Methane Extraction Methods Alarm Ranchers, Conservationists

SHERIDAN, Wyoming, March 12, 2003 (ENS) - An unprecedented coalition of western ranchers, hunters, anglers, conservationists, water users and renewable energy advocates is appealing to Congress to protect the natural resources of the Western states from the environmental problems caused by energy production, particularly coalbed methane extraction.

Releasing its agenda for energy development on Tuesday, the coalition called on Congress to "protect private property rights, conserve and protect drinking and irrigation water resources, and preserve sensitive public lands" when national energy legislation comes before lawmakers this spring.

Coalbed methane drill crew in Wyoming (Photo courtesy Wyoming BLM)

There are 12,000 coalbed methane wells currently operating in the Powder River Basin, and the companies have declared their collective intention to drill an additional 39,400 wells.

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM), a federal agency under the Interior Department, has issued a Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) and Proposed Plan Amendment for the Powder River Basin Oil and Gas Project, a plan that the coalition is protesting on the grounds that it is flawed, contains contradictory statements, and does not protect the lands, waters and wildlife of the region from the "enormous impacts" of development.

Bureau of Land Management Director Kathleen Clarke in Wyoming (Photo courtesy Wyoming BLM)

"The analysis is flawed and fraught with errors, provides contradictory information, and it especially fails to reveal or take the required “hard look” at the serious and long lasting impacts to the land owners living on top of these federal minerals," the council wrote.

"Now, we are facing an unprecedented level of development in this proposed project and we have found that BLM has ignored the requirements of the Federal Land Policy Management Act, the National Environmental Policy Act, the Clean Water Act and the Clean Air Act," the council wrote.

The majority of federal oil and gas resources on western public lands are open for energy production. The Bush administration indicates that 85 percent of the "technically recoverable" oil and 88 percent of the "technically recoverable" natural gas on federal lands in the Rocky Mountain West are currently available for leasing and development.

Some public land areas have "unique natural values that should be safeguarded from all impacts of energy development," the coalition says. The group is asking Congress to ban new leasing or re-leasing in national monuments, national wildlife refuges, national forest roadless areas, citizen proposed wilderness areas on Bureau of Land Management lands, wild and scenic rivers, and sacred sites.

New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson spoke on behalf of the coalition, asking federal agencies to "require environmentally compatible energy practices" in New Mexico.

Grids of coalbed methane rigs spread across the Powder River Basin. (Photo courtesy Wyoming BLM)

"Ranchers have no way to protect their property from the impacts of irresponsible energy development," says Nancy Sorenson, a Wyoming rancher activist with the Powder River Basin Resource Council. "We need strong laws that protect our property rights and our way of making a living."

The coalition is asking Congress to require surface owner consent and surface use agreements before allowing energy development on their land. Today, Western land owners have little say over whether and how the federal minerals under their lands are extracted, and little recourse from the impacts this development can have on their drinking water, livelihoods and quality of life, the coalition states.

Pronghorn antelope in the Powder River Basin (Photo courtesy Wyoming Outdoor Council)

Ranchers oppose changes proposed by industry that would exempt coal bed methane gas development from the Clean Water Act. "We're in the middle of a horrible drought - we can't afford to pollute or waste a single drop," Sorenson says.

The coalition calls on Congress to regulate the gas industry practice of injecting toxic chemicals like benzene, MTBE and toluene into the ground to produce natural gas. Known as "hydraulic fracturing," the practice threatens to contaminate underground drinking water supplies.

"Hydraulic fracturing can contaminate our aquifers, which provide tens of thousands of western residents with their primary source of drinking water," warns Gwen Lachelt, director of the Oil and Gas Accountability Project in Durango, Colorado. The energy industry is asking Congress to exempt hydraulic fracturing from the Safe Drinking Water Act.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has been asked to support legislation which would exempt hydraulic fracturing from the safe drinking water law. The agency completed a study in 2002 of the possible impacts of hydraulic fracturing on underground sources of drinking water.

Based on its analysis, the EPA has "preliminarily found that the potential threats to public health posed by hydraulic fracturing of coalbed methane wells appear to be small and do not justify additional study."

The EPA notes that states with jurisdiction over their underground injection control programs have the authority to place controls on any injection activities that may threaten underground sources of drinking water.

The Powder River in Sheridan County, September 2001. (Photo by Jill Morrison, Powder River Basin Resource Council)

Hunters, anglers and conservationists hope the proposed legislation maintains existing safeguards for critical wildlife habitat and pristine public lands. "Hunting, fishing and recreation are the cornerstone of the Westıs economy," says Tory Taylor, a wildlife guide based in Dubois, Wyoming. "If Congress removes wildlife protections to drill for gas, I could be out of a job."

Wildlife recreation and outdoor activities contribute hundreds of thousands of jobs to the Westıs economy, and generate over $20 billion a year in economic activity, the coalition says.

The energy industry must be held accountable for cleanup costs and damages, the coalition urges. "Current law has proven insufficient to protect public lands and private property interests from the many damages caused by oil and gas development," the group says. "Legislation is needed to provide for bonding levels that reflect the real liabilities associated with energy extraction, to clean up past oil and gas development activity, improve reclamation standards, and strengthen inspection and enforcement activities."

A copy of the Western Energy Agenda is available at the Powder River Basin Resource Council website at: www.powderriverbasin.org.

The Powder River Basin Final Environmental Impact is online at: http://www.wy.blm.gov/nepa/prb-feis/