Phillips proposes reservoirs to divert coalbed methane well water

by The Associated Press

Phillips Petroleum plans to create two reservoirs near the Converse-Campbell county line to store some water produced by coal bed methane wells and divert it to the Cheyenne River system, a Douglas, Wyo., newspaper reported Sept. 14.

The water would be diverted from wells in the Powder River Basin by pipeline, stored, then discharged at a rate of up to 50 cubic feet per second into Antelope Creek, which would carry it to the Cheyenne River and on to South Dakota.

The Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality is weighing Phillips’ proposal for a permit, the Douglas Budget said.

One reservoir would serve as a settling pond while the other would release water immediately downstream.

According to the company’s application, the reservoirs would reduce erosion caused by discharged coalbed methane water, enhance water quality through oxidation and other treatment, provide for continued methane well development, augment flows in Antelope Creek and reduce discharged water into the Tongue and Powder rivers.

Ranchers and environmentalists are concerned that water discharged from wells to allow methane to flow to the surface contains too much salt and other contaminants.

The cost of the project has not been released and a target date to begin construction has not been set, but officials hope to start in a year or two, Phillips spokesman Ed Durrett said.

The company has another application for a reservoir system near Glenrock but is not actively pursuing it, he said.