Cook Inletkeeper

Coal Bed Methane

Background

Since June 2003, the State of Alaska has leased substantial acreage in the Cook Inlet watershed in the Mat-Su Valley and in Homer (see maps) for coalbed methane (CBM, also known as shallow natural gas) production.  CBM production can transform leased private and public lands into industrial zones within a few years. 

Methane is the dominant component of natural gas.  CBM production occurs by pumping groundwater to the surface to reduce the water pressure that keeps methane gas adsorbed onto the surface of coal.  Once the groundwater level is lowered sufficiently, the reduced pressure allows the methane gas to be extracted from the coal.  CBM production generally involves injection of “fracturing fluids” which can be – depending on composition – toxic materials that create fissures in underground rock formations to allow the subsurface liquids and gases to migrate more easily to production wells.  Under certain conditions, these fluids can contaminate underground drinking water supplies.

The impacts of CBM development generally include new roads, gas compressor stations, wells and pipelines on private and public lands, and air pollution, and can potentially include adverse water well (quantity and quality), surface water, subsistence, and wildlife impacts.  CBM production requires far more wells than conventional natural gas production to generate the same amount of natural gas; since each of these two types of well has roughly the same surface and other impacts, CBM production thus is less desirable than conventional gas production.

Photo of CBM well-drilling in the Mat-Su Valley.

Inletkeeper’s Solution

Because of the clear, adverse impacts on quality of life (as seen in the lower 48; see photo), there should be no CBM production in populated areas. 

Take Action

When CBM issues heat up again:

- Write to your elected officials

- Write a letter to the editor

- Call in to a radio talk show

- Sign-up for action alerts on breaking news

- Forward this page to a friend

- Check back here for updates

- Join Inletkeeper!

Additional Resources & Links (links open in new window)

Alaska Property Owners’ Bill of Rights, developed by Cook Inletkeeper and other organizations and individuals in 2004 for submittal to the state legislature.

Cook Inletkeeper presentation in November 2004 at a Bureau of Indian Affairs conference in Anchorage on “Coalbed Methane Production: Economic, Social, and Environmental Concerns”

Oil and Gas at Your Door by the Oil and Gas Accountability Project, Colorado, 2004/5 (http://www.earthworksaction.org/publications.cfm?pubiD=91)

Powder River Basin Resource Council, Wyoming, (http://www.powderriverbasin.org/cbm/index.htm)

Website on CBM production in the Mat-Su Valley (www.gasdrillingmatsu.org)

Wyoming Outdoor Council (http://www.wyomingoutdoorcouncil.org/programs/cbm/index.php)