Still missing the point about coal-bed methane development

Frontiersman editorial board

Everybody wants to weigh in on the coal-bed methane issue, it seems, but much of the media coverage of late has consistently missed some of the more pertinent points.

In an extensive article running in the Anchorage Daily News, many of the technical issues surrounding the process of extraction were well covered, but many of the issues important to CBM development in the Valley were missed -- most importantly, the fact that much of the process will be virtually unregulated if changes aren't made before serious development begins. At the moment, Valley residents have little more than promises and assurances from Evergreen Resources that produced water will be properly dispatched, that Evergreen will seek permission from private landowners before entering the property, that wells won't be contaminated and that the aquifers supporting drinking water wells won't be depleted. None of those promises are currently backed up by regulations, however. Most property owners would likely be satisfied if those regulations, and clear repercussions for breaking them, were in place.

A report on channel 2 news about CBM development in the Valley brought viewers to the Raton Basin near Trinidad Colo., where Evergreen is the major CBM developer. Most of the report backed up Evergreen's claims that the company is a good neighbor, and that it improves economic and social conditions in the community where it operates. In fact, all of that may well be true. Those who have opposed development here so far have, by and large, not argued that Evergreen is the wrong developer. The argument, rather, has been that, even if Evergreen is a good corporate neighbor, the lack of regulations do not protect Valley land owners from other, less-conscientious, developers. The leases are open to everyone, and Evergreen could even sell it's leases to other companies.

The important story about CBM development is that the people who will have to live with it are asking for responsible development and for some protections that go beyond handshakes and pats on the head. Their concerns have been described as fear-mongering, but the truth is they're simply trying to protect the things they care most about.