Enviros want coal mine to capture methane

Posted by egable on January 21st, 2008 filed in Journalism, Climate change

Environmentalists say the huge volume of methane expected to be released from a coal mine on the Western Slope should be captured, so that the gases don’t contribute to global warming, the Denver Rocky Mountain News reports. As part of its recent decision to allow the West Elk Mine to begin excavating coal, the U.S. Forest Service is permitting the mine to drill 168 methane wells to release the gas. Environmental groups appealed that decision this month, saying the mine could release 7 million cubic feet of methane daily and increase Colorado’s greenhouse gas emissions by 1.3 percent.