Coal Basin methane leak study concludes about 400 metric tons of the gas could be mitigated
CORE/Courtesy Photo
A partnership between a local nonprofit and the White River National Forest could result in greenhouse gas mitigation equivalent to removing more than 8,000 cars off the road.
After months of study, the Paonia-based Delta Brick & Climate Company and the Community Office for Resource Efficiency (CORE) concluded that about 1,950 metric tons of methane leak from the Coal Basin Mine in the Crystal River Valley annually. They collected the data via aircraft, ground sensors, and drones.
Methane is a highly potent greenhouse gas with a significantly higher warming potential than carbon dioxide. Depending on how you measure it, methane has up to 82 times the warming potential than the same amount of carbon dioxide over a 20-year period.
Chris Caskey, founder of Delta Brick, said about 185-400 metric tons likely can be mitigated with minimal environmental disturbance. He recommends the installation of a regenerative thermal oxidizer at one leak location and bioremediation at harder-to-access sites.
Regenerative thermal oxidizers (RTOs) are regularly installed at active mines for methane leak capture, Caskey said. They work by burning the methane, with water and carbon dioxide byproducts.
The potential to burn the methane for electricity was discussed earlier in the project, but the gas at the Dutch Creek #1 site, where the RTO is proposed, measures about 0.5-1.8% methane, Caskey said. With such a low concentration of methane, it’s not enough to produce electricity.
The big question for the public, Delta Brick, CORE, and the Forest to consider is the impact on the environment. The mining roads up to Coal Basin are still passable and open to hikers, but the construction of an RTO at the Dutch Creek #1 site would require electric infrastructure to power it and access for maintenance. The site has about 10 acres and 3 miles of roadway that would be disturbed.
“Reopening the road is certainly a concern. Disturbance of wildlife is a concern. And we would only do work after the elk are done having their babies,” Caskey said at a Pitkin County work session. “There’d be one or two summers with a lot of construction-type activity. And thereafter, it would be relatively quiet and just the maintenance guy would go up once a month or so.”
The exact amount of mitigation at the Dutch Creek #1 site is not yet clear. Caskey said they would need to drill into the mine for exact calculations.
RTOs have a 20-year lifespan and methane leaks generally decrease down to very low levels over time in situations like this. Caskey recommended that the RTO operate for 10 years, then Pitkin County, the Forest, and CORE could reevaluate needs.
The cost is steep. Caskey estimated the construction would cost about $4 million, then an additional $250,000 annually for maintenance. CORE is seeking a $1.5 million state grant, and the partners plan to sell offsets and seek private philanthropic support.
Pitkin County donated $200,000 to the study in 2023.
The bioremediation method is experimental, Caskey stressed, but showing promising outcomes at other sites. The method involves 55-gallon drums with methane-eating bacteria from the site. Caskey estimated each barrel would mitigate about 10 kilograms of methane per day. Those drums could be carried up to the leak sites via horseback.
The Coal Basin Mine first opened in 1900, according to the Redstone Historical Society. After nearly a century of activity and financial woes, Mid-Continent Resources ceased mining activities in 1991 and declared bankruptcy in 1992. Over 58 million tons of coal were mined from Coal Basin.
As methane is lighter than air, the trapped gas leaks out any way it can. Cementing over the areas where leaks have been detected would not block the methane’s escape, Caskey said.
The site sits on Forest land, and approval for any mitigation project would have to come from the Forest itself. That process subjects the proposed plans to the NEPA process, which studies environmental impact and collects public comment.
CORE and Delta Brick have yet to submit an official proposal to the Forest, but plan to do so soon after compiling public comment collected at two meetings in Basalt and Redstone.
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