The State of Alaska has leased over 300,000 acres in the Cook Inlet region for coalbed methane development. Under Alaska law, surface and subsurface property ownership are separate rights (called “estates” in property law). If you own the surface AND subsurface estates, you have considerable legal authority to determine if and how oil and gas will be developed on your land. However, if you only own the surface estate, anyone holding the subsurface estate has a legal right to access the mineral reserves under your property. Such access can include tree and ground clearing, road and pipeline building, pad construction and drill rig placement, among other things.

...you have considerable legal rights to shape development on your land. For example, a drilling company may offer a percentage of royalty share to subsurface estate owners, and landowners are in a good position to negotiate financial compensation. Subsurface estate (or “mineral right”) owners are also in a better position to negotiate for added protections on the surface estate such as the timing and placement of drilling equipment, through surface use agreements. And of course, you have a legal property right not to lease your mineral rights, and to prevent oil and gas development on your property.

If you do not own the subsurface estate (“mineral rights”) under your property, your right to shape oil and gas development on your property is much more limited. In a 1999 challenge brought by a private property owner in the Mat-Su Valley over coalbed methane drilling, Unocal argued it need not receive the consent of the surface estate owner prior to accessing the hydrocarbon resources below the landowner’s property; that it could rightfully sue any surface landowners opposing Unocal’s access; and that it should not have to pay damages for tree cutting and other “non-negligent” activities needed to access the minerals rights. Nonetheless, the Alaska Department of Natural Resource’s Division of Oil & Gas requires oil and gas corporations to post a bond to cover potential harm to surface owners’ property, and interested property owners should contact ADOG for more information.

If you have filed the appropriate paperwork with the Alaska Department of Natural Resources, you have a legally protected right to appropriate and use surface or groundwater for domestic and other uses. Oil and gas operations can consume enormous volumes of water -- coalbed methane wells may draw more than 10,000 gallons of groundwater a day. If you have a water right, check with the Division of Mining, Land & Water to ensure your right is secured; if you have not filed the application for a water right and you rely on ground or surface water for domestic or other uses, consider filing an application for your water right (see http://www.dnr.state.ak.us/mlw/water/mgmt/wrfact.htm).