The federal government has approved strict new water-quality standards sought by Montana over fears that natural-gas drilling in neighboring Wyoming could pollute interstate rivers. Montana officials said Monday that the new rules would protect farmers from poor-quality water produced during exploration for coal-bed methane, a type of natural gas. But with a federal lawsuit over the issue still pending in Cheyenne, it was not immediately clear how far Montana could go in enforcing the standards. More than 20,000 coal-bed methane wells have been drilled in northern Wyoming over the past decade. The Associated Press
BLM report: Drilling would boost gas leakage
RAWLINS (AP) — A court challenge to increased coal-bed methane development on the Atlantic Rim has yielded a document that contradicts the Bureau of Land Management’s public position on whether new drilling will cause more gas seepage from the ground.
Erik Molvar, wildlife biologist with Biodiversity Conservation Alliance, said court records resulting from a lawsuit filed by his organization and four other groups contain a document from the BLM about how drilling has boosted the number of methane gas seeps on the Atlantic Rim.
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Wyoming coal-bed methane workshops set for March 7, March 28
SHERIDAN, Wyo. – Two workshops are being held for landowners and interested persons in areas of coal-bed methane (CBM) development this March in Sheridan, Wyo., and Rawlins, Wyo.
Organized by the University of Wyoming Cooperative Extension Service (UW CES), the Sheridan workshop is 1-5 p.m. Friday, March 7, at Sheridan College’s Joe and Arlene Watt Agriculture Center in room 131 and 132. The event in Rawlins is 1-5 p.m. Friday, March 28, in the Carbon Building. Details of the Rawlins workshop will be released as they become available.
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