Gillette, WY

Business Owner Struggles with Coalbed Methane

By Phil Hoy

I moved to Gillette, Wyoming in 1972, where I have a welding shop and a 56-space mobile home park six miles north of town. I am in the middle of both coal mining and coalbed methane development.

When I lost my drinking water well to the dewatering of a coal seam, I didn't know what had happened. I was forced to drill a new well at my own expense. I was advised to pursue the Eagle Butte coal mine for remediation, because federal law stipulates that coal companies replace affected or depleted water wells on adjacent properties. As it turned out, an investigation by the Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) revealed that my water well was depleted by a combination of coal mining and coalbed methane development. The coal and coalbed methane companies agreed to pay for the cost of the water well and its feeder lines.

Afterwards, I agreed to sign a release of liability for loss of the water well with both companies. This created a huge problem because the wording also released the coalbed methane company from future liability for property damages which have occurred and are continuing to occur on my property.

Between 1997 and 2000, Barrett Resources discharged 163 million gallons of coalbed methane water, much of which traveled down gradient to my property. The shallow alluvial sands on my property were flooded by these discharges and an unlined instream impoundment reservoir, rendering my leach field unusable. In 1999, I had to install a sewage treatment plant.

I have been in regular contact with government officials in order to resolve these problems. For example, when I objected to the issuance of a coalbed methane water discharge permit by the Wyoming DEQ, I was told by state officials that the discharges did not violate state law and they had no authority to prevent damages to my property. When I wrote to the State Engineer's Office about the permitting of the impoundment reservoir, they not only neglected my concerns but did not require the company to use simple, common sense measures to protect my property. It's not right for state officials to issue permits when they know that other people's property will be damaged.