CHEYENNE - Water, water everywhere, and what do you do with it?

That's the question behind Senate File 93, which puts together a new task force to study uses for coal-bed methane discharge water in Wyoming.

On Thursday, the House Minerals Committee unanimously approved the measure, which has the backing of both the Petroleum Association of Wyoming and the Wyoming Outdoor Council.

The bill would create a 15-member task force, including leaders of the Department of Environmental Quality, the state engineer, the Oil and Gas Conservation Commission and the Natural Gas Pipeline Authority. The task force would have two appointees each from the House and the Senate, while Gov. Dave Freudenthal would appoint three members from the coal-bed methane industry, three members from the agriculture industry and one "at-large" member.

According to Sen. Kit Jennings, R-Casper, the task force would study alternative uses for coal-bed methane water, which has drawn complaints from ranchers and environmentalists alike. Significant volumes of water are released as part of coal-bed methane production.

Complaints have included salt or mineral-laden waters crusting pastures and irrigated land, or flooding that has killed groves of cottonwood trees and ruined meadows or calving grounds.

Jennings noted that surrounding states n Colorado, Montana and Nebraska n are leery of coal-bed methane water flowing from Wyoming. Before those states start legal battles with Wyoming, the state needs to come up with some solutions, he said.

Jennings said the bill carries a $250,000 appropriation, mostly because the task force may need to hire expertise not present in state government.

The task force would be staffed by the governor's office and would issue two reports - in 2006 and 2007 - so research can reflect at least one growing season.

Minerals Committee Chairman Rep. Tom Lockhart, R-Casper, suggested that this study could generate a mountain of data, wondering how it could be assimilated and boiled down into something that would be comprehensible.

"It'll be a monumental task," Jennings said, and the reports may well engender requests for further appropriations if promising practices or technologies appear.

Jennings expressed the hope that the state Environmental Quality Council, which recently accepted a petition to develop rules and regulations about the quantity of coal-bed methane water, would want to become part of the study process.

The bill, already approved by the Senate, now heads to the House Appropriations Committee.

BillTracker

Senate File 93

* What the bill would do: Create a 15-member task force to study uses of coal-bed methane discharge water at a cost of up to $250,000.

* The latest: The measure was passed unanimously by the House Minerals Committee Thursday.

* What's next: It goes to the House Appropriations Committee before moving to the full House.