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And it's a documented fact that using water with too many salts in them (whether the salts be naturally occuring, or from fertilizer runoff) can reduce or destroy the productivity of agricultural land.

Try telling that to most of the ranchers in the area, ace. You sit wherever in your high and mighty seat and spout sh!t you know nothing about. I've been there, am involved in production there, have friends working there and I know the water situation. The ranchers welcome it for irrigation and stock tanks. Several companies have built small ponds and lakes for ranchers that are now stocked with fish.

That's some real bad water huh, expert.

"You sit wherever in your high and mighty seat and spout sh!t you know nothing about."

Which is why I said, "on the face of it". It is true that use of salty water eventually can lead to problems in an agriculural area. What I don't know for a fact is what the salinity of the specific water we are talking about here is. I don't know jack about ranching, but I'm pretty good with water chemistry, and I'm not ignorant about soil chemistry. And I know that there are practical examples of areas where water has been used in such a fashion that salts from said water have accumulated in surface layers of soil and have rendered that soil infertile.

I asked for answers about the specific issues the environmental groups have raised. I didn't pretend to have them myself. If the technical facts don't support their position, then fine. The issues as presented in this story are real in some areas of the world. The question is, are they real in the Powder River Basin? These issues shouldn't be dismissed out of hand simply because of the people who raised them.

An 'F' for Ron.
I was talking with a guy who worked with the drillers. He told me how cheap the coal is and I wish I had 10 tons to burn in my stove.
Of course 'Butch (Zeig) & Sundance (Heil)' will be the first to run crying to congress about trashing the environment.
I suppose we'll now be seeing 'coal huggers!'

Good to hear from someone who knows the deal. Thanks. Been reading about this in the energy news, esp. the Powder River Basin--new areas being proven every day. Looks like open range to me--hardly the Imperial Valley re: agricultural impact.

Those out on the coastal margins think the world is a truck farm. They need to see more of the real world.