DANIEL SPOTH/Frontiersman

MAT-SU -- The regulations developed by the Department of Natural Resources to address coal-bed methane development in the Valley are out, and they met with a resounding thud this week from Valley property owners.

Valley residents had the chance to testify at three meetings this week to share their views on proposed CBM regulations. DNR staff developed the draft following weekly workshops held this spring at which people had the opportunity to make recommendations on the regulations. Residents said the proposal, however, was lacking in several areas.

"This is a thorough disappointment," Steve Renner said. "We need to set the bar high; we need to make industry responsive to us, not us responsive to industry."

Renner, like several others at the meetings held over the week, said he was disappointed to find no information about well spacing and little additional provision for public notice in the proposed regulations. And, he said, DNR did not address development on the moose range in the area or potential affects development could have on other wild habitat, including lakes and streams, in the borough.

"This is sacred to the people who live out here in this valley," Renner said of the moose range.

Some residents brought forward continued frustrations that other state agencies who would oversee CBM development, such as the Department of Environmental Conservation and the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission, weren't part of the discussion about developing new regulations.

"The reason we're here is because the public called the state and basically embarrassed the state on this matter," said Chris Whittington-Evans, president of Friends of Mat-Su. "DEC, AOGCC, they should all be here taking fire too. It demonstrates to the public if they're not here, there won't be the adequate cohesion between the groups. That cohesion is not there, although it was indicated it might be in the outset."

Pat Galvin, with DNR's division of oil and gas, responded to some of the challenges made to the proposed regulations. Well spacing, he said, was not in the document because it's regulated by AOGCC. And, he said, the pace of technology makes it hard to develop lasting rules.

"There are so many variables," Galvin said. "I've heard conflicting information regarding the availability of directional drilling for CBM. We're going to try to encapsulate a field development at one time, through a unit operations plan review."

The regulations proposed would require public notice advertisements be taken out in local newspapers and be sent out to community councils when land is proposed for lease. Individual property owners would be notified of drilling, transportation or exploration activity on or within one-half mile of their land by certified mail. Most who attended the workshops suggested individual notification from the leasing stage forward.

Galvin said although such notification would be possible in the Mat-Su, the state couldn't make regulations other areas couldn't adhere to.

"If we're going to adopt a standard that any leasing proposal within the Mat-Su Borough is going to require notification of every single landowner, they're not going to apply that just to CBM leasing," Galvin said. "If Mat-Su landowners deserve to have notice, then so do all the other landowners in the state … Outside the Mat-Su Borough, that level of database does not exist -- like in Dillingham, right now, there's no record of where the surface owners are."

In response to concerns about other agencies' involvement or lack of involvement in creating the new regulations, Galvin reiterated that, although DNR was developing new regulations, they were to apply to DNR only -- other agencies had not agreed to make new regulations.

"When DNR started this process, it was so we could get out in front and show that DNR has a role to play in the way this is developed in the Mat-Su," Galvin said. "At this point, we worked with AOGCC to get some of their issues addressed, see if anything needs to be changed. Right now, they don't seem to think so."

Some at the meeting said Galvin and those who developed the regulations did so with the commissioner's ultimate approval of the document in mind.

"My understanding, from you, throughout this whole thing was that this was going to reflect what was said," Sutton resident Robin McLean said at the Monday meeting in Sutton. "I guess what bothers me is, if you're saying, 'We're not going to write this down because Tom Irwin's going to ax it out anyway,' I'm saying I want him to ax it out."

Galvin said the proposed regulations were drawn up after the February and March round of public workshops. He said the effort was not to create regulations that would be automatically approved by the commissioner.

"The intent of this document is to be responsive and try to make sure the concern is addressed, but in a way that's appropriate," Galvin said. "Then, it's the commissioner's decision."

After the meeting, Galvin said he wasn't surprised that the regulations didn't fare well among those who testified Monday and at subsequent meetings.

"Among the people who invested a great deal of time into developing their position, [most] don't want CBM in the Mat-Su Valley," Galvin said. "The standards were not written to prohibit CBM in the Mat-Su."

Galvin agreed with the comments of some attendees that it's been an awkward process to revisit and change existing regulations for a program midway through the process.

"DNR did not set up this leasing program. We did not set up the terms of those leases. But we do have to make some calls as to what is responsible," Galvin said. "If you don't feel this document is responsive to what it should be, now is the time to let us know."

Although the public meetings on the proposed regulations are over, DNR will continue to accept public comments about the document until May 21. Written comments can be mailed to DNR's Division of Oil and Gas, Attn: CBM, 550 W. 7th Ave. Suite 800, Anchorage, AK 99501 or by e-mail to cbm-matsu@dnr.state.ak.us. Faxed comments should be sent to (907) 269-3484. The proposed regulations can be seen at the Division of Oil and Gas Web site, www.dog.dnr.state.ak.us.

Contact Rindi White at rindi.white@frontiersman.com.