DEP Chief: More Staff Likely Required for Drilling Oversight
Charleston Gazette
3 September 2010
By The Associated Press
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. -- The state's top environmental official says West
Virginia likely will need a two-tiered regulatory system to properly
permit and monitor the proliferation of Marcellus Shale and other
horizontally drilled gas wells.
Department of Environmental Protection Secretary Randy Huffman said his
agency's ongoing review of the Division of Oil and Gas also suggests
the state needs more rigorous oversight of horizontal drilling
operations because complying with industry-accepted best management
practices isn't good enough.
Future permitting may require more detailed engineering, certifications
and other "site-specific thought and planning," Huffman told The
Associated Press in an interview Thursday.
Conventional, shallow drilling and deep horizontal Marcellus drilling
are different industries, "and we're recognizing that we may end up
with two different regulatory programs -- with a little overlap, but
not a lot," he said.
The two-tiered approach would spare conventional drillers an undue
regulatory burden, he said.
The Marcellus Shale field is a rich natural gas reserve underlying
Ohio, West Virginia, Pennsylvania and New York. The gas is locked in
tightly compacted rock a mile underground, and freeing it requires
horizontal drilling technologies.
In June, Huffman said the number of Marcellus wells being permitted was
growing faster than the DEP's ability to keep pace. Eighteen
inspectors, he said, were not enough to handle both more than 1,000 new
wells and tens of thousands of traditional wells.
Staffing levels and money to hire employees are part of the discussions
Huffman's staff has been having with stakeholders over the past two
months. At Gov. Joe Manchin's urging, Huffman will soon appoint a
seven- to nine-member panel to try to find consensus on some issues in
the months ahead.
Those appointments could be announced as early as next week, but
Huffman said he will have the final say on recommendations that will be
presented to Manchin in November and to legislators in January.
"Then everyone will have their right to defend their position during
the legislative process," Huffman said.
It will be difficult to narrow the group to nine or fewer people, he
said, but it's necessary.
"I have to carefully collect people and personalities that I know want
progress on this issue and are not digging their heels in on one
particular thing," he said.
Corky DeMarco, executive director of the West Virginia Oil and Gas
Association, called the talks so far "extremely productive" and praised
DEP's willingness to hear the industry out.
"Not that we're going to agree on everything," he said, "but they see
that we're in a mode of, 'We've just got to come up with a set of
regulations we can live with.'"
The oil and gas industry is one of the top five income generators in
West Virginia, he said.
"We may have to do things we don't want to do or that are going to cost
us a little bit of money but from the DEP's standpoint will cause less
of a problem with safety," DeMarco said.
Dave McMahon of the West Virginia Surface Owners' Rights Organization
said the meetings he's attended have been too large to get much
accomplished, but he's encouraged by DEP's willingness to address
potential problems.
However, "New York declared a moratorium so they can understand the
oversight this play needs," he said. "So West Virginia is a little
behind."
Nor is the state giving much attention to problems with conventional
wells, McMahon said.
"Marcellus and horizontal drilling do need more attention, but so do
traditional wells," he said.
West Virginia has some 55,000 active gas wells, as well as some 6,000
that need to be plugged to prevent pollution problems and legal
difficulties for surface owners, McMahon said.
"The state has almost no time to spend getting those wells plugged," he
said, "and here we are spending all our time on new permits. That shows
the need for more staffing and oversight."