From the Wednesday, February 16, 2005 online edition of the Missoulian . . .
(Note the references to coalbed methane development.)
No one actually knows how new oil and gas wells might impact Western waterways, but exploration is accelerating even as troubling questions are outpacing answers across the Rocky Mountain region.
That's the conclusion reached by Confluence Consulting, a Bozeman firm commissioned by Trout Unlimited to summarize all existing scientific data regarding the effects of energy development on coldwater fisheries. The report -- and a panel of scientists who reviewed it -- recommends more field studies, more environmental monitoring and more research into the impacts of new energy sources such as coalbed methane.
The original idea, said Confluence's Carol Endicott, was to dig through the professional literature and collect all that was known about both potential and confirmed risks. Trouble was, it turns out there is almost no professional literature.
Science doesn't know much about energy development's impact, said Trout Unlimited's Dave Stalling, but "what we do know is pretty scary stuff."
While the authors conclude "it is clear that exploration and development of gas and oil has the potential to have negative effects on fisheries, water quality, and associated aquatic life," they also note that "few field studies have evaluated the extent of environmental consequences." . . .
Of special concern are the "nonconventional" energy resources, including oil shale, sandstone gas and coalbed methane, because, the report states, "as they are relatively recent developments, comparatively little information exists to evaluate the specific environmental effects." . . .
Read the entire article . . .