Officials Seek Stronger Drilling Rules
Wheeling Intelligencer
13 November 2010
By Casey Junkins, Staff Writer With AP Dispatches
MORGANTOWN - As West Virginia's number of Marcellus Shale natural gas
wells skyrockets, many concerned residents are calling on the state
Department of Environmental Protection to increase its oversight of the
industry.
Gas well fires, explosions and leaks - along with complaints about
possible water contamination and air pollution - in Marshall and Wetzel
counties this year leave some wondering if the DEP's 17 Office of Oil
and Gas inspectors can properly regulate the rapidly growing industry.
Now, a 100-page draft of proposed legislation provided to The
Associated Press shows the DEP wants companies like Chesapeake Energy,
AB Resources and others to identify when, where and how much water they
withdraw from creeks and streams for drilling operations. The
department also wants to know what chemicals companies use in hydraulic
fracturing, how much wastewater they produce, and when and where they
would dispose of the waste.
Recently, some residents in both West Virginia and Pennsylvania have
expressed concerns about possible methane leaks caused by Marcellus
drilling. There have also been complaints regarding the hydraulic
fracturing process, more commonly known as "fracking," in which
drillers pump millions of gallons of water, sand and chemicals deep
into the earth to break the rock, thereby, releasing the gas.
DEP Plans
The proposed legislation, which DEP Secretary Randy Huffman calls
"rough and raw," also would require companies to replace water they
contaminate. Companies would have to provide emergency supplies within
24 hours, a temporary supply within 72 hours and a permanent supply
within two years.
"Right now, you can almost hand-draw a well site on a piece of paper
and fill out a form and get a permit." Huffman said.
According to Huffman's rough plan, companies would need permission from
the secretary and professionally engineered designs before building
open pits that hold more than 210,000 gallons of water. Those pits may
have to be lined to prevent chemicals from leaching out, and the DEP
could revoke or change permits for any pit deemed a public hazard.
Huffman cautioned that the legislation, which contains seven new
sections of code, is a working document that will likely change. Still
to be addressed are issues such as the spacing of wells, noise control,
road protection and bonding requirements.
The secretary's team also must tackle the complex issue of mineral
rights and whether holdout property owners can be forced to give them
up, or how much to charge for Marcellus permits. The DEP needs more
revenue to expand its inspection staff, which earlier this year Huffman
said consisted of only 17 inspectors for the entire state.
New fees for Marcellus drilling permits would be "significantly higher"
than the fees for conventional shallow wells, Huffman said, but the
amounts will be determined later.
The legislation contains a new section of "environmental protection
performance standards," which would require companies to notify
landowners of blasting plans, replant disturbed areas, case and seal
wells to prevent groundwater contamination, and protect offsite areas
from damage.
Companies would not only have to inform the DEP of their water
withdrawal locations but post signs identifying them to the public,
along with the operator's permit and telephone numbers. The legislation
also has extensive record-keeping and reporting requirements for water,
including how much is being transported, by whom, and when and where.
DEP general counsel Kristin Boggs, added of the drilling companies,
"The fact that we're going to make them do something is a departure
from what they're used to."
Huffman said he hopes to have a more polished draft of the legislation
by mid-December.
Legislators' Views
If you ask Jeff Kessler, Orphy Klempa, Erikka Storch or Ryan Ferns,
they believe the DEP needs to take a stand on regulating Marcellus
drilling.
"If we only have 17 inspectors to cover the whole state, that is not
enough," said state Sen. Kessler, D-Marshall. "When we had mostly
conventional (vertical and shallow) gas drilling, that may have been
enough. But with this drilling (horizontal and more than a mile deep
into the ground), we need more inspectors."
State Sen.-elect Klempa, D-Ohio, knows it is time for the Legislature
to act, noting on the night of his election, "Right now, there is
entirely too much drilling, with not enough regulations in place. We
need to make sure these gas companies are respecting our land."
Both state 3rd District Delegates-elect Storch, R-Ohio, and Ryan Ferns,
D-Ohio, know how important natural gas drilling will be for 's economic
and environmental future.
"West Virginia did a lot of things wrong in regulating coal mining. We
need to get it right with the (Marcellus) Shale," Ferns said recently.
"We need to be responsible," Storch previously noted. "We need to
strike a balance between development and protecting our environment."