Coalbed methane
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The problem is, getting it out of the coal, and into a pipeline, industrializes the landscape and has destructive impacts on surface and groundwater. Communities and First Nations in BC are not buying.
Wherever there is coal, there is coalbed methane. Coalbed methane is natural gas that is found in coal.
It forms with coal and is retained within the coal. It's also what kills coal miners, and is the reason miners started putting canaries in their coal mines - as methane alarms.
Coalbed methane is shipped in the same pipelines as natural gas and sold in the same markets. Burning coalbed methane has the same greenhouse gas generating issues as natural gas. As the so-called "clean" fossil fuel, natural gas and coalbed methane has lower levels of pollutants than do oil or coal.
What differentiates coalbed methane from conventional natural gas is how it is produced.
A typical coalbed methane project involves big-scale industrialization of the landscape—hundreds of closely spaced wells, pumps, interconnecting roads, powerlines, and pipelines, as well as compressors that run 7x24 to move the gas to larger pipelines, and water disposal facilities. [see ugly picture]
Coalbed methane drilling also produces vast quantities of water. The water is often saline, and is sometimes toxic. Even when it is potable, there can be too much of it. Disposing of the water can overwhelm local fields, streams, and groundwater.
In the United States, domestic wells have been known to bubble with methane once the water has been removed. And the saline water has caked the topsoil, rendering it unfit for further agriculture use.
Coalfields are everywhere in British Columbia: Nearly 98% of the province's potential exists in three areas: Peace River in the northeast, the East Kootenays and the remote Klappan-Groundhog field. [see BC map]
All the areas with coalbed methane potential are targeted for development. Most have had drilling licenses issued, or have an exploration agreement in place with government.
And thanks to the outreach and coalition work of Dogwood Initiative, most areas are fighting back against the government and corporate agenda.
If producing coalbed methane is so bad, why is the province encouraging it? The Energy Policy and the government budget forecasts are clear on that - the intention is to generate revenue to government. The companies make a lot of money. The government gets revenue from licenses and royalties.
Communities and First Nations get none of the production revenue, however, and very few jobs. Even though all the personal, social and environmental impacts are local.
Yet when the government is selling coalbed methane development to uninformed or unreceptive communities, it talks about local economic benefits. Apart from some local hotel, restaurant and road work during construction, there are no local economic benefits. The La Plata County Impact Report, in Colorado, concluded that there is no net impact on local employment.
More profoundly, however, is the consequence of coalbed methane infrastructure on real estate values. The same La Plata study determined that the value of properties on which wells were drilled declined by 22%. An Alberta Energy and Utilities Board study found that activity within four kilometres reduced property values by up to 10%.
As municipalities, landowners and First Nations discover the extent of things to be concerned about with coalbed methane development, they call for a halt - to get informed, to ensure that local water and land interests are protected.
Our Communities and coalbed methane page describes some local responses to imminent coalbed methane threats.
So far, the government is not listening.
Are you concerned? Do you live where coalbed methane is being proposed? Visit the Dogwood Initiative website regularly, and our sister site, www.cbmwatch.ca
Part of our recent coalbed methane work has included information presentations in a number of BC communities targeted for coalbed methane development. If your community, First Nation or group would benefit from a presentation, get in touch with us.
Some handouts from the presentations, in PDF format, are linked below. You may also wish to see the Ten Steps to Responsible Development report we co-produced in Spring, 2004. Its eighth step opposes coalbed methane.
Coalbed Methane: Should I be concerned?
Coalbed Methane: What you can do
Hat Creek & Merritt Coalfields
