Dear HCN,
Thanks for your recent
issue on coalbed methane. It was wonderful to see you treat an
issue that is widespread, complex, and far from environmentally
benign, despite methane being labeled a “green” fuel. I have to
admit to being a little disappointed that you didn’t say anything
about the Raton Basin here in southern Colorado and northern New
Mexico, where I live, though!
What many people,
myself included, experience when first confronted with coalbed
methane development is how things we have learned to value highly
here in the West – like water wells and water rights – are
considered expendable by industry and state government. I’ve
witnessed many people make the now predictable progression from
righteous indignation (“they can’t do that”) to shock (“they can do
that”) to anger (“it’s not fair”) to despair (“it’s hopeless”) as
we learn how little power we have. In our area we’ve faced another
aspect of gas development that put us through this progression:
forced pooling. Even though we own the mineral rights and the
surface and don’t wish to develop the minerals, our minerals might
still be taken and, worse, we might still get a well on our land.
Royalties are small compensation for this violation of our
stewardship.
We’ve put up a Web site
(www.geocities.com/cbmgas) and started an e-mail list to help
educate our neighbors and ourselves. Thanks again for covering this
hot issue. We look forward to the next
installment.
Jenifer
Morrissey
Aguilar,
Colorado
This article appeared in the print edition of the magazine with the headline Thanks for the methane issue.
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