Dakota Resource Council member Lisa DeVille is garnering support in the nation’s capital this week for a new rule that would cut methane waste from oil and gas fields.
DeVille, from Mandaree, N.D., is meeting with Sen. Heidi Heitkamp, Rep. Kevin Cramer, and other Congressional offices to share her experience dealing with the Bakken oil and gas development and her perspective on the Bureau of Land Management’s proposed methane waste prevention rule for public and tribal lands.
“Our creation stories come from the earth – and we’re not supposed to be doing what we’re doing to the earth,” DeVille said. “Everything has a spirit, and everything is life. I’m not saying I’m an expert. I’m just someone who knows we have a human right to clean air, clean land, and clean water.”
Her home, the Fort Berthold Reservation, contains about 1,500 oil and gas wells.
“Many of those are flaring 24-7, which means that you can see gas flares in every direction you look,” DeVille said. “They sound like the roaring of a jet engine, and they can light up the night sky as bright as day. And this is gas that could be used to heat thousands of homes. It’s so strange. They just treat it like a byproduct.”
Methane waste rule
BLM’s rule would require oil and gas operators to reduce the amount of natural gas flared, vented, or leaked on public and tribal lands. The companies would have to capture and market methane emissions. In 2013 alone, the amount of natural gas wasted through flaring, venting, or leaks on public and tribal lands could have heated the cities of Dallas and Denver for an entire year.
“I want stricter laws, and I want stricter enforcement from the Bureau of Land Management. I want stronger inspections, rules, and regulations,” DeVille said. “The industry needs to take care of what’s happened.”
The Senate Public Lands and Mining Subcommittee is holding a hearing on BLM’s rules on Thursday.
Living with oil & gas
DeVille is one the residents featured in Living with Oil and Gas, a new social media project by WORC. The project tells the stories of directly impacted individuals, in their own words, from the heart of the Bakken oil fields of Montana and North Dakota to the natural gas fields and communities of eastern Wyoming and Colorado’s Western Slope.
Comments due April 22
The BLM is taking comments on its proposed rule through April 22. Send in your comments from WORC’s Action Page.
For more information on the BLM methane rules, contact Regional Organizer Scott Skokos at sskokos [at] worc.org.