To produce coalbed methane, the natural gas in question, you commonly have to pump the water out of the coal to get the methane to desorb and be producible as natural gas.
Commonly, though, those same coal beds serve as aquifers in the region, and the water is produced for human and animal consumption.
I'd wager that is the source of the conflict.
As one who has knowledge of coal-bad methane gas production, Smokin' Joe is completely correct. Unlike other types of natural gas extraction (where as the field becomes depleted, increasing amounts of produced water [usually very salty] are extracted), coal bed methane production requires dewatering of the coal first so that the gas can be released and captured. Also, most of this water is fresh in the sense it can be used for irrigation and stock watering. The associated issues are complex and frustrating to both producer and landowner.