The Register-Herald, Beckley, West Virginia

Today's Front Page

March 1, 2011

Senate panel OKs Marcellus bill; called ‘not perfect but good start’

By Mannix Porterfield Register-Herald Reporter

CHARLESTON — Environmental Protection Secretary Randy Huffman sees the Marcellus shale bill approved Monday by a Senate panel as less than perfect “but a good place to start.”

But an environmental leader views the shale legislation as one that could doom caves in Greenbrier and Monroe counties.

In two sessions throughout the day, the Senate Judiciary Committee wrangled over the bill, covering all aspects of a fledgling industry that promises a major bonanza for West Virginia.

“Overall, from a regulatory framework, I think it’s a good place to start,” Huffman told the committee.

“I think it’s adequate for what we need to get a handle on regulating the industry.”

Based on the explanation by the committee’s legal counsel, Huffman said the substitute legislation is an improved model.

“It deals with the water issue, one of our concerns,” he said. “It deals with land disturbances, one of our concerns. Funding is not popular but it doesn’t even fill the gap that exists within the program today.”

Drillers would pay $5,000 for the initial horizontal permit but within, a single pod, could add up to seven additional wells for $1,000 apiece.

The measure imposes an accelerated penalty clause with misdemeanors prompting daily penalties from $1,000 to $25,000 and a year in jail, or both.

Leslee McCarty of Lewisburg, representing the West Virginia Environmental Council, said the first well permit should be doubled to $10,000, so the Department of Environmental Protection could hire enough staffers to keep tabs on the industry.

Originally, the bill imposed a moratorium on drilling in Greenbrier and Monroe counties, but this ban was removed in the bill sent out unanimously by the judiciary panel.

McCarty, who also is affiliated with the Greenbrier River Watershed Association, voiced fears that gas exploration would occur in caves.

“If you have a leak, there is no way to cement those,” she said.

“If you cemented them, probably you’d just fill up the caves. It’s a little crazy. And it’s dangerous.”

Before the session ends, McCarty said she hopes lawmakers will restore the moratorium in the two counties.

Before the committee vote, David McMahon, a Charleston attorney and a founder of the West Virginia Surface Owners Rights Organization, said the Senate bill is fraught with problems.

For one thing, he said, it fails to apply to vertical Marcellus wells.

“You can still put a million-gallon impoundment next to you and it’s not affected by this,” he said.

“There’s no water management plan for vertical Marcellus wells.”

A serious flaw is the lack of funding for the DEP staff to monitor gas operations, McMahon said.

There are some 59,000 active natural gas wells now that aren’t inspected regularly since the state has an inadequate staff, he said.

McMahon also faulted the legislation for a requirement that inspectors have experience in the industry.

“You can only hire foxes to watch the hen house,” he said.

McMahon said his group also is concerned that the measure doesn’t require notification to a landowner any sooner than existing law mandates in ordinary gas drillings.

A company should make a surface owner aware of its intention 15 days before a surveyor comes onto the property, he said.

Once a surveyor is sent out and an engineer has been hired to draw up the drilling plans, he said, “It’s too late to change.”

Another area of concern is the failure to regulate air that comes off such drilling operations, the attorney said.

Explosions of this nature have occurred in Pennsylvania, he said.

“It’s still not a very good bill, but it’s better than nothing,” he added.

Text Only
Today's Front Page
  • FvilleVigil1 Fayetteville candlelight vigil

    Community members and local chuch leaders gathered Sunday evening for a Memorial Day candlelight vigil at Huse Memorial Park and Mausoleum in Fayetteville.

    May 28, 2012 2 Photos

  • 52nd season for Outdoor Dramas to begin June 12

    Theatre West Virginia’s 52nd season will be “Where Legends Live,” focusing on bringing to life West Virginia’s history and local legends.

    May 28, 2012

  • W.Va. political leaders honor nation’s veterans

    From snow-laden Valley Forge to the battered walls of the Alamo, on the blood-stained beaches of the French coastline, in the frigid mountains of Korea and the steamy jungles of Vietnam, and the blistering sands of Iraq and Afghanistan, there is one constant: American heroism.

    May 28, 2012

  • Bodies believed to be missing family found in woods

    Four bodies recovered from a wooded area in Nicholas County near Carl, off Brushy Meadow Creek Road, Saturday are believed to be a missing family from Rainelle, reported First Sgt. Michael Baylous, public information officer for the West Virginia State Police.

    May 27, 2012

  • founder1 Founder’s Day celebrates city’s history

    Coordinators were pleased with the number of people who attended the fourth annual Founder’s Day at Beckley’s founding father’s estate, now the Wildwood Museum.

    May 27, 2012 2 Photos

  • auction NIE Auction and Flea Market coming Saturday

    With more than 200 items to be auctioned off and more than 100 flea market vendors, no one will have to go home empty-handed at Saturday’s 17th annual Newspapers in Education Auction.

    May 27, 2012 1 Photo

  • wvsom WVSOM holds 35th commencement

    More than 170 freshly minted physicians walked across the stage Saturday morning during the 35th annual commencement ceremony at the West Virginia School of Osteopathic Medicine.

    May 27, 2012 1 Photo

  • Beckley’s Founder’s Day a success

    Coordinators were pleased with the number of people who attended the fourth annual Founder’s Day at Beckley’s founding father’s estate, now the Wildwood Museum.

    May 26, 2012

  • WVSOM has 35th annual commencement ceremony

    More than 170 freshly minted physicians walked across the stage Saturday morning during the 35th annual commencement ceremony at the West Virginia School of Osteopathic Medicine.

    May 26, 2012

  • school A fun day at school

    Students who participated in a school fundraiser at Cranberry-Prosperity Elementary School sprayed their principal Becky Smith during a hot Friday. Smith was decked out in flippers, goggles and floaties during the fun. Smith paraded past students as they drenched her with water guns.

    May 26, 2012 1 Photo