Lawsuit over Montana Leases Poses Implications for Entire Mountain West

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Land Letter Page 2 of 3 Over 20 years, the report predicts between 195 and 254 wells would be drilled, with spacing of one well on every 160 acres. But higher well densities may be needed to develop the resource within the 20 -year time frame, the authors noted. Approval of 80 -acre per well spacing would essentially double the number of drilling locations, the report said. The authors predicted that the drilling would cause only minimal disturbance. "It is estimated that full development as a single lease at 160 acres spacing per well will require between 396 and 777 acres of disturbance over the en ireu.igt," depending on how well pads are laid out, the report said. Although a few hundred acres of disturbance within a 40,000 -acre area may sound insignificant, well pads, power lines and pipelines can have a big effect on the experience of recreationists, as well as on the area's famous elk herd, said Erik chlenker- Goodrich an attorney with the Wesfern Environmental Law CenteLio-Taos, "You can't look at impact just based on square footage," Schlenker- Goodrich said. "That disturbance is going to be dispersed throughout the eastern Valle Vidal. If you drop 191 wells in that area, it's going to have a big impact." Drilling would industrialize the scenic landscape and fragment wildlife habitat, Schlenker- Goodrich added. Coalbed methane development, which involves pumping groundwater to the surface, could also harm vegetation if the &Wality of water discharUed has Uw —wQ . _. der, he said. And other critics worry about the sedimentation of streams resultina from r moll from roads and wel Wads. The first step? Schlenker- Goodrich, whose organization is part of the Coalition for the Valle Vidal, a local group of environmentalists, business leaders, hunters and other interests, says the study is the first major step toward developing the area. "This gives the agency a pro - development momentum that is very difficult to alter," he said. "Basically it's like a snowball rolling down the mountain -- it very quickly picks up speed and becomes an avalanche." But Carson National Forest Supervisor Marti avP7 said the report is simply a "form of data gathering" and does not signal a move toward approval of El Paso's proposal. "The goal ... is strictly to characterize the potential oil and gas resources of the eastern portion of the Valle Vidal Unit," Chavez said. The agency is far from making a decision about drilling in the Valle Vidal, added Carson National Forest spokesman Ben Romero. In conducting the study, Carson National Forest was merely following aqqD2y requirements for responding to drilling proposals on national forest lands, he said. The proposal sti must undergo the cru my o a easma analysis and an enyironmental impact statement, a process that is not likely to be completed until 2006 or 2007, he sai' d �- "We're a long ways from any disturbing activity on the valle," he said. And because management of the eastern unit of the Valle Vidal is not addressed in the current for Ian. an amendmentvvilLbe reauir .d before any additional analyses are begun, he ac{ded. Work on the forest plan amendment is about to get under way, he said. Even if the project does win Forest Service approval, it could run into resistance at the state level. El Paso would likely need to get a water permit or other approvals from the state of New Mexico, and Gov . that he will fight any plan to develop the Valle Vidal. The federal government and the state should focus their energies on tapping New Mexico's wind, solar and biomass resources instead, he said. "I want New Mexico to be the Saudi Arabia of renewable energy," said Richardson, who served as http: / /www.eenews. net/ LandletterBackissues /080504/08050404.htm 8/5/2004