Coalbed methane development in the San Juan basin has caused concern about several environmentally related health, safety, and remediation issues. This paper presents the findings of four groundwater-sampling programs and aquifer-protection work on producing wells and deep cathodic-protection groundbeds. The study concludes that Fruitland coal gas can migrate vertically behind uncemented wellbores that offset Fruitland coal gas wells, that remedial cementing of offsetting producing wells is feasible but costly, and that methane detected in domestic water wells near Fruitland coal development cannot be correlated directly to Fruitland coal gas development.