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Draft EIS Issued for Montana CBM Production Rules
Coal bed methane (CBM) development could speed up in Montana after state and federal officials issued a draft environmental impact statement (EIS) concerning development in the southern part of the state. The Department of Interior’s Bureau of Land Management (BLM) recommended alternatives that would require operators to submit a development plan and water-use plan for CBM production. The proposal also would require wastewater to be recycled for irrigation or livestock watering.
The draft EIS assumes that 10,000-26,000 CBM wells would be drilled in the south-central southern part of the state, including 4,000 wells on Indian lands. Five public hearings are scheduled on the proposal, with a deadline for comments set for May 15. A final EIS could be issued by the end of this summer.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Region VIII, along with Montana and Wyoming environmental officials, also are reviewing comments on CBM discharge water before issuing draft rules. The comments were submitted by industry, land owners and other stakeholders in the region. Federal and state regulators may apply the surface discharge rules set up for the oil and gas industry to CBM production, and will also consider whether reinjection or other water contaminant methods would be suitable for some producing areas.
The energy industry wants to use EPA’s surface discharge methods calling for best professional judgment, but many of the stakeholders in ranching operations are concerned that the rules would allow permits to be issued that would not protect existing land uses, such as cattle production.
Concerned about the growing CBM production in the region, Wyoming and Montana regulators last June reached a tentative agreement to prevent CBM production from polluting the rivers (see Daily GPI, June 20, 2001). Under the proposal, CBM producers would be allowed to dump discharge water on the ground over an 18-to-24-month period to determine if it actually pollutes the rivers.
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