NATURAL GAS /COAL BED METHANE FACTS

Natural gas is frequently marketed as a “clean” energy source. And while burning
natural gas for power produces fewer of the pollutants released by oil or coal-fired
power plants, extracting gas at its source creates significant impacts on air and water.
In the Rocky Mountain West, operations have focused largely on deposits of Coalbed
Methane (CBM). Significant amounts of groundwater are brought to the surface when
the gas is extracted which has led to the depletion of streams. Standing ponds of this
tainted water are also left behind posing a danger to livestock and wildlife.
In some natural gas deposits, rock must be fractured deep underground in order to
retrieve the gas. This process, known as “fracking” involves pumping millions of gallons
of toxic chemicals into the ground. Many of these chemicals are controlled by the EPA if
emitted from most industrial operations, but there is no such review for use in natural
gas drilling. 1 Gas field workers have reported illnesses related to the substances 2,3 and
local communities fear that their wells and other water supplies could be harmed.
Drilling operations also pose threats to wildlife by greatly increasing truck traffic and
disrupting critical migration routes and sensitive mating areas. Industry funded studies
have shown declines in wildlife populations in drilling areas 4, and mating and migration
has been disrupted.
Leaks from wells, storage tanks, and pipelines have been identified as a significant
contributor to air pollution along Colorado’s Front Range.

• Mule Deer numbers near a highly developed Wyoming gas field (Pinedale
Anticline) declined 46% in the first four years of development (2000-2004) 5

• Broad regions of the west are predicted to exceed and/or violate federal ozone
air quality standards if air pollution from gas drilling is not controlled.6

• Natural gas accounts for 24% of U.S. primary energy consumption, and produces
21% of US CO2 emissions.7

• About 16 percent of U.S. electricity is generated by natural gas, resulting in about

15 percent of our total GHG emissions, which include CO2 and methane.8

• Methane, the principle component of natural gas, is an extremely potent global

warming pollutant. Methane is 21 times more efficient at trapping heat than
CO2.9

• The energy sector is the largest source of U.S. methane emissions, and within
the energy sector, natural gas systems and coal mines are the major sources of
methane emissions.10

• Approximately 900 barrels of water are spilled per barrel of oil equivalent from
CBM extraction in the Powder River Basin of Wyoming and Montana.11
• Water from CBM drilling can stunt growth of both naturally occurring and seeded
plants and promote the invasion of noxious weeds. 12
1Environmental Working Group, Colorado’s Chemical Injection, 6/10/08 http://www.ewg.org/book/export/
html/26648
2Newsweek online, A Toxic Spew, 8/20/2008 http://services.newsweek.com//search.aspx?
offset=0&pageSize=10&sortField=pubdatetime&sortDirection=descending&mode=summary&q=Moscou
3High Country News, Disposable Workers of the Oil and Gas Fields, 4/02/07 http://www.hcn.org/issues/
343/16915
4Hall Sawyer, et al, Sublette Mule Deer Study: 2005 Annual Report http://www.west-inc.com/
big_game_reports.pdf
5 Ibid
6 http://ourcleanair.org/uploads/Revised_8hrO3_NAAQS_draft_7_15_08.pdf

7 Energy Information Administration, http://www.eia.doe.gov/oiaf/1605/ggccebro/chapter1.html

8 Ibid
9 Environmental Protection Agency http://www.epa.gov/methane/index.html

10Energy Information Administration, http://www.eia.doe.gov/oiaf/1605/ggccebro/chapter1.html

11 Department of Energy, http://www.sandia.gov/energy-water/congress_report.htm

12Montana State University, Water Quality and Irrigation Management, 2003 http://
waterquality.montana.edu/docs/methane/cbmfaq.shtml#why_are_people_concerned