Bills point to changes in our ideology

By Marjorie Smith

It may be stretching metaphors to speak of "sea changes" here in a region where the last sea evaporated eons ago. But it seems just possible that in the current Legislature, Montana is experiencing something very much like a sea change.

Take, for one instance, that grand old Montana tradition of tooling down the highway with a beer in your hand. It's beginning to look as though our legislators -- more power to them -- are determined to drag Montana out of the cellar with regard to drunken driving.

There may be ripples in Helena this afternoon that could eventually lead to another sea change when both the House and Senate Natural Resources Committees take up bills that would balance the rights of surface land owners with the owners of mineral rights.

Coalbed methane is the poster child for this new take on the extractive industries. Montana's history is intimately tied to mineral extraction. Had it not been for the gold strike in Alder Gulch, the Gallatin Valley would have remained the shared hunting grounds of the Crows, the Arapahoes and the Blackfeet for another few decades. Montana's romance with minerals began then, in the 1860s, and continued on for a century. Through those years, there were mine disasters and violent strikes but somehow it wasn't until strip mining for coal began to furrow the rangelands of eastern Montana that people began to wonder if Montana had made such a good deal selling its soul for filthy lucre. Ranchers began to argue that they should not be left with a sterile moonscape when the strip miners had finished gouging the coal from under their rangeland.

We also learned in recent years, that the hazards of mining fall not only on those who do the mining, but on those who live in the community where the mining was done -- as in Libby, where generations of children frolicked on playgrounds paved with the asbestos-laden residue from vermiculite mining.

And then comes coalbed methane -- the cleanest fuel you can burn. Provided you burn it, and don't involve yourself with bringing it to the surface of the earth. For the first time in Montana's long history of extracting minerals and living with the residue, the prospectors and developers chose a resource that lies under the homes of wealthy, influential people who chose their homesites for their aesthetic qualities. This being Montana, most of them don't own the mineral rights.

If you're new to the valley -- and census statistics indicate there are many potential readers who weren't living here a year ago -- you may not even know that the eastern end of our mountain paradise is under threat. The J.M. Huber Corp. is suing the Bridger Canyon Zoning Commission (composed of five of our highest-ranking county officials), because they would not give Huber a variance to drill test wells for coalbed methane in the heart of one of Montana's most scenic rural neighborhoods.

This controversy has brought to our attention the dilemma of the severed estate -- when the owner of the land is not the owner of the minerals beneath that land. Current Montana law favors the owner of the mineral rights. But the three bills that will be considered this afternoon in Helena seek to adjust the equation.

Senate Bill 240, introduced by Bozeman's Senator Emily Stonington, would require a developer to negotiate with a surface owner regarding location of land disturbances, use and impoundment of water (extraction of coalbed methane involves bringing up huge quantities of often salty water), mitigation of damages and control of dust, weeds and traffic. Stonington also introduced Senate Bill 248 which would require coalbed methane developers to furnish security of at least $10,000 per well to guarantee the restoration of the property. The bill also provides for reimbursement for reduced property values -- a new slant in damage mitigation.

House Bill 380, introduced by Monica Lindeen of Huntley, deals with water quality issues. Just a few years ago, Montana specifically defined the water brought up during coalbed methane extraction as a "beneficial use" which exempted it from many water quality considerations. Learning from the experiences of farmers and ranchers in Wyoming's Powder River Basin, this bill would greatly strengthen water quality provisions.

"These bills are a critical step in providing surface owners with adequate protection from the adverse effects of coalbed methane drilling," says Susan MacGrath of the Park and Gallatin Citizens' Alliance which is urging people concerned about coalbed methane to make the jaunt to Helena this afternoon for the hearings, scheduled for 3 p.m.

After all, we can't just sit back and wait for the sea to change. We need to give it a push.

Marjorie Smith, a Bozeman writer and editor and former member of the U.S. Foreign Service, can be reached at yokoi@mcn.net

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