The US Environmental Protection Agency approved the WDEQ’s aquifer exemption request for Linc’s coal gasification pilot plant at Campbell County last week.
Following this announcement, WDEQ’s water quality administrator Kevin Frederick said he was pleased the EPA agreed that the portion of the Wyodak aquifer associated with the project met federal requirements for exemption as it doesn’t serve as a source of drinking water.
The DEQ Land Quality Division approved a research and development licence for Linc’s CG project last year, and part of this license requires an EPA aquifer exemption.
The EPA confirmed that the inward hydraulic flow maintained during gasification and restoration, Linc’s planned engineering controls required by its permit, and the monitoring plan “demonstrate that the surrounding underground sources of drinking waters would be protected”
DEQ director Todd Parfitt said that both the EPA and DEQ agree that the proposed aquifer exemption would meet the requirements of the Safe Drinking Water Act.
Linc controls 745 square kilometres of coal leases within the Powder River Basin.
The company acquired an additional 70sq.km of coal leases in 2011 near its Glenrock oil and gas operations in Wyoming – in addition to its original GasTech lease acquisitions in 2009 and 2010 – advancing its strategy of using the carbon dioxide produced from underground coal gasification operations for enhanced oil recovery projects.
