After nearly a year of wrangling with both industry and environmentalists, the West Virginia Legislature passed a bill to regulate drilling for natural gas in Marcellus shale earlier this month.

First thought to be too deep to be financially feasible, the practice of hydro-fracking has increased the likelihood that a gas well drilled into Marcellus shale will turn a profit. Hydro-fracking, also known as hydraulic fracturing, involves horizontal drilling from the shaft of a vertical well. Those horizontal holes are filled with a pressurized mixture called fracking fluids, causing the surrounding rock to crack and release gas into the shaft.

Opponents of hydro-fracking say it endangers drinking water supplies, both in the use of fracking fluids and their post-drilling storage in holding ponds. They also say that the amount of fresh water used from local sources is a danger to the fresh water supply.

Further, drilling for natural gas is a 24-hour-a-day enterprise, leading opponents to demand wells be set far away from dwellings.

The bill which Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin signed into law last week gave each side something, but not everything.

ﾓEverybody got part of what they wanted,ﾔ said Del. Bill Hartman (D-Randolph). ﾓIﾒm sure it will be tweaked in the next 10 years. Weﾒre better off today with the bill that was passed than we were before it was passed.ﾔ

Hartman said the increase in permit fees from about $400 to $10,000 means more than a dozen new inspectors for the Division of Environmental Protection, and the mandatory 625 foot setback from dwellings were improvements from the prior set of regulations.

ﾓThey were drilling wells before we passed this legislation,ﾔ he noted.

For her part, Del. Denise Campbell (D-Randolph), said she believes there is still work to be done in legislating drilling in the deep, gas rich shale.

ﾓI think we want to make sure that subsurface owners and landowners feel safe about their water and safe about their rights as landowners,ﾔ Campbell said. But she acknowledged that not everyone is happy with the bill as it was passed. One delegate, she said, promised that 20 more pieces of legislation dealing with gas drilling issues would be introduced during the next legislative session which begins January 11.

ﾓWeﾒve made the first steps,ﾔ she said. ﾓBut I think thereﾒs more regulation and more legislation we need to address.ﾔ

Campbell said itﾒs been difficult to balance the needs of constituents from two groups that want entirely disparate things.

One side wants all drilling to cease, while the other wants to know whatﾒs being done to provide jobs to an area with relatively high unemployment.

At the end of October, Pocahontas Countyﾒs unemployment rate was 10.2 percent, well above the national average of 8.6 percent in November, and considerably higher than the stateﾒs November average of 7.9 percent.

ﾓThereﾒs a lot of weighing and balancing that needs to be done,ﾔ she said.

State Senator Walt Helmick (D-Pocahontas) said the bill is a ﾓblueprint for the future.ﾔ

But he said the bill has value in its current form and should be seen as such.

ﾓIt takes care of the vast majority of concerns people have in the area of Marcellus shale drilling,ﾔ Helmick said. ﾓAt this time, we could not have strengthened it more. Itﾒs not one hundred percent, but Iﾒm satisfied with it.ﾔ

The senator said both industry advocates and their opponents lobbied a great deal prior to the billﾒs passage.

ﾓThey pushed pretty hard,ﾔ he commented.

According to the West Virginia Record, in addition to increasing the number of inspectors, the Horizontal Well Act relating to Marcellus Shale will:

ﾕ Increase permit fees to fund the regulatory efforts of the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection. It sets $10,000 permit fees for initial wells and $5,000 fees for each well added to a site;

ﾕ Increase well location restrictions to protect water resources and surface uses;

ﾕ Require that a road use agreement be in place prior to permit issuance;

ﾕ Increase notice provisions and a new compensation statute for surface owners;

ﾕ Increase enforcement authority for the state DEP, including increased potential civil penalties for violations of the law; and

ﾕ Codify ﾠwater use and wastewater handling regulations contained largely in the Governorﾒs emergency rule.

There are also provisions for the state DEP to promulgate further legislative rules in the near term regarding air quality and cementing and casing issues, the Record said.ﾠPamela Pritt
Editor

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After nearly a year of wrangling with both industry and environmentalists, the West Virginia Legislature passed a bill to regulate drilling for natural gas in Marcellus shale earlier this month.
First thought to be too deep to be financially feasible, the practice of hydro-fracking has increased the likelihood that a gas well drilled into Marcellus shale will turn a profit. Hydro-fracking, also known as hydraulic fracturing, involves horizontal drilling from the shaft of a vertical well. Those horizontal holes are filled with a pressurized mixture called fracking fluids, causing the surrounding rock to crack and release gas into the shaft.
Opponents of hydro-fracking say it endangers drinking water supplies, both in the use of fracking fluids and their post-drilling storage in holding ponds. They also say that the amount of fresh water used from local sources is a danger to the fresh water supply.
Further, drilling for natural gas is a 24-hour-a-day enterprise, leading opponents to demand wells be set far away from dwellings.
The bill which Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin signed into law last week gave each side something, but not everything.
"Everybody got part of what they wanted," said Del. Bill Hartman (D-Randolph). "I'm sure it will be tweaked in the next 10 years. We're better off today with the bill that was passed than we were before it was passed."
Hartman said the increase in permit fees from about $400 to $10,000 means more than a dozen new inspectors for the Division of Environmental Protection, and the mandatory 625 foot setback from dwellings were improvements from the prior set of regulations.
"They were drilling wells before we passed this legislation," he noted.
For her part, Del. Denise Campbell (D-Randolph), said she believes there is still work to be done in legislating drilling in the deep, gas rich shale.
"I think we want to make sure that subsurface owners and landowners feel safe about their water and safe about their rights as landowners," Campbell said. But she acknowledged that not everyone is happy with the bill as it was passed. One delegate, she said, promised that 20 more pieces of legislation dealing with gas drilling issues would be introduced during the next legislative session which begins January 11.
"We've made the first steps," she said. "But I think there's more regulation and more legislation we need to address."
Campbell said it's been difficult to balance the needs of constituents from two groups that want entirely disparate things.
One side wants all drilling to cease, while the other wants to know what's being done to provide jobs to an area with relatively high unemployment.
At the end of October, Pocahontas County's unemployment rate was 10.2 percent, well above the national average of 8.6 percent in November, and considerably higher than the state's November average of 7.9 percent.
"There's a lot of weighing and balancing that needs to be done," she said.
State Senator Walt Helmick (D-Pocahontas) said the bill is a "blueprint for the future."
But he said the bill has value in its current form and should be seen as such.
"It takes care of the vast majority of concerns people have in the area of Marcellus shale drilling," Helmick said. "At this time, we could not have strengthened it more. It's not one hundred percent, but I'm satisfied with it."
The senator said both industry advocates and their opponents lobbied a great deal prior to the bill's passage.
"They pushed pretty hard," he commented.
According to the West Virginia Record, in addition to increasing the number of inspectors, the Horizontal Well Act relating to Marcellus Shale will:
ﾕ Increase permit fees to fund the regulatory efforts of the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection. It sets $10,000 permit fees for initial wells and $5,000 fees for each well added to a site;
ﾕ Increase well location restrictions to protect water resources and surface uses;
ﾕ Require that a road use agreement be in place prior to permit issuance;
ﾕ Increase notice provisions and a new compensation statute for surface owners;
ﾕ Increase enforcement authority for the state DEP, including increased potential civil penalties for violations of the law; and
ﾕ Codify water use and wastewater handling regulations contained largely in the Governor's emergency rule.
There are also provisions for the state DEP to promulgate further legislative rules in the near term regarding air quality and cementing and casing issues, the Record said.

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