U.S. EPA & Montana Join WOC in Concerns Over CBM Water Discharge

by Amy Beatie

The goal of WOC's coalbed methane (CBM) campaign is simple: to encourage Wyoming to manage CBM development in a manner both beneficial to the state and respectful of Wyoming's people and environment. WOC is working to reform the policies of state administrative agencies as they grapple with the environmental impacts of this fast-growing industry. To that end, we have focused our most recent efforts on the Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality's water pollution discharge permitting program.

Water, Water Everywhere

The most immediate problem with CBM production is the withdrawal and discharge of tens of millions-and potentially billions-of gallons of water per day to facilitate methane extraction. This water is then dumped into pits or reservoirs or discharged into surface waters. Much of the water is high in salt and sodium and is therefore unsuitable for irrigation.

CBM water dischargers must obtain National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permits in order to operate their facilities. The Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality (WDEQ) is responsible for managing the NPDES program, a Clean Water Act program that regulates the discharge of pollutants into surface waters.

The magnitude and potential repercussions of the water issues associated with CBM production necessitate careful, intelligent and proactive management. Unfortunately, the fast-paced growth of the CBM industry has literally flooded WDEQ with NPDES permit applications. As a result, environmental groups, the CBM industry and even WDEQ officials agree that the agency is too understaffed and underfunded to effectively operate the NPDES program.

Montana & EPA Voice Concerns

Although the CBM industry would have you believe otherwise, WOC is not alone in its concerns about WDEQ's administration of the NPDES program. Both the State of Montana, downstream from Wyoming CBM water discharges, and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the federal agency with oversight responsibility for WDEQ's administration of the NPDES program, have expressed similar concerns.

The State of Montana has objected to WDEQ's permitting process. If Montana and Wyoming cannot resolve the dispute over Montana's receipt of Wyoming's CBM discharge water, the EPA is required by law to manage the dispute. If the EPA is unable to do so, Montana could be forced to sue Wyoming, a case that would be heard first by the U.S. Supreme Court.

The EPA has concerns as well. With direct authority over state-administered NPDES programs, if the EPA determines that WDEQ is failing to meet its NPDES responsibilities, the agency could withdraw Wyoming's authority to administer the program, withdraw Wyoming's federal funding, or both. The EPA has already sent two letters objecting to WDEQ's CBM permitting process, both of which support many of WOC's concerns. In the first, the EPA used its veto power to block WDEQ from issuing 23 CBM NPDES permits until WDEQ addressed ten permitting problems.

Making Progress

WOC's efforts, combined with those of Montana and the EPA, have already brought us closer to our goal of environmentally responsible CBM development. First, industry and WDEQ are beginning to address elevated levels of salt and sodium in CBM discharge water and their effects on agriculture. Second, two years ago, industry was required to test for only four chemical components of CBM discharge water; today it must test for nearly 30. Third, some landowners are being treated much more fairly in negotiations with industry over CBM drilling and water discharge, reducing the effects these activities will have on their land and livelihoods. Fourth, the CBM industry is considering and implementing more environmentally friendly technology, including water treatment and re-injection. Fifth, the State has forbidden the CBM industry from discharging water into any of the Tongue River drainages or the upper reaches of the Clear Creek drainage. Finally, industry is now allowed only one well for every 80 acres, whereas spacing used to allow one well for every 40 acres. Slowly but surely, we are making progress.