Nearly 1,000 coal-bed methane wells in Wyoming's Powder River Basin have produced nothing but water for five years, according to state records, and the state engineer's office wants to know why.

There are some good reasons for certain wells not to produce any gas, but the state wants to make sure the water being pumped from the wells in question meets the standard for a "beneficial use," said State Engineer Pat Tyrrell.

Wyoming took another step toward fulfilling one of the goals established by the state Legislature's coal-bed methane task force when Tyrrell's office mailed its second round of "show cause" letters to operators this week, inquiring about 992 wells with permits that are at least five years old and have a history of producing only water, Tyrrell said.

There's a good chance that many of the wells have been abandoned and operators simply didn't notify the Wyoming Oil and Gas Conservation Commission, he said.

Forty-two operators in the Crazy Woman and Clear Creek drainages in northeastern Wyoming will have to convince the state they should be allowed to continue pumping water.

Since December, the state engineer's office has cancelled or suspended permits for 243 of 296 wells it investigated that were known to be producing water but no gas.

Coal-bed methane permits in the Powder River Basin can be subject to review after five years, Tyrrell said.

"What we found after the first round (of correspondence) in December is that a good number of the wells had already been abandoned or had been planned for abandonment," he said.

Ranchers and the state have battled over this issue for nearly 10 years in the Powder River Basin, as more than 4 billion barrels of groundwater have been pumped through coal-bed methane wells and dumped on the surface.

Some of the produced water is used in irrigation and stock watering. But the volume of water produced in the basin far exceeds practical uses and sometimes floods low-lying pastures.

It's a particular problem in the Powder River Breaks country between Gillette and Buffalo, where the surface terrain is susceptible to erosion and leaching salts. In this region, coal-bed methane wells can produce large volumes of groundwater for more than two years before priming gas production.

In the state of Wyoming all water use must be justifiable as a "beneficial use" to be considered a water right. The state engineer has the authority to decide whether a given use of water is "beneficial."

Beneficial uses of water include, among other things, a municipal water source, irrigation for crops and fields, an industrial coolant, a water source for livestock and a means of getting at another natural resource, Tyrrell said.

If operators can prove that pumping water will lead to the production of methane gas within a reasonable period of time, it will be considered a beneficial use of that water - but there is a limit to how long the state will allow operators to pump water without seeing results, he said.

"We will not let you pump water indefinitely," Tyrrell said.

Not all coal-bed methane wells will produce gas, he said, because some are used to keep the local water level depressed, in order to get gas from other wells in the same proven field, he said. Coal-bed methane fields also take time to develop, Tyrrell said, and the state understands this.

In many cases operators will simply need to explain the strategy and the science that is underpinning their activities and, if the explanation is sound, they'll be allowed to continue operating as usual, he said.

"This is not an attempt to stop or hinder gas exploration, development, production," Tyrrell said. "It is an effort to make sure the operators are producing gas from the resultant water production."

Carol LeResche, who owns a cattle ranch and a vegetable farm with her husband on Clear Creek, said she's glad the state engineer is finally looking into the water pumping situation, as she and several area landowners have been pushing for the state for years to more tightly regulate the activity.

One of LeResche's major concerns is that the water being pumped in the Clear Creek drainage tends to be laden with salts, which leaves a crust on the soil, and if it were to make its way into Clear Creek itself, it could ruin her vegetable operation, because she irrigates her farm with Clear Creek water.

"I grow organic heirloom vegetables for market, and my vegetables are very, very sensitive to salt," LeResche said.

She's also concerned about the effects that pumping billions of gallons of water out of the ground will have on the underground aquifer, she said.

Some area residents have seen their water wells go dry, but it's impossible to determine if the coal-bed methane operations were the cause, LeResche said.

Bruce Hinchey, president of the Petroleum Association of Wyoming, said it's important for locals to ask questions about the water pumping operations, but said the ponds and collection points for the pumped water have to meet state engineering standards, and must to comply with DEQ regulations, both of which should protect Clear Creek.

Also, in most cases, the water being pumped from the coal-bed methane wells is coming from a deeper aquifer than the one area residents are tapping into for drinking water, Hinchey said.

The Petroleum Association of Wyoming supports the state engineer's "show cause" inquiries, he said, because the action makes sense.

"If you've been pumping water for five years and you haven't gotten any gas, you're probably not going to get any gas," Hinchey said.

Contact Chris Merrill at chris.merrill@trib.com or (307) 267-6722.

Last we knew: Since December, the state of Wyoming has been asking many coal-bed methane operators to prove "beneficial use" for the groundwater they dump on the ground.

The latest: The state engineer's office has now canceled or suspended nearly 250 permits, and this week it sent out letters to operators expressing concerns about nearly 1,000 more coal-bed methane wells.

What's next: Many operators with 5-year-old permits will now have to convince the state they should be allowed to continue pumping water.]]>