Lifetimes of damage in Wyoming

Troy and Ed Schwartz.

ED Schwartz and his son Troy (pictured) were forced to go to court to stop coal seam gas companies dumping discharge water in the creek that runs through their Wyoming farm.

The dumping went on for two solid years, killing trees and their alfafa crops.

“This was a part-time stream but they were making it a full-time stream with salty discharge water and that changes all of the soil make-up and your plant vegetation,” Ed Schwartz said.

The Schwartz family ended up having to sue the State of Wyoming and one of the methane companies – “boy was that expensive” – to get it to stop.

Mr Schwartz’s message for Australian farmers is to get a tight water surface use agreement in place, before any mining activity starts.

“Make sure they reclaim the land, make sure they put up a sufficient bond to protect the water wells and don’t let them dump this water on the ground because if it’s salty like the water is here, it will kill the soil rather than improve it,” he said.

“Salt water doesn’t help plants grow.”

Stock and Land

Troy Schwartz said the time it would take to repair the damage to critical land and water assets on his family ranch, caused by coalbed methane mining over the past decade, could take several lifetimes of his children and their grandkids – even with no more salt water running over it.