No question, the Powder River Basin's mixed-grass prairie holds its own beauty. A few hardy ranching families, widely spaced pumpjacks, pronghorn antelope and cattle once lightly populated the expansive rangeland outside of Gillette, Wyoming. Today, those sections are finely crisscrossed by roads and pipelines and crowded with wellheads and compressors. At first, many people embraced the burgeoning coalbed methane (CBM) play for the jobs and tax dollars it brought to the struggling region. Ranchers were even happy with the early development, glad to make use of a new supply of potable water on their chronically dry lands. Now, despite its early acceptance and robust economic success, CBM development in this corner of Wyoming is entering the new year faced with strong opposition. A central problem is that the shallow coalbed wells make a great deal of water along with their gas. CBM wells in the state produced 10.7 billion cubic feet (Bcf) of gas, accompanied by 28.7 million barrels of water, during August 2000, according to the Wyoming Oil & Gas Conservation Commission. In aggregate, the coalbed play has produced 211 Bcf of gas and 575 million barrels of water through September. A small portion of the water is pumped down disposal wells, but the lion's share is discharged on the surface. The bulk of the drilling, gas and water production, and controversy has centered in Campbell County, the heart of the Powder River Basin. At the end of November, state figures showed 5,667 completed CBM producers, 1,383 CBM wells in progress, and 2,460 permits to drill CBM wells in Campbell County. The next most active county was neighboring Johnson, which posted just 122 completions, 64 in-progress wells and 432 permits to drill. Fears that the copious volumes of produced water will damage the arid plains have prompted local citizen and environmental groups to mount increasingly vocal complaints. In October, two groups filed a protest against the Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality (WDEQ). The Powder River Basin Resource Council and the Wyoming Outdoor Council contend that the WDEQ is violating the Clean Air Act by issuing permits for CBM water discharge. Since 1990, the WDEQ has issued close to 600 permits for the discharge of produced water, and as many as 10 discharge points are allowed under one permit. The groups say that the WDEQ failed to take into account recent research on the impact of produced water on fish, animals and agriculture. They also contend that the agency is frustrating public efforts to participate in the water permitting process. The state of Montana has also jumped into the fray, requesting further analysis of the impact of CBM water discharge before the WDEQ grants any additional permits. Montana officials are worried about potential pollution of the rivers that are shared by the two states. In response, the WDEQ has stopped issuing water discharge permits pending a public hearing. A review of the policies and standards for water discharge will likely take place this month, although a date for the hearing had not been fixed at press time. The WDEQ's action has widespread consequences for CBM operators. Each CBM well on state, federal or private land must receive a permit from the WDEQ. Presently, the only wells that can be drilled are those covered by previously issued permits. At the same time, <$iPhillips Petroleum Co. > has applied for a permit from the WDEQ to construct two reservoirs on tributaries of the North Platte and Powder rivers. Under Phillips' innovative proposal, buried pipelines would collect CBM water, carry it to the reservoirs, treat it if necessary, and then discharge it into the main rivers. The plan, although certainly more costly than the present method of water disposal, has several apparent merits. High water quality can be ensured because the reservoirs will act as central storage sites, allowing the use of sophisticated water-treatment techniques. The effect on local plants and animals would be greatly reduced, and unwelcome water would no longer flow onto the property of downstream landowners. Erosion could also be alleviated. Phillips is clearly in the CBM play for the long haul, and it deserves hearty congratulations for proposing a fresh approach to a contentious issue.