Drilling Still On Agenda
Special session sought for Marcellus Shale
Wheeling WV Intelligencer
15
March
2011
By Joselyn King, Political Writer
WHEELING - Legislation to regulate Marcellus Shale could resurface
later this year in a special session of the West Virginia Legislature,
local lawmakers said.
Northern Panhandle legislators said while there were some important
accomplishments made during the recent 90-day regular session that
ended Saturday, there were also some disappointments.
The failure to pass the Marcellus Shale bill tops their list of regrets.
Sen. Orphy Klempa, D-Ohio, said a special session to consider Marcellus
Shale legislation will take place this year, but he isn't certain when.
The date will likely will be affected by West Virginia's 2011 special
election for governor, he said.
"We would probably be going with the current legislation but giving the
(state Department of Environmental Protection) more money for more
inspectors to investigate well sites," he said. "With a special
session, though, the governor thing gets in the way.
Everybody is out there campaigning - and I don't blame them."
Klempa said he was largely pleased with the overall outcome of the
regular session, considering the political climate.
"For everything that's going on in West Virginia, I'm satisfied," he
said. "Every time you bump into someone, there was a candidate for
governor. Most are in the Legislature. And it has to be distracting for
candidates. Every move they make - every position they take - can help
or hinder their candidacy."
Klempa cited among the highlights of the session the passage of a bill
requiring insurance providers in West Virginia to provide some coverage
for families of children with autism.
Conversely, he was especially discouraged when a bill that would have
banned texting while driving wasn't passed into law despite the House
and Senate passing differing versions of the legislation.
The House balked at the Senate's version, which included a provision
establishing a $15 fine for driving without a seat belt.
Klempa was appointed to a conference committee to reconcile the bills,
but the House never appointed conference committee members, he said.
Freshman Delegate Erikka Storch, R-Ohio, pointed out that Marcellus
Shale drilling doesn't happen in every county in West Virginia, and it
seemingly wasn't as important to legislators representing other areas
to pass the regulatory bill.
"It seems like the bill got to be so unfriendly to the gas industry,"
she said. "There are a lot of factors impacting Marcellus Shale
drilling that would be damaging to development, and we need to work on
those. But while we are doing that, we also need to work on the issues
of water runoff and landowners' rights."
Also attending in his first legislative session was Delegate Ryan
Ferns, D-Ohio.
"I wasn't completely satisfied," he acknowledged. "I knew this was
going to be an odd year - having a governor's race so many legislators
were involved in. There was no way it couldn't affect the Legislature.
And most disappointing was that we had no chance to vote on the
Marcellus Shale bill."
Ferns continued that he would have liked for a bill establishing an
intermediate court of appeals to have been considered by the
Legislature.
"I campaigned on the notion of making West Virginia more business
friendly," he said. "It was just one of those things we ran out of time
on, apparently."
Delegate Tim Ennis, D-Brooke, was pleased the Legislature voted to
reduce the state's food tax from 3 percent to 2 percent.
"It was a good session - especially considering the uncertainty with
the governor," he said. "People were a little nervous."
Delegate Mike Ferro, meanwhile, was pleased that legislation expanding
the definition of school "bullying" to include threats made by
electronic transmission was passed into law.
"Bullying has always a problem in the schools, and it will continue to
be a problem," said Ferro, D-Marshall. "Now there are just new
mechanisms in which to do it."