EIS
The Powder River Basin Oil and Gas Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) and the Montana Statewide Oil and Gas Environmental Impact Statement
The Powder River Basin Oil and Gas Environmental Impact Statement and the Montana Statewide Oil and Gas Environmental Impact Statement from the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and other state agencies are good examples of commendable government responsibility and accountability. During the EIS process, the BLM offered the public a prospective look at major energy development on federal, state and private lands, as required by law, in the Powder River Basin of northeast Wyoming and southeast Montana. They have provided the scope of the project, have analyzed the foreseeable impacts and have responded to public comment about their work.

The EIS process is required to offer the public opportunities to review the document and comment on it. The surrounding discussion took place in public meetings, in the press and throughout the towns and cities of the region. It was the responsibility of the parties, including the BLM, state, industry, communities and other interested parties to participate in this process in a responsible fashion. The Coalbed Natural Gas Alliance believes that the BLM did a thorough job according to law and has proposed a development scenario which will protect the environment, address landowner concerns and stimulate growth in the regional economy. The final Wyoming EIS was released in January of 2003 and anticipates the addition of 39,400 new wells within the 8 million-acre planning area during the next ten years. Montana's Final Statewide Oil and Gas EIS was also released in January of 2003 and analyzed 26,475 coalbed natural gas wells throughout the state. It specifically examined approximately 13,700 wells in the area of best development potential in the Powder River Basin in Montana.

The decisions in the final EIS are not the final environmental reviews and approvals for actions associated with coalbed natural gas development in Wyoming and Montana. The BLM and the State must conduct additional project-specific environmental reviews before approving activities that involve surface disturbance. Those decisions will be subject to administrative reviews according to the applicable regulations of each approving agency.