Coal-bed Methane Producers Must Obtain Well Permits and, if Necessary, Plan for Augmentation

摘要

In Vance v. Wolfe, 205 P.3d 1165 (Colo. 2009), the Colorado Supreme Court affirmed a water court's ruling that the extraction of tributary groundwater produced from coal-bed methane (CBM) wells is a "beneficial use" of water giving rise to an appropriative water right that must be regulated under state water laws. Additionally, the Court affirmed the water court's determination that CBM wells producing tributary groundwater are, in effect, water wells that require well permits issued by the Colorado State Engineer and, where applicable, require a water court-approved plan for augmentation to replace out-of-priority depletions.