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COAL BED METHANE - MONITORING TO ADDRESS INTERSTATE WATER QUALITY DIVISION
Impact/Purpose:
Coal Bed Methane development is occurring at a rapid pace in northeastern Wyoming. The Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality, Water Quality Division received two US EPA "One Stop" grants in May 2001 to conduct expanded surface water monitoring (discharge, water quality, and biological) at 10 USGS gauging stations in Wyoming's coal bed methane development areas. The Departments of Environmental Quality for the States of Wyoming and Montana initiated technical workgroup meetings to address interstate water quality concerns associated with coal bed methane development. This effort addresses topics of interest to the workgroup not currently in the scope of the "One Stop" grants. These are 1) a more comprehensive list of Parameters of Concern; 2) the need to expand surface water monitoring at two USGS stations located within the State of Montana, immediately downstream of the State of Wyoming; and 3) expand the frequency and list of constituents at the USGS Salt Creek station, near Sussex, in an effort to more accurately partition non-CBM sources to the Powder River. Additionally, the reactivation of a USGS station on the Cheyenne River, immediately upstream of the Wyoming/South Dakota stateline was identified by the Wyoming DEQ as necessary to monitor water quality for that entire watershed, upstream of the stateline.
Description:
This project is proposed to be 2 years in length (until the end of the 2003 Water Year). The list of Constituents of Concern will be expanded to include 22 additional major ions and trace metals at 7 gauging stations. Monitoring at the Tongue River at Stateline and Powder River at Moorhead USGS, and Cheyenne River at Riverview Stations will be expanded to address all interstate concerns. The goals of this proposal are to strengthen the overall objectives of the 2001 Grants Projects by : conducting sampling and analysis for the complete list of Parameters of Concern as identified by an interstate technical workgroup; complete sampling at two stations located in the State of Montana, immediately downstream of the State of Wyoming to better assess water quality commitments made to the State of Montana by the State of Wyoming; and sampling at a station immediately upstream of the Wyoming/South Dakota stateline to better monitor the water quality of that entire watershed before exiting the State of Wyoming.