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1=10 Cooperative Extension Working With Landowners University E 1'. in Areas of Coal Bed Methane Development by Matt Neibauer (Department Soil and Crop Sciences, Colorado State University) Although coal bed methane (CBM) development has been occurring in Colorado for the past several decades, recent developments in energy prices and national security, along with national and local politics have revitalized efforts to extract coal bed methane in the Raton, San Juan and Gunnison Ba- sins of Colorado. Overall, there are approximately 2,300 coal bed methane wells in Colorado (See Figure 1). Some of the benefits of coal bed methane develop- ment include the creation of jobs and the inflow of capital into local economies of Colorado and the West. In addition, landowners who own the mineral rights beneath their property often have an economic incentive to allow development to oc- cur on their land. Landowners who do not own the mineral rights to their land and/or people living Figure 1. Coalbed gas in Colorado. (Source: Dick Wolfe, D. & Glenn Graham. Hydrogeology and Benefi- cial Use of CBM Produced Water in Colorado. Western Colorado Congress Forum Glenwood Springs, Colorado November 15, 2003. ) 4 downstream of development, however, often have significant challenges to address with regard to the potential impacts to land and water resources posed by coal bed methane production. Coal bed methane gas is found in the fractures of coal deposits beneath the earth's surface. Extract- ing methane gas from these coal seams involves the removal of water from the seam by a well. This reduces the pressure in the coal bed seam that holds the methane gas in place and releases gas for extraction. Initially, a substantial amount of water must be pumped out of the coal seam (co- produced) before significant levels of gas are produced. For instance, billions of gallons of water have been extracted in Wyoming's Powder River basin so that methane gas could be recovered. Over time, the amount of gas produced increases and the amount of co- produced water decreases. The most common methods of managing co -pro- duced water include direct discharge of the water into perennial streams, surface impoundment and evaporation, and use as water for dust suppres- sion, irrigation, and livestock. In some places like the San Juan basin of Colorado and New Mexico, co- produced water is often re- injected into aquifer formations below the coal seam. These various management practices illustrate that the extraction of coal bed methane gas directly influences water and land resource management because of its po- tential for impact on both land and water resources. One example of these impacts is that coal bed methane co- produced water is often of low quality because it contains elevated amounts of sodium salts and other minerals, along with drilling lu- bricants and oils. This water typically contains sodium bicarbonate (in the Powder River Basin) or sodium sulfate- chloride (in the San Juan, Green River, and Raton Basins). These sodium/salt