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BILLINGS, Mont. -- The Department of Environmental Quality has rejected requests from three groups to stop an exploration company from dumping coalbed methane water into the Tongue River.
They say the river is extremely low, and the coalbed water is so high in salts that it is overwhelming the better-quality river water. The state agency, however, says the combined water is suitable for all its designated uses. Those uses include aquatic life, wildlife and irrigation.
Fidelity Exploration and Production Co. has a permit to dump up to 1,600 gallons of coalbed water per minute into the river. Tom Reid, environmental program manager for DEQ's water quality discharge section, said Fidelity is discharging about 800 gallons per minute.
``We don't see an impact,'' he said.
The complaints were from two irrigation districts and the Northern Plains Resource Council.
Coalbed methane, a natural gas now in high demand, is held in coalbed seams by groundwater pressure. Drilling for the gas requires pumping the water to the surface.
``We're already looking at a serious drought, and members of the Tongue River Water Users Association have just a few days of water left in the Tongue River Reservoir,'' said Art Hayes Jr., association president. ``We have one water user above the dam who is being forced to use this polluted water for irrigation, and we know that at such a low flow, the river can't flush out the pollutants from coalbed methane discharge water.''
The water users association sued DEQ in May, alleging that Fidelity's discharge permit allowed the Tongue to be degraded. NPRC and the Montana Environmental Information Center filed similar suits the next day.
NPRC said most of the problems associated with coalbed methane water could be addressed by reinjecting the water into aquifers.
Recently, the Tongue River was flowing at 18 cubic feet per second, just 12 percent of average. The steamflow monitor is downstream from sites where Fidelity is discharging water into the river from its coalbed methane wells near Decker.
The average coalbed methane well discharges between 14,000 and 28,000 gallons of water per day, according to NPRC.
In Montana, coalbed methane water generally is high in salts and other contaminants and is unsuitable for irrigation. However, the water may be consumed.
Roger Muggli, manager of the Tongue and Yellowstone Irrigation District and an NRPC member, said the river now is below flow expectations in Fidelity's permit. ``There' s no way the river can dilute this wastewater with such low flows,'' he said.
DEQ could reopen the permit if it thought designated uses were threatened or if discharges exceed water quality standards. ``But we're not to that point yet,'' Reid said. DEQ will review the permit when it comes up for renewal next year.
Bruce Williams, vice president of operations for Fidelity in Sheridan, Wyo., said he agrees with Reid's assessment. The permit made conservative assumptions in determining the volume of water that could be discharged, he said.
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