The coal mines above Redstone in Pitkin County once provided jobs and an economic engine to our community. Now abandoned, the mines are still venting an estimated 9,000 metric tonnes of methane annually. They emit more harmful greenhouse gas emissions than residential and commercial buildings, transportation, aviation and waste in Pitkin County, combined. According to the Colorado Energy Office, these mines are one of the most significant opportunities to eliminate renegade methane in all of Colorado.

The Coal Basin Methane Project would have a large-scale climate impact. Preventing methane from escaping the Coal Basin mine complex could be the greenhouse gas equivalent of taking 500 cars off the road per day. There are multiple solutions to this problem, depending on budget, the quality of methane leaking, and permitting. The Coal Basin Methane Working Group has come together to identify the best solution – one that will protect our climate while also protecting public lands and wildlife habitat in Coal Basin, and continue restoration efforts that have been underway since the mines closed.

There is an urgent need to lower our greenhouse gas emissions and reduce pollution locally and globally. This project could do that, while conserving other values in Coal Basin like recreation and wildlife habitat.