MIDLAND, Texas — Oil and gas is king in the Permian Basin. Recently, the federal government announced that the Environmental Protection Agency could designate the Permian Basin as a non-attainment zone.
This would mean that the area would have to re-work how it operates in order to reduce air pollution.
"The EPA published a notice that talked about the Permian Basin possibly being moved onto the non-attainment list for ambient air quality standards because of ozone levels, and that’s a significant thing to be placed on that list," Midland-Odessa Transportation Alliance president James Beauchamp said.
It's a decision that could impact whether certain projects, whether they be oil and gas related or something else, move forward. This is because they would require an air quality permit to proceed.
"Certainly there would be a lot of things added to that list," Beauchamp said. "It has a tremendous impact cost. Things that before were a forgone certainty that we were going to move forward on something, may not be anymore."
This is one reason why MOTRAN and local leaders are working to inform people in the Permian Basin about how this could impact them and the different industries that are in the Basin.
In fact, there will be a luncheon, open to the public, at the Petroleum Museum on August 3 from 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. It will provide information to the public about the EPA's notice to the Permian Basin.
"We hope we’re not on that list," Beauchamp said. "Certainly from the data we’ve collected, we probably shouldn’t be, but the fact that a notice was published and it got brought up, and this process is moving forward means people need to be engaged."
One of the biggest concerns with being placed on the non-attainment list is that once an area is placed on the list, it's unlikely that the area will get off the list.
"There has never been a community placed on the non-attainment list that has ever come off of it," Beauchamp said. "Even after the air quality standards have improved, they're left on there ad nauseam."
Brooks Landgraf, one of the speakers for the upcoming luncheon, mentioned that he plans to do whatever he can to make sure that the Permian Basin is not put on the non-attainment list.
"I’m going to be working and fighting tooth and nail in the upcoming legislative session to make sure that the Permian Basin has what it needs to be successful," Landgraf said.