It seems as if every ten or fifteen years a new wave of natural resource development hits Montana. In the 1970s and early 1980s it was coal; then, we had a gold rush that lasted into the mid-1990s; now it’s coal bed methane (CBM).

Remember that term because you’re going to hear it a lot in the next few years. Coal bed methane is at the center of Montana’s next big natural resource development push. And, as usual, there are a number of people who want to blindly develop this resource in the name of jobs and the economy — ignoring its serious environmental and economic impacts.

Methane wells in Western Colorado with access roads, containment ponds, and drill sites. Photo by Rebecca Claren, courtesy of High Country News.

Methane (natural gas) occurs naturally in most coal beds. It is trapped in the coal by water and, like water, it was until recently simply a by-product of mining. But, over the last ten years, production of coal bed methane has rapidly increased so that it now accounts for roughly 7% of natural gas production in the United States.

Methane recovery is simple enough. A well is drilled down to the coal seam and the water is pumped out; this lowers the pressure and releases the gas, which is collected at the well head.

The current boom in methane production is centered on Montana and Wyoming’s Powder River Basin. The coal reserves of the Powder River Basin are enormous, and its methane reserves are substantial as well, an estimated 30 to 40 trillion cubic feet.

Wyoming has already seen substantial development. There are currently more than 3,000 producing methane wells, and the U.S. Bureau of Land Management is predicting 50,000 more wells in the next ten years. Similar mind-boggling numbers are projected for Montana, with predictions running from 14,000 to 39,000 wells.

Fueling much of this development pressure is Montana’s so-called “energy crisis.” The advent of electric utility deregulation in Montana caused a steep increase in the price of wholesale electricity, forcing the closure of some businesses. This in turn led to a simplistic call for more electricity generation to drive down prices. The fuels being eyed for these new power plants are Montana’s coal and natural gas reserves.

Although there are many potential problems with methane development, most revolve around water: both quantity and quality. The average well pumps more than 17,000 gallons of water per day to release the methane. That multiplies out to 6.2 million gallons of water per year for one well. Multiply that number by the 14,000 to 39,000 wells projected for Montana and the volume of water is incomprehensible.

Obviously, the removal of this amount of groundwater in arid eastern Montana will cause serious problems. Most farmers and ranchers rely on groundwater for their household supply, irrigation, and livestock watering. Water tables in the areas where methane has already been developed have dropped by as much as 200 feet. The fact of the matter is that nobody knows exactly what will happen to these aquifers, whether they will recharge and, if so, at what rate.

So what do you do with this pumped-out water? There are basically three options available: discharge it into existing drainages; put it in holding ponds and let it evaporate or seep into the ground; or re-inject it into the aquifer. The problem with the first two options is that CBM water is very saline and contains elevated levels of fluoride, ammonia, sulfate, and other elements. If it is discharged into existing drainages, it will pose problems for aquatic life. Further, because that water will be used by area farmers and ranchers for irrigation, the salinity and sodium absorption ratio of the water can cause problems with crop yield.

Ultimately, re-injection has to be the answer for CBM water. Unfortunately, this is also a more expensive option and one that has not been used on this scale.

Drilling for CBM began in Montana in 1997.  By 2000, the Montana Board of Oil and Gas Conservation (MBOGC) had issued hundreds of permits to drill. The primary developer is a subsidiary of Montana-Dakota Utilities, formerly known as Redstone Gas Partners and now called Fidelity Exploration and Production Company. This company had begun full-scale development in southeastern Montana, just south of Decker.  Interestingly, no State or federal agency had done any level of environmental review on this project or any other proposed CBM development.

In March 2000, the Northern Plains Resource Council filed suit against the MBOGC for failing to do any environmental analysis prior to permitting CBM wells. NPRC and MBOGC reached a settlement of that suit in which the MBOGC placed a moratorium on permitting of new CBM wells (Fidelity’s wells and 200 others being exempted) until a programmatic environmental impact statement on coal bed methane development was completed. The EIS is underway and a draft is expected to be issued by the end of this year.

Even with the moratorium, much continues to occur. MEIC joined NPRC in filing a lawsuit against the Department of Environmental Quality for violations of the Montana Clean Water Act by allowing the discharge of CBM-produced water. The Bureau of Land Management is leasing federally owned minerals and is permitting CBM wells. And, all parties are watching the development of the EIS and waiting to see what happens after the moratorium is lifted.

MEIC has decided to make CBM development a major component of its work in the coming months. The anticipated level of development rivals the coal boom of the 1970s and 1980s. And, like the coal boom, we can’t let others exploit our natural resources and degrade our environment as a short-term solution to an energy problem.

Recent Developments

(November 2007) Coal Bed Methane Discharge Standards Survive a Challenge

For More Information