HELENA - Gov. Brian Schweitzer came out swinging Monday in response to criticism by Secretary of State Brad Johnson over the governor's proposal to build a plant converting coal to liquid fuels.

Johnson, a Republican, called Schweitzer's idea a "10-year-long, $10 billion pipe dream, built on 70-year-old technology" during a speech Friday at the state Republican Party convention in Billings.

In the speech, Johnson also called for a comprehensive plan to develop the state's Otter Creek coal tracts in southeastern Montana.

In a tense exchange at Monday's state Land Board meeting, Schweitzer told Johnson such efforts were already under way and that "it's important that we pull together to develop our resources in Montana."

"If we are knowledgeable about what we're saying in public about our resources, it can be helpful in attracting new development in Montana," Schweitzer said. "If we're not knowledgeable, it's not helpful."

The governor also staged an hourlong presentation on Otter Creek and the coal-to-liquids technology he's touted, asking Johnson at one point, "Is this helpful?" and reading off the number of times Land Board members had mentioned the words "Otter Creek" or "coal" in the past 18 meetings.

Johnson, the governor said, mentioned the words nine times in that period, compared with Schweitzer's 31 times, State Auditor John Morrison's 23 times and Attorney General Mike McGrath's six times.

Johnson told Schweitzer several times, "I did not come here today to debate you," and said he wanted only to request that the Otter Creek issue be placed on next month's Land Board agenda and "raise an issue that needs to be addressed."

After the meeting, Johnson said he still believed a comprehensive plan, including timelines and other specifics, was needed on developing the Otter Creek reserves. He said he planned to further pursue the issue next month.

"I want us to revisit it when it's an official business item on the agenda," Johnson said.

The Otter Creek coal tracts, which hold more than 1 billion tons of coal, lie due east of the Northern Cheyenne Indian Reservation and about 75 miles south of Miles City.

The state owns the rights to about 700 million tons of the coal, gained four years ago in an exchange with the federal government. Colorado-based Great Northern Properties owns about the same amount, which is interspersed with the state-owned tracts.

Monte Mason, head of the Department of Natural Resources and Conservation's Minerals Management Bureau, said a comprehensive study of the property by state and Great Northern officials is due out in two weeks. The study, which examined new and existing data, will be used as the parties seek developers for the tracts, he said.

During Friday's speech in Billings, Johnson told fellow Republicans he agrees with people who say Montana can lead the way in alternative energy and clean-coal technology, but said Schweitzer's coal-to-liquid-fuels operation is simply impractical.

Schweitzer and several of his staff members stressed Monday that state-of-the-art technology would be used in the plant, not that originally used by Nazi Germany in World War II, and cited other plants and plans by the military to test synthetic fuel in its B-52s this summer as evidence of increasing interest in the idea.

"This is not pipe-dream stuff," said Evan Barrett, the governor's economic development officer. "This is real stuff that is going on."