Effluent Guidelines

Coalbed Methane Extraction Detailed Study

EPA identified the coalbed methane (CBM) extraction sector as a candidate for a detailed study in the final 2006 Effluent Guidelines Program Plan and also identified that it would develop an industry questionnaire to support this detailed study and would seek OMB approval under the Paperwork Reduction Act (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.). EPA is conducting this review to determine if it would be appropriate to conduct a rulemaking to revise the effluent guidelines for the Oil and Gas Extraction Point Source Category (40 CFR part 435) to control pollutants discharged in CBM produced water.

Industry Survey
Survey Forms and Information
Background Information
Contact Information

Industry Survey

EPA received approval of the Coalbed Methane Extraction Sector Survey on February 18, 2009, from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB Control No. 2040-0279). The approved mandatory survey includes a screener and a detailed questionnaire. EPA sent the screener questionnaire in February 2009 to all CBM methane operators that have three or more CBM wells. EPA used data from 291 screener questionnaires and state data on operators with one or two CBM wells to identify that in 2008 there were 56,049 CBM wells that operators managed in 692 different CBM projects. This CBM production, 2.0 trillion cubic feet, represents approximately 7.7 percent of the total U.S. natural gas production in 2008. The 692 CBM projects are located in 16 different CBM basins across the Nation but are mainly concentrated in the states of Wyoming, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Alabama. EPA used these data to draw a representative sample of CBM projects. EPA began distribution of the detailed questionnaire to the representative sample of CBM projects in late October 2009. The detailed questionnaire will collect financial and technical data on approximately 250 CBM methane projects across the country.

Under the authority of Section 308 of the Clean Water Act (33 U.S.C. Section 1318), this is a mandatory survey and EPA will work with industry to help complete their responses. For example, EPA's has an electronic version of the detailed questionnaire (see below) as an option for operators to use to reduce the burden of the survey. Survey respondents may also contact the survey help line for assistance: cbmdetailed@pgenv.com or call toll-free on 1-800-864-9230.

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Survey Forms and Information

You will need Adobe Reader to view some of the files on this page. See EPA's PDF page to learn more.

These forms will be used to collect technical and economic information from a wide range of CBM operations. CBM operators should expect to receive the detailed questionnaire within the first two weeks of November 2009. [Note: EPA will identify the operators that will need to complete this questionnaire.]

Blank Version of the Detailed Questionnaire (Word) (86 pp., 2.00MB)
Blank Version of the Detailed Questionnaire (PDF) (86 pp., 484 K)
Instruction Guide for the Detailed Questionnaire (Word) (5 pp., 73.0 K)
Frequently Asked Questions for the Detailed Questionnaire (PDF) (30 pp., 141 K)

Note: EPA no longer updates this information, but it may be useful as a reference or resource.

Blank Version of the Screener Questionnaire (PDF) (4 pp., 58 K)
MS-Excel/Blank Version of Screener Questionnaire, Items A-F (5.89 MB)
- MS-Excel/Blank Version of Screener Questionnaire, Item F only (5.84 MB)
- Zipped/Blank version of Screener Questionnaire, Items A-F (.zip) (664 K)
Instruction Guide for the Screener Questionnaire (PDF) (5 pp., 43 K)
Frequently Asked Questions for the Screener Questionnaire (PDF) (13 pp., 38 K)

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Background Information

More information on EPA's Detailed Study on Coalbed Methane Extraction is provided in the following documents. EPA used the two Federal Register notices below to gather input on the industry survey. Most of these documents can also be downloaded from Regulations.gov (docket # EPA-HQ-OW-2006-0771).