A local judge's ruling could halt gas production on 3,900 coal-bed methane wells across the state, or potentially all 30,000 of Colorado's oil and gas wells, lawyers told a legislative committee Wednesday. In July, 6th District Judge Gregory Lyman ruled in favor of two Southwest Colorado ranching families, declaring that methane producers have to get a water well permit from the state engineer's office. Until Lyman's ruling, the office had kept its hands off oil and gas wells, leaving them to the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission. The state engineer plans to appeal Lyman's ruling to the state Supreme Court, said Dick Wolfe, who has worked on the problem of coal-bed methane water for the state engineer since 1999.

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.