RIVERTON -- Devon Energy Production Co. is proposing to drill more than 200 gas wells on mostly public land nine miles southeast of here.

The U.S. Bureau of Land Management has begun preparing an environmental study of the proposal for 228 wells, with one well spaced every 40 acres. The development area would cover about 16,500 acres, or about 26 square miles, according to a public notice from the BLM.

Drilling would occur over five to 10 years while the life of the entire project would span 20 to 40 years. The vast majority of the proposed wells would produce coal-bed methane, with about 20 wells producing conventional natural gas.

About 24 miles of roads and 66 miles of pipelines and power lines would be built. Water produced as a byproduct of the coal-bed methane drilling would be discharged in two evaporation ponds and pumped back underground using four reinjection wells.

"After reclamation and for the life of the proposed project, Devon estimates that the long-term surface disturbance would be about 550 acres," the public notice stated.

Public meetings on the proposal are set for 6 to 8 p.m. on Aug. 20 in Riverton at the Holiday Inn and at the same time on Aug. 21 at the Lander Community Center.

Other companies also have been considering central Wyoming for more gas development. They include EnCana Oil and Gas, Burlington Resources Oil and Gas Co., and Noble Energy Inc., which have unveiled plans to drill a total of nearly 1,500 gas wells in northeastern Fremont County.