Ban sought on use of groundwater pending new coalbed methane rules

Gary Park

Petroleum News Calgary correspondent

An Alberta farm group wants the provincial government to ban the use of groundwater in the coalbed methane process until new regulations take shape.

The lobby group has sent letters to Premier Ralph Klein and three cabinet ministers calling for a moratorium until a multi-stakeholder advisory committee makes recommendations to the government and the Alberta Energy and Utilities Board in November.

A spokesman for the farmers said one coalbed methane project is using water in southern Alberta and four more are in the regulatory stream.

He said rural residents fear Alberta’s fresh water supplies could be drastically affected, given the “enormous” impact of coalbed methane activities in Wyoming, Colorado and other U.S. states, where water wells have been severely depleted.

Up to this point, coalbed methane drilling in Alberta has been concentrated mainly on thinner coal seams and has tended to produce little or no water, unlike the significant water volumes in the United States that have set environmentalists, landowners and agricultural producers at odds with the industry.

Under current Alberta regulations, produced water must be collected and re-injected into a similar underground water source.

The current review is designed to ensure regulations covering coalbed methane development achieve balanced economic benefits for Albertans while protecting land, water and water resources.

Energy Minister Murray Smith, while viewing coalbed methane as a major potential source of supply, revenue and jobs, said it is “imperative government and industry get it right.

“We want to learn from the experiences of other regions and from the wells that have been drilled so far in Alberta in order to promote responsible, sustainable development,” he said.