The impact of oil and gas air pollution on public health will be the topic of the Cheyenne Area Landowners Coalition’s (CALC) Annual Meeting on Thursday, Sept. 24 from 5:30 – 7:00 pm; the event is online and open to the public.
The panel will discuss the increasing body of research about the impact oil and gas facilities have on human health and safety. Panelists will discuss emerging research in Colorado and provide a contrast to Wyoming in terms of changes to regulations and policy regarding the siting of oil and gas facilities to best protect public health.
Panelists include Dr. Lisa McKenzie, Assistant Research Professor at the Colorado School of Public Health on the University of Colorado Denver’s Anschutz Medical Campus; Dr. John Putnam, Director of the Colorado Department of Public Health’s Environmental Programs, and Dr. Robert Field, senior research scientist with the College of Engineering and Applied Science at the University of Wyoming. The discussion will be moderated by Laramie County Commissioner Linda Heath.
McKenzie has been a lead researcher on impacts of oil and gas on human health and safety in northern Colorado. In a 2018 study, McKenzie and her co-researchers found that air pollutant concentrations increased with proximity to oil and gas facilities, as did health risks, along Colorado’s Northern Front Range.
Putnam oversees the state public health department’s air, water, waste, environmental health, and sustainability divisions. He also works with other agencies on environmental issues affecting the state, such as the multiyear study released last fall regarding the potential health problems that can be caused by living within 2,000 feet of an oil and gas pad. This study spurred the decision for Colorado state lawmakers to tighten their oversight of oil and gas wells permitted within 2,000 feet of structures.
Field teaches courses on air quality and water management, and in 2008, he established a new research program to assess the emerging issue of wintertime ozone in Sublette County. This work was initially developed to consider the nature of this issue and to gain a better understanding of hydrocarbon emissions from oil and gas development.
The panel discussion is free but requires advance registration. Register at https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/1801985617349100303
For more information on the CALC Annual Meeting, contact Powder River at 307-286-5531 or email monikal@powderriverbasin.org.
