"What conservationists have said from the beginning is that this world, and all its treasures, is finite. Treat it right and you will live. Squander and plunder and rape and you will someday suffer." - WOC founder Tom Bell
Programs - Coalbed Methane - Home
Coalbed methane (CBM) is a form of natural gas that is trapped
in coal seams by overlying water. Wyoming, with its vast reserves
of coal,
is estimated to have by far the most CBM resources in the lower
48 states. The Powder River Basin in northeastern Wyoming is particularly
attractive to developers because the coal seams are so close
to the
surface, making for quick, inexpensive drilling. Over 50,000
wells, with over 12,000 already existing, are planned for the Powder
River
Basin in the next decade. Meanwhile, southwestern Wyoming holds
eight times the CBM reserves of the Powder River Basin.
CBM development has unique impacts, in addition to the
traditional impacts of oil and gas development, namely fragmentation
of habitat,
thousands
of added miles of roads, pipelines and powerlines, invasive weeds,
and air, noise & light pollution. CBM development requires pumping
billions of gallons of water to the surface to allow the release
of the methane
from the coal seams. This frequently carries constituents destructive
to soils, vegetation and existing waterbodies, especially in the
quantities necessary to liberate the CBM.
Thus, issues include
determining appropriate
means of disposing the water so that it does not damage resources,
as well as better addressing the impacts of withdrawing billions
of gallons of water from our aquifers. Further, because CBM is
a relatively new form of gas production, best management practices
are not yet
established,
impacts are not yet adequately understood and the regulatory structure
is in constant flux.
WOC has taken a leading role in forcing the Wyoming Department of
Environmental Quality to understand and properly apply the Clean
Water Act to these activities, identifying impacts, recruiting the
expertise of nationally renowned scientists to analyze BLM plans
and pressing for regulations that safeguard our environment and communities.
The overarching goals of our CBM campaign are to ensure coalbed
methane development is environmentally responsible by:
having
full, scientifically sound understanding and disclosure to the
public of CBM development’s environmental consequences prior
to development;
ensuring effective mitigation of the environmental consequences
by requiring best management practices and alternative technologies;
protecting the rights of citizens; and
preventing development in inappropriate areas, such as areas
containing critical wildlife habitat or other important natural
resources that will irretrievably be damaged by development.
Please visit Issues to learn more about CBM, or Resources to view
specific documents.
Programs - Coalbed Methane - Home
CBM development has unique impacts, in addition to the
traditional impacts of oil and gas development, namely fragmentation
of habitat,
thousands
of added miles of roads, pipelines and powerlines, invasive weeds,
and air, noise & light pollution. CBM development requires pumping
billions of gallons of water to the surface to allow the release
of the methane
from the coal seams. This frequently carries constituents destructive
to soils, vegetation and existing waterbodies, especially in the
quantities necessary to liberate the CBM. 
WOC has taken a leading role in forcing the Wyoming Department of
Environmental Quality to understand and properly apply the Clean
Water Act to these activities, identifying impacts, recruiting the
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