Interesting thread. I was involved in mineral exploration for many years, mostly uranium, but I also worked for a coal company, for the BLM as a fluids geologist and an environmental protection specialist, and under contract to the AEC, ERDA, and DOE. One company I worked for got nailed twice for stealing water, each time from the same pond, and the pond belonged to a prominent rancher who was also a member of the State government. The same company drilled into a pipeline and started a fire that burned for several days. When the pipeline company shut down the pipeline, it ruptured. I once lived next door to an oil company landman in CO who was responsible for reclamation of a well site in WY that I was responsible for when I worked for BLM in WY. Small world.
