One of the Bush administration's fiercest critics in Congress has turned his eye on coal-bed methane pollution. Rep. Henry Waxman on Wednesday sent a letter to Secretary of the Interior Dirk Kempthorne to complain the department has never done a study on coal-bed methane's effects on water resources, as required by the Energy Policy Act of 2005. Congress gave the department a year to finish the report. The department assigned the study to the Bureau of Land Management. "BLM has no authority to ignore the law. There are numerous documented damaging effects of coal-bed methane production on water resources, the ecosystems that depend on those resources, and agricultural and other economic activities," Waxman wrote.

To view the full story visit the Durango Herald. For a copy of the original article contact the WIP at (970) 247-1302 or stop by the office at 841 East Second Avenue in Durango.