerned that a private corporation will pass on the real costs of doing business to the citizens of Wyoming. What are the costs with untreated discharge water? I would like to see the DEQ's draft permit discuss the potential negative social and...↓

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Comment From: Lynd Rose

6/14/19 @ 10:55 PM

Last year I moved to Wyoming from Pennsylvania because the climate here is better for my wife's health. We are both chronically ill and I've been pleasantly surprised how much better I have also felt just from breathing Wyoming's clean air everyday. ...↓

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Comment From: Dan Brecht

6/14/19 @ 1:36 PM

I can't believe this proposal is even being considered. I am against this and any similar project. DEQ needs to re-evaluate what your purpose is. Thank you.

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Comment From: Joanna Taylor

6/14/19 @ 11:50 AM

Don't Poison Boysen Resevoir. The Wind River is a class 1 river the highest level of protection available under Wyoming's environmental laws. The DEQ's own rules prohibit the degradation of water quality in Class 1 surface waters, yet the wastewate...↓

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Comment From: Claudia Schaeffer

6/14/19 @ 10:32 AM

DEQ should not issue WPDES permit # WY0002062 which would allow pollutant discharge into Boysen reservoir. Water from the reservoir and in the Wind River should remain clean and unpolluted for use in recreation, agriculture and as a fishery. At the ...↓

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Comment From: Erin Wyer

6/14/19 @ 9:15 AM

Don't pollute our surface waters! Please analyze other options for disposing of wastewater from the Moneta Divide oil and gas field. If "surface discharge" of produced water is necessary, it should be purified and piped to Boysen Reservoir, not dump...↓

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Comment From: Amy Anastos

6/14/19 @ 9:04 AM

Please do not poison boysen!!

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Comment From: Evelyn Griffin

6/14/19 @ 8:47 AM

Please say no to Aethon Energy Company's application to dump contaminated oil and gas wastewater into Boyson Reservoir. Wyoming needs to protect our water and find less damaging alternatives to the proposal to dump its contaminated water into the ...↓

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Comment From: Alex Bowler

6/14/19 @ 8:40 AM

Aethon Energy'd permit application to dump 8.27 million gallons of produced waste water into a creek which flows into Boysen Reservoir is absolutely the dumbest idea I have ever heard! Boysen, which has some of the best fishing and recreation use in ...↓

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Comment From: BJ Hopka

6/14/19 @ 5:22 AM

If the Energy companies are going to use fresh water in their processes they should be expected to return it to safe drinking levels BEFORE they release it. Or drink it themselves. THAT is the cost of doing business without exploiting Wyoming's r...↓

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Comment From: Marly Stasi

6/14/19 @ 3:23 AM

I am writing in on behalf of residents, future generations, and wildlife to say that the proposed discharge permit to Aethon Energy is a terrible idea. Boysen Reservoir is a beautiful state park in Wyoming and it is closely situated to the Bighorn an...↓

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Comment From: Allison Minugh

6/14/19 @ 2:57 AM

It appears this action is not without controversy and requires more investigation and research prior to implementing it. Our reservoirs are valuable resources used and shared by many. They should be protected.

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Comment From: Daniel McCoy

6/14/19 @ 2:14 AM

I have reviewed the modeling report and study update from Environmental Resources Management. I do not believe it is appropriate to discharge such high levels of contaminants into Boysen Resoviour. I strongly urge DEQ to reject this permit applicatio...↓

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Comment From: Nic Patrick

6/14/19 @ 1:36 AM

Dear WYO DEQ, Please do not allow untreated waste water to flow into Boysen, The adverse affects on fish, wildlife and recreation would be devastating. This polluted water would continue down the Big Horn River through the Yellowtail and onto the ...↓

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Comment From: Virginia Mees

6/14/19 @ 12:53 AM

Why on earth would the Department of Environmental QUALITY want to allow dumping of oilfield waste into the tributaries of Boysen Reservoir? It is almost too ridiculous to even contemplate. This is an outrageous attempt to destroy our pristine waters...↓

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Comment From: Thomas CURRY

6/13/19 @ 11:47 PM

No produced water should be discharged into the fresh water of the State of Wyoming or anywhere just because it is cheaper than hauling it to an authorize disposal facility or have it re-injected as they do in Sweet Water and Sublette counties. ...↓

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Comment From: Vernon Lovejoy

6/13/19 @ 3:01 PM

Since Boysen is a Federal reservoir and not Wyoming's, I feel obligated to object to any discharge into the reservoir by Aethon. The only reason to discharge into the reservoir is quite obvious, its simply cheaper than containing pollutants on site. ...↓

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Comment From: Michael Perez

6/13/19 @ 1:30 PM

Don't dump polluted water into our lakes, rivers, and streams. We must find an alternative for disposing of wastewater from the Moneta Divide oil and gas field. Dumping into the streams will carry down the entire watershed and affect anyone downstrea...↓

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Comment From: sarah krall

6/13/19 @ 1:14 PM

I wish I were articulate enough to express my dismay. Department of Environmental Quality? I do understand I'm not to be negative, but should be respectful. I worry many Wyoming government officials do not look forward to a time when our magnificen...↓

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Comment From: Stephanie White

6/13/19 @ 11:20 AM

Although I do not reside in Wyoming I was a long time resident in lander and our family still has businesses in Casper,Gillet and Laramie and my uncle lives on his ranch in Saratoga . I still return to Wyoming every year and I have spent many hours ...↓

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Comment From: Mimi McMillen

6/13/19 @ 11:03 AM

PLEASE do NOT poison Boysen. We've poisoned far too many streams, lakes , rivers, etc.

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Comment From: Kathryn Jenkins

6/13/19 @ 11:03 AM

I am strongly opposed to the proposal to discharge millions of gallons per day of produced water into the creeks that flow into Boysen Reservoir and then on to the Wind River and Thermopolis' water supply without proper consideration of the consequen...↓

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Comment From: Emil Gercke

6/13/19 @ 9:06 AM

I strongly disagree with allowing additional dumping of oilfield watewater into Boysen reservoir and downstream into the Wind river (a Class I watershed). I feel that this discharge will be detrimental to the wildlife and fisheries as well as human u...↓

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Comment From: Kristen Brown

6/13/19 @ 9:00 AM

I am appalled that the Moneta project is being considered while not protecting the Class 1 rivers that will be impacted. We do need jobs and sources of energy in Wyoming, but we also need to be able to drink and recreate in clean water. I am urging y...↓

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Comment From: Ryan Caillet

6/13/19 @ 8:20 AM

Don't do it, man.

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Comment From: Johnny Baker

6/13/19 @ 8:11 AM

I believe it is absolutely unacceptable to contaminate the reservoir. This is public property, and should not be used for a company short cut. The public will not suffer for their profit!

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Comment From: Kristen Lovelace

6/13/19 @ 8:04 AM

I want to prevent polluted oilfield wastewater from being discharged into Boysen Reservoir and the Wind and Bighorn rivers. The move threatens outdoor recreation, human health, fisheries, and local economies. I want the DEQ to tighten pollution limit...↓

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Comment From: Steve Harshman

5/31/19 @ 12:31 PM

Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality Water Quality Division 200 West 17th Street 4th Floor Cheyenne, Wyoming 82002 Re: Wy0002062 Frenchie Draw Permit #1 To Whom It May Concern, This is a letter of support for the water discharge pe...↓rmit Wy0002062 Frenchie Draw Permit #1. We feel the DEQ and the energy companies who have been involved in this effort have provided sufficient evidence to prove they have considered the impacts of both approving and not approving the permit application. The potential benefit for approving this permit and allowing increased development of natural gas and oil from this proven field is significant to both the Fremont County and State of Wyoming tax base, and very important to the support industries and individuals employed by Aethon Energy as they continue to develop these resources. Natural gas is one of Wyoming's most abundant and available natural resources and has been one of the key economic drivers in the state. Natural gas prices have remained flat for the last several years requiring producers to develop more efficient ways to produce gas in order to stay profitable. Increasing the gas production volume from a known source is far more efficient that trying to discover new sources, declining the permit application for Aethon Energy would greatly restrict the volumes of gas available for production in that field. The wells in the Moneta Divide area including Frenchie Draw have surface discharged the generated production water for many years going back to the original developer Exxon, and with positive impacts because of the beneficial use to wildlife and livestock. It has also been necessary to determine the impacts various levels of production water could have on the associated drainages downstream of the source point including Boysen Reservoir and the Wind River down stream of the Boysen Reservoir Dam. Our understanding is that both the DEQ and Aethon established at the beginning of the permitting process the need to maintain the Wind River as a Class 1 water way, which has allowed the professional consultants and agency staff to use that determination in formulating the parameters of the permit. As we understand the "load value" for Total Dissolved Solids (TDS) and the concentrations values for chlorides (mg/l) have all been adjusted with the health of Boysen Reservoir and the Wind River as the guiding criteria. It is also my understanding that production waters previously discharged into Alkali Creek and Badwater Creek have been monitored for many years and the concentration levels for chlorides historically have not impacted Badwater Creek negatively. We think the efforts to study and evaluate the potential increased volume of production water from this source over the past several years by the DEQ, Aethon Energy and the previous operator, Encana Oil & Gas has provided solid information that enabled this permit to be drafted in its current form. It is obvious from the multi-million-dollar investment by the energy companies in the construction and operation of the "Neptune" water treatment facility that they are committed to comply with the requirements associated with the permit and are committed to the long-term development of these resources which are a benefit to Wyoming.

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Comment From: RUSSELL ACKERMAN

5/30/19 @ 3:38 AM

from the moncrief ranch and a natural gas producer we have spent hundred of thousands of dollars to dispose of are produced water the right way. badwater goes directly through the ranch, ever since produced water was being dumped in badwater the fish...↓

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Comment From: Phyllis Roseberry

5/29/19 @ 5:05 AM

I have submitted comments previously, but attended the public meeting in Thermopolis and gained additional information. Therefore, I'm submitting more comments. We have lived on the Gooseberry Creek outside of Worland and Thermopolis for about 40...↓ years. We have fished, swum and camped at Boysen for many years. The water quality of Boysen Reservoir and the Wind River are very important to us. The DEQ has a legal responsibility to protect our water. You must look at all alternatives to reach that goal including actions that may reach outside of your agency. Thus, a major consequence of your permit issuing decision must be considered. This is the CUMULATIVE impacts to the water quality. These cumulative impacts should be the point of reference for issuing the permit not the individual discharge from the Aethon field. Also, the baseline water quality from which to gauge impacts from the current permit request should be from the most pristine historical water quality. You have not utilized the historic water quality measurements from the USGS at their Dubois, below Boysen Dam and Basin measurement stations. You have used the most impacted time water quality contamination as your baseline for permit application impacts. That is unacceptable from a drinking water, recreational and wildlife uses for this water. Two alternatives must be considered when analyzing this permit application. These alternatives have not been analyzed to date. One is to treat ALL the produced water from this field not just some of it and assuming dilution will take care of the rest. You should require the permittee to build sufficient treatment plants to treat all the produced water with no assumption of dilution to solve the contamination problem. Another alternative is to reinject the produced water back into the ground level from which it came. This alternative would result in NO contamination of surface water. The DEQ person at the Thermopolis meeting indicated this alternative must be permitted by the State Oil and Gas commission. So what about State level coordination between agencies? The answer provided in Thermopolis was very bureaucratic. Because this action must be permitted by another State agency, it is infeasible? Really?! The State agencies cannot coordinate their actions for the welfare of its citizens? Is the Governor aware of this bureaucratic snafu?? This permitting process is not thorough, rigorous or consistent with the DEQs responsibility to The Clean Water Act or the citizens of Wyoming. The rational presented in Thermopolis appeared to be to allow Aethon to be permitted for the maximum allowable contamination within questionable baseline and cumulative effects standards. Also, there is a false dichotomy between jobs, the economy and water pollution for all citizens to endure. This field can be developed, there can be jobs but the permittee may have to take reasonable steps (more produced water treatment plants or reinjection) to protect the water quality for everyone. If it costs the company more $ so be it. The DEQs job is not to facilitate the bottom line profit maximization for the operator, it is charged to protect the water quality for the citizens of Wyoming.

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Comment From: Bill Voigt

5/27/19 @ 5:00 PM

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Comment From: richard scott

5/27/19 @ 11:25 AM

I am against the discharge of Aethon oilfield waste water into Boysen Reservoir and the Wind River/Big Horn River system. The discharge volume is too much for the river system to absorb and dilute while still maintaining high water quality. The was...↓

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Comment From: Michael Nelson

5/23/19 @ 5:00 PM

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Comment From: City of Riverton (Rich Gard)

5/23/19 @ 5:00 PM

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Comment From: Town of Shoshoni (Joel Highsmith)

5/23/19 @ 5:00 PM

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Comment From: Kathy Campbell-Wallace

5/23/19 @ 5:00 PM

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Comment From: Keith Becker

5/23/19 @ 5:00 PM

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Comment From: Rachelle Butler

5/22/19 @ 2:47 PM

I find it troubling that our baseline is drawn after 50 years of releasing pollutants into the tributaries of Boysen Reservoir. Are there comparable bodies of water that have not been exposed to constituent dumping that could be used to find a truer ...↓

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Comment From: Sandra Knigge

5/22/19 @ 4:00 AM

Too many residents are dependent on the local economy; a little anonymity on comments would promote more responses

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Comment From: Sandra Frost

5/22/19 @ 12:41 AM

Sirs, I am very concerned about the proposed permit to discharge into the waters of Wyoming for several reasons. 1)In the last 10 years Wyoming DEQ has identified 117 impaired waters in the state. Our Conservation District, along with others, helped ...↓

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Comment From: Rick Harrison

5/21/19 @ 11:23 PM

Don't pollute our waters for your profit you can treat it befor it is realeased into the big horn basin drainage .We irrigate with these waters fish and recreate their are state parks national parks and Triible lands affected by your ignorance for se...↓

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Comment From: Laura Gilbertson

5/21/19 @ 1:45 PM

This permit should absolutely not be allowed. Supposedly the safety risk to residents of the town are low, but that most likely isn't the whole story. What about the other forms of life that have that body of water as their home? It's our responsibil...↓

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Comment From: Timothy Hancock

5/21/19 @ 12:52 PM

I am in favor of the permit-the damage chances seem minimal and the benefit to the State and the city of Riverton are very high. Please approve this permit.

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Comment From: Nicky McCallum

5/21/19 @ 11:34 AM

The WY DEQ website states that "The Water Quality Division works to keep Wyoming's water clean by monitoring and protecting surface and groundwater in the state". At the very least this is false advertising of the WY DEQ mission. As a resident...↓

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Comment From: Nate Lewis

5/21/19 @ 11:25 AM

I was born in Wyoming and grew up in Fremont County. Oil and gas supported my family, and countless others for decades. Its industry creates jobs and other supporting industries and businesses - wherever it exists, that help the surrounding area as ...↓

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Comment From: Roger Barber

5/21/19 @ 9:34 AM

I utilize Boysen Reservoir every summer for fishing, boating & camping activities. It si totally beyond my comprehension how DEQ could even give this permit application more than ten seconds of consideration. Thinking about allowing over 6 million ...↓

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Comment From: Jason Lewis

5/21/19 @ 1:18 AM

I am all for this project moving forward! Fremont County needs this to happen. After attending the meeting on Monday night in Riverton and seeing how many other people attended and are for this project I see nothing but great things for the communit...↓

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Comment From: Christiana Gordon

5/21/19 @ 1:16 AM

I wanted to share my thoughts that this project needs to move on forward,not only for the economic advancements that will occur but also for the further it will give to our Wyoming families. I strongly feel that there will be no side effects that wi...↓

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Comment From: Daryl Watson

5/21/19 @ 12:51 AM

I 100% support the DEQ allowing the Moneta Divide project to move forward. The DEQ has investigated the potential contaminations and issues that might arise and have eased any concerns that I had about this project.

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Comment From: Local Meeting: Riverton and Th... (Riverton/Thermopolis Meeting Transcript)

5/20/19 @ 5:00 PM

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Comment From: Joseph Turner MD

5/20/19 @ 11:43 AM

I am Dr. Joseph Turner, a family practice physician in Riverton, WY. When I first read this proposal, my gut emotional response was that this was insane, how can DEQ even consider this? But then I stepped back and thought: I am a biochemistry major...↓ as well as having a medical degree, so I should approach this scientifically. I went online and read the DEQ statement of basis as well as the modeling report. I wanted to know more about the past history of the Moneta Divide permits, but on the DEQ web site I could only find the current draft version of permit WY0002062 but no previous versions. Thus, I had to rely on past news articles as well as the draft permit itself where DEQ admits previous versions of this permit allowed differing levels of chlorine release including some that allowed unlimited amounts. When was this and for how long? There was a news article that stated the EPA had previously vetoed this permit but then apparently tentatively approved it very recently, perhaps just this past month. This does not surprise me because it is well-known that the current administration in Washington D.C. is anti-science (not to mention not believing in History, Civics or even English literacy). Formerly known as the Environmental Protection Agency, with appointees like Scott Pruitt and Andrew Wheeler, it should now be renamed the Environmental Destruction Agency. So, I would take anything coming from them with a grain of sodium chloride, as it were. Of note, any scientific study can be spun to prove a point because the study conclusions are only as good is the initial presumptions, definitions and endpoint goals. The first problem I have is with the actual DEQ rules and regulations requiring consideration of existing water conditions (already loaded with toxins that should not be there in the first place because for the last 50 years dumping has been allowed and sometimes unregulated as just mentioned). They then allow up to an additional standard deviation of worsening toxin levels. It sure would be fascinating to have data on water quality when Boysen Dam was completed in 1952. Based on these rules, for the modeling study of the Class 1 water of the Wind River downstream from the dam, Aethon used average toxin data from 2010 - 2016 and the model showed that chlorine came very close to that 1 standard deviation increase. What we SHOULD be doing in this country is trying to IMPROVE water quality, not just accepting current conditions and allowing slight worsening with each subsequent permit issued. Next let us look at the mixing zone portion of the model. What is important here is what they actually set out to prove. All they set out to do was to show that a particular toxin would be less than the "acute aquatic criteria". This term stands for the concentration of a toxin that, if remains for a specified length of time, will cause 50% of the aquatic life to die. Do you think it is like an electrical switch where at a level of 860, 50% of aquatic life dies, but at a level of 859 everything is fine? Of course not. The final area I want to mention is the anti-degradation paragraphs on Alkali and Badwater Creeks. Here DEQ is basically saying that these are already poor quality water, so who cares if we make it worse. They also seem to rationalize the situation by stating this facility began functioning prior to the 1975 Clean Water Act. The bottom line is all of these waters are used by wildlife and livestock. The reservoir is also used for crop irrigation and human consumption, both drinking water and fishing. Thus, after studying all of the data, my initial gut reaction was confirmed. This is insanity. I will not even discuss whether we should be investing at all in fossil fuels (spoiler alert, the answer is NO). However, Wyoming and especially Fremont County are in desperate need of good jobs. If I only think in terms of job creation, then Aethon should hire many skilled workers for COMPLETING construction of the water treatment plant BEFORE any increase in effluent begins. As an addendum, I find it peculiar, to say the least, that the letters of support from the mayors of Lander and Dubois are, word for word, identical (even including the typographical error in the last sentence). In fact, they look like they could have been written by Aethon itself. Don't you just love the "copy & paste" function? Joseph Turner M.D. Riverton, WY

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Comment From: Town of Dubois (John Meyer)

5/20/19 @ 6:21 AM

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Comment From: Bob and Suzanne Hargis

5/20/19 @ 6:03 AM

This is a ridiculously over the top thoughtless and bad idea.. to deliberately add pollutants with bad outcomes for the health of this wonderful fishery and water source down river is insane.. Please consider the source of such short sighted notion...↓

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Comment From: Lisa Rozar

5/20/19 @ 3:17 AM

stop polluting our water !!!

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Comment From: Gary White

5/20/19 @ 3:01 AM

Please deny this permit to allow discharge in to Boysen Reservoir. It makes no sense that the material will become diluted as it passes through the reservoir. The sediment containing the sulfates and chlorides will settle out within the tributaries ...↓

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Comment From: City of Lander (Monty Richardson)

5/20/19 @ 3:00 AM

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Comment From: Cathleen Aldrich

5/19/19 @ 1:31 AM

Please reconsider using Boysen and the Wind River as a dump for toxic materials. My husband and I regularly fish at Boysen and enjoy watching the birds and animals that rely on this water source. We urgently need to protect this resource. Mineral e...↓

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Comment From: Juan Laden

5/18/19 @ 7:00 PM

I can't believe that the DEQ would knuckle under and consider trashing, not only beautiful Boysen Reservoir, but all of the down stream Bighorn River! World class trout fishing not mention all the agricultural and our sustainable recreation will be ...↓

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Comment From: David Crowther

5/18/19 @ 5:40 AM

I am a Trout Unlimited member but also a very concerned citizen. I am very opposed to allowing this groundwater discharge. Even the acknowledged probable outcomes in the discharge bay of Boysen Reservoir are too much to allow the project. I don't bel...↓

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Comment From: Laney Hicks

5/18/19 @ 12:18 AM

I do not believe any discharge permit should be given let alone expanded. We in Wyoming live at the headwaters of water systems that stretch clear to the oceans. Not only should we protect the quality of Boysen reservoir, but also irrigation, fishe...↓

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Comment From: Keith Collins

5/17/19 @ 10:19 AM

I worked in the oil industry but I can't condone this action on your part. I have noticed that Badwater Creek runs much later into the summer than it used to back in the 1980s, so I suspect you are already allowing production water to flow into Boys...↓

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Comment From: Alexander Muromcew

5/15/19 @ 10:57 AM

Please do not authorize the Aethon (Moneta Divide) discharge permit. Tourism and outdoor recreation are the new economic drivers of Wyoming's economy so to allow pollution of our natural resources like this to be me is unfathomable. We need to prot...↓

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Comment From: George Simonton

5/15/19 @ 9:38 AM

I am fully opposed to the proposal This should NOT be money issue. It is a water quality issue! The burden should be very high to show that NO adverse effects will result. There is too much at risk!!! I do not want to look back in 20 years...↓

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Comment From: Phyllis Roseberry

5/15/19 @ 4:16 AM

I am completely opposed to issuing this permit. There is no good reason to allow discharge of these pollutants into Boysen Reservoir. The down stream water from this reservoir is used for drinking water in Thermopolis and Basin. Really?? The DEQ ch...↓

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Comment From: Petroleum Association of Wyomi... (John Robitaille)

5/15/19 @ 4:03 AM

Please find PAW's comments attached

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Comment From: John O'Connor

5/15/19 @ 1:32 AM

Have we learned nothing from the past? We can not use our limited freshwater resources as a dumping ground. The increased flow of untreated waste is too much and will have a generational effect on Boysen and the Wind River. Please don't allow this to...↓

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Comment From: Michael and Jacky Wright

5/14/19 @ 5:00 PM

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Comment From: Diane Verna

5/14/19 @ 6:38 AM

The reservoir is too special to pollute. We should not be sacrificing our public lands and clean water for the energy industry. We need to find a better alternative. Please do not allow the reservoir to be polluted. I am concerned about clean air and...↓

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Comment From: David Lundquist

5/13/19 @ 2:20 PM

Please do not allow dumpage of any resource extraction water into our reservoirs rivers and even our aquafirs. Thank you David Lundquist Jackson Wyoming

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Comment From: Carol Pickett

5/13/19 @ 12:50 PM

You must be nuts to allow this company to even consider dumping contaminated water into our pristine rivers. I live in Thermopolis, and the last thing I want to drink is water left over from oil and gas processing. Surely there must be a more effic...↓

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Comment From: Sheila Norris

5/13/19 @ 4:00 AM

In God's name, why would you ruin a much needed and much used water source in this way? Do you REALLY care about Wyoming or the residents living here? This is a wonderful recreation and fishing area, along with the river being fed by it! You People n...↓

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Comment From: Barbara Burris

5/13/19 @ 3:11 AM

How could you even consider allowing the discharge of millions of gallons of untreated water from these drilling operations. The companies involved must be required to treat this discharge or find some other way of disposing of it. Dumping pollute...↓

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Comment From: Deborah Richards

5/13/19 @ 2:10 AM

No pollution permit is wanted by the residents of Wyoming, it is your job to protect the water of this state, please do so!

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Comment From: Lisa L Smith

5/12/19 @ 2:37 PM

Please keep the Boysen Reservoir free from the pollutants of the oil and gas industry. I lived in the Missouri Valley close to Boysen and enjoyed its recreation opportunities. It is a state treasure that should be protected. It is better to protect i...↓

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Comment From: Tom Dougherty

5/12/19 @ 2:07 AM

You have got to be kidding me,this is the kind of project that gives responsible oil and gas development a bad name.Plus endangering outdoor resources that are worth far more to Wyoming than the product of this project.

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Comment From: Randi Slaughter

5/12/19 @ 12:10 AM

Please do NOT allow this increased flow of untreated water and increased allowance of particulates, into the drainages that would affect the Boysen reservoir and the beautiful Wind River. The gas companies have made windfall profits in the past, and ...↓

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Comment From: Gordon Townsend

5/11/19 @ 11:59 PM

I am 100% against the disposal of oil field waste water into the surface waters of Wyoming. In this instance, I'm commenting on the proposal of discharging pollution into Boysen Reservoir. I fish boysen and I'm concerned about polluting the flesh of ...↓

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Comment From: Nancy McCoy

5/11/19 @ 11:48 PM

My name is Nancy McCoy and I live in Clark, Wyoming. In August of 2006 we had a gas well blow out caused by Windsor, LLC that spewed natural gas and toxic chemicals for 56 hours in a residential area. There was even a delay in notifying residents t...↓

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Comment From: Phylene Bokor

5/11/19 @ 2:10 PM

This cannot be allowed to happen. What can I do to stop this?

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Comment From: Andrew Carson

5/11/19 @ 6:44 AM

Greetings, DEQ; I write today to object to the proposed dumping of wastewater from drilling activities from the Moneta Divide project. The continued abuse of Wyoming's water for the convenience of industry should end, as water is the fundamental el...↓

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Comment From: Toni Marosok

5/11/19 @ 6:09 AM

Please do not allow this to happen. This will poison waters forever-thus killing everything along with the water. We need to protect these precious waters/places-Not kill them. This will kill them!! You were put here to protect not murder in the name...↓

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Comment From: Janet Cunningham

5/11/19 @ 4:18 AM

What are you thinking?! Spoiling the water will affect plants, animals, and people. All of these need clean water - you will ruin our environment. What do you think? People can withstand contaminated water? Shame on you for even thinking of allowing ...↓

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Comment From: john parr

5/11/19 @ 4:05 AM

Hundreds of down river users from the inlet of Poison Creek to the Yellowstone and beyond will be affected by this so-called "mixing" the DEQ proposes for a solution. This is old disproven technology that didn't work in the 60's. I am totally agai...↓

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Comment From: Mak Kuchler

5/11/19 @ 4:03 AM

Reviewing the proposal proves difficult for a lay person, extremely technical documents. No doubt meant to be lengthy and complicated by design. Aethon Energy money hard at work trying to overwhelm us with bull. However, it does not take a rocke...↓

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Comment From: Katherine Lenhardt

5/11/19 @ 2:32 AM

Do not allow the permit to go through. It will contaminate waters and land for miles.

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