DENVER - Coalbed methane gas developers and regulators alike say they are making smarter, more environmentally sound development plans thanks to continued research of new technologies and by putting to use more than five years of field data.

It's a good thing, too, because to fully develop the vast resource the public expects the industry and its regulators to rely less on guesswork and provide more certainties about environmental protections, according to industry leaders.

Now the Department of Energy says it is pushing extra hard to help coalbed methane and other unconventional gas industries overcome regulatory headaches through better understanding and protection of the lands they're plumbing.

"Sometimes it's after you've got things under development when you can do further and better analysis," said James A. Slutz, deputy assistant secretary of oil and gas for the U.S. Department of Energy.

Slutz was the keynote speaker at the American Petroleum Institute's "Rocky Mountain Coalbed Natural Gas Forum: Produced Water" at the Hyatt Regency Denver Tech Center in Denver on Wednesday. Some 90 industry and regulatory representatives were in attendance. The forum wraps up this afternoon.

Slutz said the Department of Energy realizes the United States will only become more reliant on the Rocky Mountain Region to satisfy growing demand for natural gas. The problem is that much of the coalbed methane and other unconventional natural gas reserves in the Rockies are located in environmentally sensitive areas.

"We need to reduce the impact so we can produce the resource," Slutz said.

The DOE is involved in several research projects to achieve just that. Partnerships such as the one with the Western Research Institute are leading to better understanding about coalbed methane water infiltration rates, aquifer recharge and how to release more gas from coals while producing less water, according to WRI's Terry Brown.

In an interview after his speech, Slutz noted that the DOE is under pressure from the Bush administration to produce more tangible results through its research efforts. And much of the agency's current research is focused on overcoming various environmental challenges in the Rockies. Slutz said it isn't just big corporations that can develop and use new technologies to those ends. In fact, more than 80 percent of the gas production comes from independent companies.

"I think they'll embrace that whole concept of 'How do we do things new and better?' They're real interested in minimizing the impact of their operations," Slutz said.

Industry leaders said the Powder River Basin coalbed methane gas industry in particular has done a lot of growing up since it exploded onto the scene six years ago.

Bruce Williams, vice president of operations for Fidelity Exploration & Production Co., said the industry is coming to grips with the idea that it must mitigate the impacts of coalbed methane water.

"Some of the things five years ago that we thought of as beneficial uses of (coalbed methane) water, we now realize there probably isn't that much water you can use for beneficial use," Williams said.

It's particularly true for Fidelity, which is operating in the northwest portion of the Powder River Basin where the coalbed waters contain higher electrical conductivity and sodium adsorption ratios - characteristics that can be harmful to natural habitat and agricultural operations.

Williams said coalbed methane companies are more open to water treatment methods, and they've also conducted several tests to help figure out how to safely apply the water to the land.

Williams said he sees continued research as key to overcoming some of the regulatory hangups that have plagued the industry.

"I think, clearly, the more data we have, the more answers we can have, the easier it is for a regulator to make a decision," Williams said.