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To: GC who wrote (285)	4/30/2008 8:33:10 AM
From: GC	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 337

Government monitoring Tongue River for CBM damage Tuesday, July 20, 2004 10:25 AM MDT BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) -- The U.S. Geological Survey has started more intensely monitoring the Tongue River for possible damage from coal-bed methane drilling. Development of coal-bed methane is in the initial stages in some parts of southeast Montana and northeast Wyoming, and officials are concerned about potential effects on the river's watershed, said David Nimick, USGS project chief. The Tongue River begins in northern Wyoming's Bighorn Mountains before crossing into Montana. It is used extensively for irrigation. The government has installed 11 site monitors to gauge streamflow and water quality along the river and its major tributaries, with information intended for use by irrigators, the coal-bed methane industry and regulators in Montana and Wyoming, Nimick said. "While past and ongoing efforts have added substantially to our knowledge, additional data will help us to gain a better understanding of water resources and water quality in the Tongue River watershed," he said. "Long-term monitoring is needed to provided information to evaluate any changes or trends in surface water quality and support informed decisions about resource use and management." USGS has monitored the Tongue River, but not this extensively, Nimick said. Various agencies also requested the information, and previous monitoring had not been such a coordinated effort, he said. The network cost about $900,000 and was funded by Congress for fiscal year 2004, although an annual appropriation will become necessary, Nimick said. Coal-bed methane wells usually produce vast amounts of salty and acidic water, which can change water quality if discharged into streams. Some farmers, conservationists and others argue that the water released could harm crops and other vegetation. The monitoring program is meant to provide real-time information on streamflow and the water's potential to conduct electricity at each site. That information is used to indicate the amount of dissolved salts in the water, officials said. AP-WS-07-20-04 1044EDT