Industry officials are skeptical of recommendations by the Wyoming state engineer to manage volumes of coal-bed methane water, while environmental and agriculture groups regarded them as a "step in the right direction."

State Engineer Patrick Tyrrell said his office already has the authority - and the obligation - to conserve groundwater resources. So the agency could make as conditions of permitting that coal-bed methane companies demonstrate a satisfactory water production to gas production ratio. That approach stems from concern that some wells produce only water, and their contribution to overall gas production is in question.

If the state were to establish a standard of 10 barrels of water per thousand cubic feet of gas, for example, operators would have to present data to the state engineer to justify wells that produce water in excess of that ratio.

"We have 200 wells that are in this category," said Charlie Dean, production engineering manager for Anadarko Petroleum.

Even though some wells produce only water in the Powder River Basin, they do help relieve the hydrostatic pressure that holds methane in the coal and help with the overall production of gas.

"Coal-bed methane production is truly a system," Dean said. "There are wells that produce gas; some produce water at significant variations. But all wells still contribute to the system."

Members of the state Coalbed Methane Task Force, which agreed to take the state engineer's recommendations under consideration, also agreed that no specific numeric water-to-gas ratio be applied basinwide. There ought to be room for some amount of "wildcatting," while still ensuring that groundwater is not being produced for purely speculative projects. If such a rule were in place, producers would be asked to present data that indicates a reasonable water-to-gas payoff.

That approach by itself does not address the overriding issue of protecting existing wildlife habitat and agricultural uses from being flooded by coal-bed methane water. In addition to a water-to-gas ratio, Tyrrell suggest statutory changes to limit the amount of coal-bed methane water discharges based on the capacity of water that a given drainage can handle.

But that approach can be tricky, too. Steve Jones of the Wyoming Outdoor Council said filling a drainage to its 10-year flood capacity year, for example, would obliterate all existing uses in the drainage. Determining a workable water capacity is further complicated by the fact that many wildlife habitats and agricultural uses are based on ephemeral flows, so any year-round flow can be disruptive.

Jones argued that the state engineer should not get involved in regulating coal-bed methane water volumes per drainage because it is essentially a matter environmental protection, and that authority already lies with the Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality.

"The main authority of the state engineer is the administration of water rights," Jones said. "These have nothing to do with the administration of water rights."

A proposal for DEQ to regulate coal-bed methane water volumes was rejected by Gov. Dave Freudenthal.

Energy reporter Dustin Bleizeffer can be reached at (307) 577-6069 or dustin.bleizeffer@casperstartribune.net.