"The stakes in the coalbed methane development litigation have come into sharper focus this summer with a series of court rulings. Several lawsuits have challenged the development of natural gas wells in the coal seams of Montana's Powder River Basin. Federal courts have decided that the Bureau of Land Management didn't comply with federal law in preparing the environmental impact statement needed before full-field development can commence and that some wells now in production under that EIS must be shut down.

Parties to the lawsuits need to talk again about resolving some of their differences. Concerns of the Northern Cheyenne Tribe must be heard and addressed properly. Tribal members and area agricultural producers deserve assurance that their water won't be damaged by the new business of CBM development. Gas developers deserve to know that if they follow the rules, their investment won't be lost because court orders and agency decisions are at odds.

Farmers and ranchers shouldn't bear the costs of CBM development. Nor should gas companies bear the costs of a flawed BLM process. But here we are in July 2005 with the district and appeals courts ruling that the EIS wasn't done right and that drilling has to stop until the agency complies with the law."

Get the Story:
Gazette opinion: Negotiation may resolve CBM impasse (The Billings Gazette 7/8)

Relevant Links:
Northern Cheyenne Tribe - http://www.ncheyenne.net

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