Schweitzer refuses to sign coal bed methane settlement

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Friday, January 4, 2008

 

CONTACT:    Mark Fix, Immediate Past Chair

                        Larry Winslow; Northern Plains Staff; 406.248.1154

 

On Friday, Gov. Brian Schweitzer announced he would not sign a proposed settlement agreement between Montana and Wyoming that would have allowed the pollution of Montana rivers by Wyoming

coal bed methane developers.

 

After months of negotiations between the two states, a draft agreement was reached in September calling for tighter standards for water discharged from Wyoming into the Tongue River in southeastern Montana

. However, it excluded two main tributaries of the Tongue n Hanging Woman and Badger creeks n from the stricter standards.

 

According to The Associated Press, Schweitzer said the agreement failed to protect Montana

's farmers and fisheries and could curtail future energy development in the state.

 

Water discharged during coal-bed methane production is high in sodium and other salts, which can ruin crops and soils and harm fisheries. The Tongue River and two of its main tributaries flow into southeastern Montana from northern Wyoming

, which has experienced intense coal-bed methane development in recent years.

 

The Northern Plains Resource Council, a conservation and family farm organization with many members who live and ranch along the Tongue River

would have been affected by the agreement, hailed Schweitzer’s decision.

 

"We congratulate the governor for having the courage to stand up to Wyoming by refusing to sign this agreement that favored industry so strongly," said Mark Fix, Tongue River rancher and immediate past chair of Northern Plains. "Wyoming, where energy is king, will always be a problem, so Montana needs to be strong and tough with Wyoming. This decision shows that water quality is important to our governor n we are glad that he wants to protect the Tongue River as much as he wants to protect the Flathead River

."

 

 

Northern Plains has strongly urged the governor not to sign the agreement, because, as written, it also would have:

 

1. Sacrificed the Powder River to pollution from coal bed methane-produced water by declaring that the non-degradation standards for SAR (sodium adsorption ratio) and EC (electrical conductivity) established by the Board of Environmental Review do not apply in this river.

 

2. Lacked any effective monitoring program (funding for the U.S. Geological Survey monitoring stations has been cut) for the “protections” agreed to for the Tongue River and would not provide any assurance for state enforcement if the standards are exceeded.

 

 

3. Contradicted current attempts by Montana to prevent the discharge of water from coal-bed methane projects in British Columbia that would flow into the Flathead River system of northwestern Montana

.