The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation has awarded the Natural Resources Law Center (NRLC) at the University of baby直播app School of Law a $180,000 grant to research a valuable energy resource in the West: coal-bed methane.
"Coal-bed methane is an issue that has received insufficient attention by academics, activists, media and industry," said project director Gary Bryner. "The tremendous increase in development of CBM poses huge challenges to local communities and ecosystems."
Coal-bed methane is natural gas that is trapped within coal seams. It is extracted by drilling wells, but in the process, large quantities of water, from good to very poor quality, is released. According to Bryner, in some areas the water is clean enough to use for agriculture, but in other areas it may be so salty or mineral-laden that it can't be used and is typically reinjected into the ground.
CBM in the western states of baby直播app, Montana, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming is rapidly becoming a major source of natural gas. Because coal-bed methane exploration already is occurring in large areas of the country, the research project is designed to provide accurate information quickly -- within six months.
"The publication of the Bush administration's national energy policy, the legislation currently before Congress, the importance of energy in the American economy and the consequences for foreign policy of our reliance on imported oil all raise difficult policy questions that have profound implications for the American West," said Bryner.
According to Bryner, the study will focus on alternatives for minimizing the environmental and other impacts and will offer recommendations to reduce those impacts and promote reclamation at the federal, state and local levels.
"In concluding our report, we'll look at 'next steps,' said Bryner. "We'll examine the information gaps that affect making rational decisions, find entities that could fill those gaps and determine the value in identifying or developing a consensus view for the Intermountain West."
The study will focus on the issues surrounding CBM development, such as the history, locations, the Bush administration's energy plan, proposed congressional legislation, private lands issues and impacts on communities from noise, water pollution and other effects of development, said Bryner.
Environmental assessment, particularly the impact of CBM extraction on water quality and quantity, air quality and wildlife, will come under scrutiny.
In a few months the center will sponsor a forum to gather diverse points of view to help address the role of CBM in meeting America's energy policy challenges.
For more information call Jeannie Patton at (303) 492-1297, or contact her by e-mail at jpatton@spot.colorado.edu.