Acting Senate President Jeffrey Kessler says Sen. Mike Green erred in claiming he was deliberately kept off a special Marcellus shale committee over his refusal to stay loyal to him, if and when the chamber’s leadership position is up for grabs.

Green says that he deserved to be appointed to the special, 10-member panel since he chairs the Senate’s Energy, Industry and Mining Committee.

In a statement, Green, D-Raleigh, asserted that he was offered the chairmanship of the Marcellus panel by Majority Leader John Unger, D-Berkeley, provided he would commit himself to support Kessler in any potential showdown for the Senate presidency.

“I had no such discussion with him,” Kessler, D-Marshall, said Wednesday.

“I’ve not been privy to any such discussions. There’s a lot of idle speculations as far as I’m concerned.”

The Joint Committee on Government and Finance created the committee in this month’s interims with a goal of reaching a compromise on legislation to regulate the fledgling natural gas industry.

The idea is to come up with a bill that both chambers can accept so it can be enacted in an anticipated special session this summer.

Unger denied ever offering the Marcellus chairmanship to Green, saying he talked with him a few weeks before anyone knew such a committee would be formed. In fact, the majority leader said, the conversation focused on initiatives he had in mind for each major committee for the 2012 legislative session.

Green suggested he might ultimately challenge Kessler for the presidency and said his refusal to support the senator cost him membership on the committee.

However, Unger said there was no hint of a Marcellus panel until it was announced on the final day of interims this month, so there is no way he could have discussed it with Green the last time the two talked.

“You don’t think such a rumor wouldn’t get spread around quickly down there?” Unger said.

“If there was going to be a select committee, trust me, you can’t keep anything down at the Capitol. There wasn’t any talk about it, at least on the Senate side. I couldn’t promise him anything. That is totally false. I couldn’t promise him anything I didn’t know was going to be created.”

What’s more, Unger took exception to Green’s implication that being named to the Senate redistricting committee likewise hinged on a senator’s loyalty to Kessler, calling the senator’s remarks “totally off the wall.”

“He’s been involved in the process from Day One, even though he’s not on the task force,” Unger sad.

“It’s been open, transparent, and I’ve not approached any member at all to say anything about the politics of it, except to give them the information. It’s been above board.”

Kessler, likewise, said there was no talk with Green about his desire to serve on the Marcellus panel.

“I never had any such discussion with him (Green) at all along those lines. He needs to call me instead of calling the press.”

Kessler said many of his Senate colleagues asked to serve on the committee, among them Unger, since he heads water resources. Unger said he felt his membership would be appropriate because Marcellus shale drilling entails huge amounts of water. Unger, however, wasn’t named, he pointed out.

“There were a lot of people that wanted to be on it,” he said.

“I had more calls than I’ve got slots, including the majority leader.”

Since water protection is a critical component of any regulatory measure that the Legislature sends to acting Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin, the Senate president said he was compelled to name Government Organization Chairman Herb Snyder, D-Jefferson. Another key appointment was Judiciary Chairman Corey Palumbo, D-Kanawha, since any legislation likely must pass through his committee, he said.

Green’s vice chairman on EIM, Sen. Doug Facemire, D-Braxton, who also was named, likewise is co-chairman of finance, “so he’s able to serve a dual role,” Kessler said.

Another selection was that of Sen. Orphy Klempa, D-Ohio, and that is fitting, Kessler said, since “there’s no area of the state that’s more affected by this than the northern part of the state at this point.”

“That’s where it all started and why Orphy is there,” he said. “I had to have somebody who lives it day and night.

“I hope and anticipate that all of the senators will lend their talents, input and help to the work of the select committee.”

A minority member was needed, so Sen. Karen Facemyer, R-Jackson, rounded out the panel.

“Sen. Green never at any point expressed an interest to me in serving on that committee,” Kessler said. “If he did through someone else, I don’t know. But I’m a phone call away.

“I had to make my majority leader unhappy. I did the best I could with the slots available. I’ve never asked him (Green) for a vote of any kind in exchange for any appointment of any interim committee. But I do surround myself with people that are loyal. I do know that ... who are part of the team. That’s important. The lines of communication are open. That’s the important part. I never had any such discussions with Sen. Green.”

— E-mail: mannix@register-herald.com