Powder River Basin News

BILLINGS, Mont. -- A federal judge has overturned water quality rules that were meant to protect southeastern Montana cropland from natural gas drilling but were assailed by Wyoming as a threat to energy production. The rules covered the Tongue and Powder rivers, which flow north from the rich gas fields of northeastern Wyoming into primarily agricultural land in Montana. Drafted by Montana and approved by the Environmental Protection Agency, the rules limited how much salty water -- a byproduct of drilling -- could enter the rivers. State officials said the EPA had not yet begun to enforce the rules, in part because of a pending lawsuit. Click here for the full story from the Casper Star-Tribune

CHEYENNE-- The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has joined critics of the Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality's proposed rule for ensuring the quality of water discharged from coal-bed methane wells. Meanwhile, the state Environmental Quality Council posponed any decision on the rule until Nov. 16.  The council had been scheduled to decide on the rule this week.  The council is a governor-appointed board that approves state environmental rules and regulations.  last week, the Department of Environmental Quality withdrew its proposed coal-bed methane water rule from consideration by the council.  Click here for the full story from the Casper Star-Tribune

PAVILLION, Wyoming, Oct 1 (Reuters) - Louis Meeks, a burly 59-year-old alfalfa farmer, fills a metal trough with water from his well and watches an oily sheen form on the surface which gives off a faint odor of paint.He points to small bubbles that appear in the water, and a thin ring of foam around the edge.Meeks is convinced that energy companies drilling for natural gas in this central Wyoming farming community have poisoned his water and ruined his health. A recent report by the Environmental Protection Agency suggests he just might have a case -- and that the multi-billion dollar industry may have a problem on its hands. EPA tests found his well contained what it termed "contaminants of concern." View the full article at Reuters

Dakota, Minnesota & Eastern Railroad this summer started to walk away from its rail expansion project in the Powder River Basin, the largest source of coal in the country, citing the flagging U.S. economy and regulatory uncertainty. Read the full story from the New York Times.

The South Gillette Area Coal Final Environmental Impact Statement is out right now for the public with a 30 day comment period, ending September 16th. If you would like to see a copy you can go onto the Wyoming Bureau of Land Management's website at http://www.blm.gov/wy/st/en/info/NEPA/HighPlains/SouthGillette.html. To read the story and watch the news video, visit CBS Channel 5.

Arch Coal Inc. cleared a major hurdle this week toward its pending acquisition of Rio Tinto Energy America's Jacobs Ranch mine in Wyoming's Powder River Basin. The acquisition would create a mega-mine with a capacity of more than 130 million tons of annual production -- 12 percent of total U.S. coal production. Read the article from the Casper Star-Tribune .

Montana's Northern Cheyenne Tribe is proposing water pollution restrictions that could force companies in the resource-rich Powder River Basin to spend more on cleanup efforts or face limits on where they can drill. Read the full story from the Casper Star-Tribune.

The CBM industry was given a pass early on when coalbed methane first emerged as a commercial enterprise in the basin. In the late 1990s, the industry was allowed to dump production water on the surface with minimal management requirements. "The industry is just being asked to pay the costs that society has borne for them either through the government or private landowners," said Steve Adami, board member of the landowner group Powder River Basin Resource Council. Read the full story from the Billings Gazette.

The recession and drilling restrictions are making for a "double whammy" on Wyoming's coal-bed methane industry this year, forcing companies to slow future drilling plans, halt drilling and shut down wells, industry officials said Tuesday. Read the entire story from the Charleston Daily Mail.