Document ID: EPA-HQ-OW-2003-0074-1279
Agency: epa
Document Type: Supporting & Related Material
Title: 
Posted Date: 2004-09-02T04:00Z

Page
1
of
2
Memorandum
From:
Carey
A.
Johnston,
P.
E.
USEPA/
OW/
OST
ph:
(
202)
566
1014
johnston.
carey@
epa.
gov
To:
Public
Record
for
the
Effluent
Guidelines
Program
Plan
for
2004/
2005
DCN
01092,
Section
3.01
EPA
Docket
Number
OW­
2003­
0074
(
www.
epa.
gov/
edockets/)

Date:
August
11,
2004
Re:
Alaska
Coalbed
Methane
Information
The
following
webpages
provide
information
on
Alaska
shallow
gas
(
including
CBM
operations).
Additionally,
attached
to
this
memo
are
two
briefings
presented
at
a
September
20,
2002,
USGS
meeting
held
in
the
Rayburn
office
building.
The
meeting
was
sponsored
by
the
House
Coalbed
Methane
Caucus
(
chaired
by
Tom
Davis,
VA,
and
Billy
Tauzin,
LA),
however
neither
attended
the
meeting.
The
meeting
was
chaired
by
Rebecca
W.
Watson,
DOI
Assistant
Secretary
for
Land
and
Minerals
Management
and
there
were
three
speakers:
(
1)
P.
Patrick
Leahy,
USGS,
Associate
Director
for
Geology;
(
2)
Asghar
Shariff,
BLM,
Chief
of
Reservoir
Management
Group;
(
3)
Richard
Glen,
Arctic
Slope
Regional
Corporation.

Alaska
Coal
Resources
and
Coalbed
Methane
Potential
http://
pubs.
usgs.
gov/
bul/
b2198/
"
A
potential
untapped
resource
in
Alaska
is
coalbed
methane
(
CBM).
With
more
than
5,500
billion
short
tons
(
4,990
billion
metric
tons)
of
combined
coal
resources
of
Alaska
coal,
the
in­
place
gas
resource
could
be
exceedingly
large.
Smith
(
1995)
estimated
a
total
of
1,000
trillion
cubic
feet
(
28
trillion
cubic
meters)
of
in­
place
CBM
resource.
A
large
part
of
the
gas
resource
may
be
contained
in
subbituminous
coal.
A
large
part
of
the
coal
resources,
about
5,470
billion
short
tons
(
4,962
billion
metric
tons),
is
found
in
the
Northern
Alaska­
North
Slope
and
Southern
Alaska­
Cook
Inlet
coal
provinces
where
in­
place
and
planned
infrastructure
(
pipelines,
highways,
and
so
forth)
may
potentially
assist
in
the
transportation
and
marketability
of
coalbed
gas."

Alaska
Coalbed
Methane
Workshop
http://
www.
westcoastpttc.
org/
workshops/
99­
00/
030300.
htm
Coalbed
methane
stirs
pot
in
Alaska
http://
www.
casperstartribune.
net/
articles/
2003/
12/
27/
news/
wyoming/
43a16f754cabd95887256e0
900018592.
txt
"
Unlike
Wyoming,
Alaska
has
yet
to
see
more
than
a
couple
dozen
coalbed
methane
test
wells.
Page
2
of
2
But
with
vast
amounts
of
shallow
coals
and
increasing
national
interest
to
develop
the
low­
cost,
clean­
burning
fuel,
many
people
in
Alaska
anticipate
a
boom
similar
to
what
has
already
hit
southern
Colorado
and
northeastern
Wyoming."

Alaska
Center
for
the
Environment
http://
www.
akcenter.
org/
coalbed.
html
"
Almost
230,000
acres
have
already
been
approved
for
CBM
development
in
Southcentral
Alaska,
most
in
the
Mat­
Su
Valley.
Lease
applications
are
pending
for
up
to
another
68,000
acres
of
Valley
land."

State
of
Alaska,
Department
of
Natural
Resources,
Division
of
Geological
&
Geophysical
Surveys
http://
wwwdggs.
dnr.
state.
ak.
us/
download/
0211news.
pdf
Potential
energy
resources
include
coalbed
gas,
shalebed
methane,
conventional
gas,
and
oil.

State
of
Alaska,
Department
of
Natural
Resources,
Division
of
Oil
and
Gas
http://
www.
dog.
dnr.
state.
ak.
us/
oil/
products/
publications/
otherreports/
o&
g_
programs/
shallow_
ga
s.
pdf
Alaska's
newest
leasing
program
allows
the
Division
of
Oil
and
Gas
to
issue
non­
competitive
leases
to
explore
for
and
develop
natural
gas
reservoirs
(
including
coalbed
methane)
located
within
3,000
feet
of
the
surface.
The
intent
of
this
program
is
to
locate
local
sources
of
gas,
which
can
be
delivered
to
consumers
in
remote
areas
of
the
state
at
lesscost
than
alternative
energy
sources.