WildEarth Guardians

Thursday, September 4, 2008
Conservation Groups Spur Federal Agencies to Study Impacts of Coalbed Methane Drilling to Drinking Water, Streams, and Aquifers

Lawsuit Challenging Failure of Bureau of Land Management to Commission Critical Studies Dismissed as Agencies Reach Agreement
Contact: WildEarth Guardians

Spurred by a lawsuit filed last February by conservation groups, the Bureau of Land Management and the National Academy of Sciences entered into a groundbreaking agreement late last week to fully study the impacts of coalbed methane drilling in the Rocky Mountain region to drinking water, streams, and aquifers.

"We're finally on the way to comprehensively understanding how coalbed methane drilling impacts our drinking water, our streams, and aquifers here in the Rockies," said Jeremy Nichols, Climate and Energy Program Director for WildEarth. "This long overdue study should give us the information we all need to keep our waters safe from coalbed methane drilling."

The study was required by the 2005 federal energy bill, which gave the Bureau of Land Management one year to enter into an agreement with the National Academy of Sciences to study the impacts of coalbed methane drilling to surface and groundwater. Only after conservation groups, including WildEarth Guardians and the Sierra Club, filed suit earlier this year did the Bureau of Land Management enter into the agreement last Friday, August 29, 2008, three years after the 2005 energy bill was passed.

"Without our lawsuit, this study would not be underway," said Nichols. "It's a sad testament to the Bush Administration's utter disregard to science and the law, but thankfully we're now on the right track."

Coalbed methane drilling is a practice where shallow coal seams are tapped for their natural gas. When coal seams are tapped, they are dewatered. The water is often contaminated, yet is either dumped into streams or reinjected back into the ground. In many cases, chemicals are injected into the ground to spur the production of natural gas. And because of dewatering, the practice can dry up streams and water wells.

In the Rocky Mountain states of Colorado, Montana, New Mexico, North Dakota, and Utah, reports of coalbed methane drilling dewatering or contaminating water wells and streams are prevalent.

According to the contract between the National Academy of Sciences and the Bureau of Land Management, the coalbed methane study will investigate hydraulic, geologic, and water quality data, along with production techniques, costs, and the impacts to surface and groundwater, including drinking water.

In 2006, it was estimated that coalbed methane accounted for 9.4% of all natural gas production in the United States. The San Juan Basin of northwestern New Mexico and the Powder River Basin of northeastern Wyoming, both located in the Rocky Mountain region, are two of the country's major coalbed methane producing areas.

Because the Bureau of Land Management and the National Academy of Sciences entered into their agreement, the lawsuit filed last February was dismissed. For a copy of the agreement between the Bureau of Land Management and the National Academy of Sciences, please contact Jeremy Nichols, 720-563-9306, jnichols@wildearthguardians.org.