Bill aims to avoid coal-bed methane chaos

A lawsuit by Southwest Colorado ranchers over water rights and coal-bed methane wells has spurred the Legislature into action. William and Elizabeth Vance and James and Mary Fitzgerald sued the state engineer's office in 2005, claiming that coal-bed methane wells were depleting their water wells. They won in a La Plata court in 2007. The case, Vance v. Simpson, is on appeal to the state Supreme Court. A ruling is expected any time. Sen. Jim Isgar and others worry the court could require every one of Colorado's 38,000 gas wells to get a water-well permit, which would overwhelm the state engineer's office. So Isgar, D-Hesperus, and Rep. Kathleen Curry, D-Gunnison, drafted House Bill 1303, which brings coal-bed methane wells into Colorado's water-rights system. Without the bill, the court decision could force the state engineer to roll all coal-bed methane wells into the legal water system in two months. Other observers have said the court decision could apply to every gas or oil well in the state...Durango Herald