The Register-Herald, Beckley, West Virginia

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September 20, 2011

Dispute remains over distance between wells, surface dwellings

MARCELLUS SHALE GAS

By Mannix Porterfield Register-Herald Reporter

CHARLESTON — Any buffer zone providing less than a 1,000-foot separation between proposed Marcellus shale gas wells and a property owner’s dwellings isn’t acceptable to the West Virginia Surface Owners Rights Organization.

In draft legislation, with some key amendments yet in limbo, an operation could set up shop 200 feet from privately owned structures.

Julie Archer, project manager for WVSORO, says this simply is unacceptable.

What’s more, the draft bill contains a variance that would conceivably allow a Marcellus shale rig to come even closer to a house, if it isn’t feasible to drill at least 200 feet away.

“We would like it to be at least 1,000 feet,” Archer said Monday. “Based on what we hear from people, I don’t know that 1,000 feet is enough. But it’s got to be at least that far. We’re concerned about how easy it will be to get a variance. Even if they can ensure the safety of persons, it isn’t protective of the value of the property and the investment the landowner has put into it.”

Among all the complaints her group hears from surface owners, the most prevalent entails the lights and noise that accompany the drilling.

One problem is that unlike a conventional well, which takes about six months to complete, in the Marcellus shale business, a pad might contain from six to 10 horizontal wells, with work on the initial ones overlapping the startup of succeeding ones, so the noise and light are around for a much longer period, Archer said.

“A couple of people who contacted us have been dealing with this for over a year,” Archer said.

“It’s ridiculous.”

Even after the groundwork is laid for an operation, Archer said, the noise could go on unabated, if compressor stations are set up in the neighborhood. Traditionally, they aren’t located at the well sites.

Air pollution poses yet another concern.

“There is also the potential for serious accidents such as the fires and explosions that occurred last year in the Northern Panhandle,” Archer said.

A select committee on Marcellus shale, appointed when a proposed bill collapsed March 13 on the final night of the winter session, met last week, and will reconvene during the Oct. 11-13 interims.

Acting Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin told The Register-Herald he is inclined to call lawmakers into special session in November, provided they come to terms next month on Marcellus shale regulatory legislation.

A handful of minor amendments cleared the panel in this month’s interims, and there remains another ticklish matter to resolve — the amount of time a drilling firm must notify a surface owner of his plan to exercise mineral rights on the property.

Existing law says 15 days, but some are talking about doubling that window.

“That would be a big improvement,” Archer said.

“Sixty days might be more reasonable. I don’t think that’s excessive.”

Before a gas operation can start rolling, she said, some advance planning must be undertaken.

“You can’t just get rigs at the drop of a hat,” she said.

“There is no reason they can’t involve surface owners in the planning process.”

— E-mail: mannix@register-herald.com

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