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University, DEQ and division offer ozone alerts, grants and carbon‑sequestration primacy updates
Summary
USU announced a winter ozone alert service and working‑group meeting; DEQ described EPA grants for thief‑hatch replacement and marginal‑well closure funds and a compliance training; the Division reported progress on a Class VI primacy application for carbon sequestration rules with a Dec. 8 comment deadline and anticipated EPA review.
Researchers and regulators used the meeting to announce programs and near‑term regulatory actions.
Seth Lyman of Utah State University said the winter ozone alert program begins Dec. 1, that basinwx.com will provide real‑time air quality and forecasts up to two weeks out, and asked attendees to sign up for e‑mail alerts. He announced an Ozone Working Group meeting on Dec. 10 at 2 p.m. and said USU is planning a large‑scale emissions study that will require operator cooperation and site access.
Sheila Vance of the Department of Environmental Quality described an EPA grant to replace thief hatches (up to ~800 replacements) and a separate DOE‑funded Marginal Well Closure Grant for wells at risk of closure. She also said DEQ's compliance group will hold a rules training on Dec. 9 (500‑series oil and gas rules) in Roosevelt and that EPA is reconsidering moderate nonattainment designation with a potential proposal expected in Q1.
Richard Powell with the Division of Oil, Gas and Mining reported the state's Class VI UIC rule for carbon sequestration was finalized in July and that a public comment period is open until Dec. 8 with a public hearing that day; if no substantive comments require changes the Division expects to submit a primacy application to EPA in mid‑December and anticipates a relatively quick federal review.
Ting Xiao and Al Walker from the Energy & Geoscience Institute announced the CarbonSAFE project's wrap‑up, a second‑year survey about perceived carbon storage risks in the basin, and an EGI technical conference scheduled for March 5, 2026. Attendees were asked to participate in the survey and pick up conference flyers.
