April 8, 2008--Experts study effects of energy boom on water sources in the West (Aspen Times)
More than a year after the deadline, federal officials are starting work on a study exploring some of the effects of the Rockies' energy boom on water. A panel of the National Academy of Sciences met Tuesday in Denver with state and federal regulators to review what's known about the effects of coal-bed methane drilling on surface and groundwater and determine what needs to be studied further. The 2005 federal energy bill said the study should be completed within a year. Three environmental groups sued the Interior Department in February to force some action. The (Environmental Protection Agency) has looked at the issue somewhat several years ago, but their analysis was very incomplete," said Robert Ukeiley of WildEarth Guardians, one of the groups that sued. The U.S. Bureau of Land Management, which oversees mineral development on federal lands, asked the National Research Council of the National Academy of Sciences to review information about coal-bed methane's effects on water and determine the need and scope for further analysis.
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