From the Thursday, February 28, 2008 online edition of The Globe and Mail . . .

A metallurgical coal mine project proposed for the upper reaches of the Flathead River in southeastern B.C. is going full speed ahead despite widespread opposition across the border in Montana.

“We are actively working to get that done as quickly as we can,” said Ken Bates, chief executive officer of Sudbury-based Cline Mining Corp.. “We are hell-bent to get it done and are pushing the government to get it done. I’m sorry they are taking so long.”

Cline’s determination to push forward comes as another company, BP Canada Energy Co., has deferred indefinitely the portion of its $3-billion coal bed methane project that lies in the Flathead River drainage.

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From the Friday, February 22, 2008 online edition of the Missoulian . . .

A controversial plan to extract coal-bed methane from the Canadian wilds north of Glacier National Park was scuttled Thursday, a surprise turnaround that drew praise from many downstream Montanans.

“I’m very, very happy,” said Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont. “This is good news.”

Baucus and Sen. Jon Tester, D-Mont., had scheduled a town hall meeting in Kalispell to discuss coal and coal-bed methane proposals north of the border; neither expected to make any substantive announcements.
But hours before the event, the senator received a call from Bob Malone, chairman and president of BP America Inc. That company was pursuing the right to explore for gas across some 200 square miles of British Columbia, just north of the Montana line.

“He said they have definitely decided not to proceed with coal-bed methane development in the North Fork of the Flathead,” Baucus said. The company will, however, continue to pursue coal-bed methane in the adjacent Elk River Valley, which drains into Montana’s Koocanusa Reservoir.

BP spokeswoman Anita Perry confirmed that news, saying that “the Flathead is no longer on the table, and we’re fine with the decision that’s been made. We heard people’s concerns, and we no longer have any plans for the Canadian Flathead.”

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From the Friday, February 22, 2008 online edition of the Daily Inter Lake . . .

A forum on potential development in the Canadian Flathead drainage opened with a bang Thursday, with Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont., announcing that energy giant BP is withdrawing plans for coal-bed methane development in the basin.

“Just several hours ago, I got a call from the head of BP … and he told me they’ve made a final decision: They’re not going to develop coal-bed methane in the Flathead,” Baucus said, getting a rousing cheer from an audience of about 200 at Flathead Valley Community College.

Baucus said he further pressed BP America President Bob Malone in the conversation, asking if the decision was indeed final, “and he said yes.”

In a parallel action on Wednesday, the British Columbia Ministry of Energy issued BP “tenure referral” — an exclusive right to pursue permits for methane development in the Crowsnest coal field northeast of the Flathead River drainage.

“The Flathead Valley is not part of the tenure area,” confirmed Jamie Edwardson, a ministry spokesman. “The province recognizes the environmental sensitivity of the Flathead area and has not included this area in the tenure referral.”

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From the Thursday, February 21, 2008 online edition of the Daily Inter Lake . . .

A proposed British Columbia natural-gas project that raised environmental alarms in Montana is being dropped.

Energy giant BP and British Columbia officials decided that drilling for coal-bed methane, a type of natural gas, will not be pursued on the Canadian side of the Flathead River Basin, Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont., told The Associated Press on Thursday as he prepared to hold a Kalispell public meeting about possible industrial development in the southeastern area of the Canadian province.

BP Canada spokeswoman Anita Perry confirmed the coal-bed methane development has been dropped before getting started. Perry deferred to provincial officials when asked for further information. Jake Jacobs, a spokesman for the British Columbia Ministry of Energy, Mines and Petroleum Resources, did not immediately return a reporter’s telephone call.

Continue reading Energy firm drops coal-bed methane project →

From the Monday, February 18, 2008 online edition of the Missoulian . . .

Congress is coming to Kalispell this week for a town hall meeting to discuss the proposed industrialization of Canadian wilds bordering Glacier National Park’s northern edge.

Canada’s Flathead River cuts through a valley thought to be rich with coal and coalbed methane before spilling south into Montana, where it forms the western boundary of Glacier Park.

For decades, Montana and British Columbia have clashed over energy development there, with downstream interests worried about impacts to Montana’s fish, wildlife and water quality.

Currently, two Canadian projects dominate the debate – a coal mine in the river’s headwaters and a basinwide hunt for coalbed methane by British Petroleum’s national arm, BP Canada.

On Thursday, Montana Sens. Max Baucus and Jon Tester, both Democrats, will arrive in Kalispell to receive updates on the Canadian proposals, to gather input on what might be done, and to offer suggestions on what they think is politically possible.

[…]

Montana Sens. Max Baucus and Jon Tester will meet with officials and the public at 3 p.m. Thursday in the Arts and Technology Building on the Kalispell campus of Flathead Valley Community College. The topic: proposed industrialization of Canada’s Flathead River Valley. The session is open to all.

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