Board delays Montana CBM water restrictions
By BOB ANEZ
Associated Press writer
Monday, June 6, 2005 11:00 AM MDT
HELENA, Mont. -- A decision on whether the state should consider new restrictions on what can be done with water pumped from coal-bed methane wells will not be made until late July.
The state Board of Environmental Review unanimously decided Friday to delay until its July 29 meeting any action on new regulations proposed by a coalition of conservation and ranching interests from southeastern Montana. Members said they wanted more time to study the proposal that surfaced just 2.5 weeks ago.
The Northern Plains Resource Council, along with 15 other groups and ranchers, want requirements that water removed from the wells to be pumped back into the ground to replenish aquifers or, if that is not technically possible, to be treated before being discharged into rivers or streams for irrigation.
Advocates said the tougher mandates are needed to prevent aquifers from being depleted and preserve the water quality in rivers needed for irrigating crops. Critics of the proposal said 2-year-old limits on the amount of pollution in waterways running through coal-bed methane country are sufficient, and additional demands on handling water from the wells are unnecessary.
Drilling for coal-bed methane involves the release of groundwater to relieve pressure holding the natural gas in coal seams. Some conservationists and ranchers say the water can be salty and damage crops.
Foes of the proposed regulations found an ally in the board's legal counsel, Assistant Attorney Tom Bowe.
He questioned whether the board has the authority to adopt regulations dictating what happens to methane well water and he found some technical problems with the way the petition was written.
Bowe recalled the board took 18 months to develop the water quality standards in 2003 and they were a product of collaboration among the state, coal-bed methane industry and some of the same groups now wanting changes.
Harmon Raney, representing several gas production companies, called it "underhanded" for the request to come so quickly after adoption of the water quality standards.
"This isn't necessary," said Calvin Rice, a Broadus-area rancher. "Leave things as they are. It's my dang water." |
