Concerns raised over coalbed methane bill

By WALT WILLIAMS, Chronicle Staff Writer

HELENA -- A bill giving surface owners more say over coalbed methane drilling on their land restricts the rights of the people who own the minerals under the property, opponents charged Thursday.

"All we are talking about is a right to reasonable access," mineral rights attorney Colby Branch of Billings told lawmakers Thursday.

Senate Bill 258 is an attempt by Sen. Mike Wheat, D-Bozeman, to "level the playing field" between surface owners and mineral rights holders in oil and gas drilling.

The bill would force companies to negotiate with surface owners before drilling on their land.

Both sides would have to work out what steps must be taken to mitigate the impacts of drilling, and what compensation the surface owner is entitled to for any damages and loss of access to the property.

"The intention here is to have the operator and the surface owner sit down and deal with these issues before the operation begins," Wheat told the Senate Judiciary Committee.

Several landowners asked committee members to give them more power over what happens on their land. Coalbed methane drilling has been proposed in a number of areas throughout the state, including Bozeman Pass.

Nancy Carrel of Birney said she only had to look south to Wyoming to see the harm coalbed methane drilling has done.

"For the most part, the surface owner... is the loser since mineral rights take precedence over surface rights," she said.

But opponents of the bill said landowners are already entitled to compensation under state law.

"There really hasn't been any bad feelings between our company and the landowners," Leo Miller of Headington Oil Company said. "We haven't been run off yet."

Miller's concerns were echoed by the Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation, which said the courts have long recognized the right of mineral owners to access their property through a surface owner's land.

In a fiscal analysis, the agency found SB 258 "erodes and impairs" that right by forcing a mineral owner to stop any drilling while a dispute over access is tied up in court.

The agency also found that the bill could reduce money going to the state school trust by curbing oil and gas development on state lands.

Wheat disputed the agency's findings and refused to sign the fiscal analysis. But the bill did get the support of the governor's office, with a spokesman saying it only needed some minor adjustments.

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