If you live in Gunnison County you should be very concerned about a process that’s sweeping the West to extract coal bed methane from underground coal seams. Citizens from areas already impacted by coal bed methane development in Colorado have found that current state law does not protect us from contaminated wells, excessive noise, or other damaging and destructive actions right on our own property.

How can this happen on private property?

The mineral rights are often split off by the time we buy land. In Gunnison County, most people own just the surface rights of their property. Someone else holds the mineral rights under our property. Under state and federal law, mineral owners have rights to ‘reasonable access’ of the surface of your property even if you object. Current Colorado Oil & Gas Conservation Commission (COGCC) regulations now require the company to give you 30 days notice before they start to drill.

What is Coal Bed Methane?

Coal bed methane (CBM) is a gas that is locked under pressure in water filling fractures in the coal bed. To reduce the pressure and release the methane, the water is pumped out. Generally, the deeper the well, the more saline (salty) the water that’s pumped out. At first, coal bed methane wells usually produce mostly water, but over time the amount of water declines and methane production rises as the bed is dewatered. The gas is captured, compressed and piped off-site, requiring roads, water tanks, slime pits, compressors, and pipelines to be built for every well. Wells can remain active for 20-50 years. There are gas wells in Wyoming that have been going for more than 100 years

What are the effects?
The process requires pumping out and disposing of large quantities of water so salty that it can kill all vegetation in the area, and be harmful or fatal to stock and wildlife. Because of the problems with surface discharge, underground injection is being used, meaning a second, deeper well is drilled and wastewater is injected into it. This has its own problems including spontaneous seismic activity and contamination of aquifers and private wells. Amoco recently settled out of court and agreed to relocate some residents near Durango, Colorado after tests found high levels of methane in their basements and drinking water, as an alleged result of injection wells over four miles away. Residents there have actually been able to light their tap water on fire. Dewatering the coal seam lowers the water table, meaning folks in the Powder River Basin had to drill new water wells as their aquifer sank over 200 feet. Dewatering can also increase the risk of underground fires through spontaneous combustion. Two underground fires are still burning on the Southern Ute Reservation in southwest Colorado as a result of coal bed methane extraction. Wells require miles of pipelines, roads and daily visits by workers in a truck (365 days a year) for their entire life (up to 50 years).

The Regulatory Framework
The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is responsible for administering all leasing activities related to oil and gas development, whether on public or private land.In Colorado, leases are auctioned competitively on a quarterly basis. Information about upcoming and past lease sales is available online at www.co.blm.gov/oilandgas/leasinfo.htm In the case of oil and gas leases on Federal lands, the agency which controls surface use (i.e. U.S. Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management, etc.) is responsible for determining which lands are available for leasing and for conducting the required environmental analysis pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). Additional information can be found at http://www.wilderness.org/Library/Documents/upload/Factsheet-Oil&GasLeasingProcess.pdf

The Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission (COGCC) is the primary state agency that regulates coal bed methane development. COGCC’s mission statement summarizes clearly that producing oil and gas takes precedence over most any other activity. Many citizens are suprised to learn of this emphasis, expecting a state agency to be a resource for citizens, especially given the context of state law. Colorado Oil & Gas Conservation Commission 1120 Lincoln St. Suite 801, Denver, CO 80203. (303) 894-2100, Complaints (888) 235-1010. Web: www.oil-gas.state.co.us
COGCC is governed by a seven-member board. Five of the seven commissioners are required to have substantial experience in the oil and gas industry, and typically they are from the industry. This composition has led many citizens to complain that the industry is regulating itself and is not responsive to the needs of citizens. COGCC has a brochure entitled "Information for Oil and Gas Operators, Surface Owners and Surface Tenants." that can be obtained from the commission or online.

Gunnison County Commissionersmake decisions on proposed land use changes, including gas wells and pipelines.Because of unbalanced state and federal regulations, county regulations have increasingly been used to better guard the interests of surface landowners. Both La Plata and Animas Counties have enacted protective amendments to their LUR’s specifically addressing the impacts of oil & gas drilling. Even though Gunnison County’s LUR was recently revised, the now well-documented effects of Coal Bed Methane were not addressed.To get more information on the county process watch for information in local papers, or call the Gunnison County Planning Dept. at 641-0248.To voice your concerns, attend local meetings!

"It runs deep. Our kids are trying to come back here to live, and if the place is annihilated, what can they do here? It’s not that I’m wealthy, but I do have my retirement and it means more to me to keep this landscape than to see it covered with wells."
--Arnold Mackley, former Garfield County Commissioner


Get more information on oil & gas development, including Coal Bed Methane, from the following sources:
Oil and Gas Accountability Project
San Juan Citizens Alliance
East of Huajatolla Citizens Alliance
Powder River Basin Resource Council
Northern Plains Resource Council
Bureau of Land Management
Colorado Oil & Gas Conservation Commission