Tomblin Calls Special Session on Marcellus Drilling
Charleston Gazette
9 December 2011
By Lawrence Messina
CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) -- West Virginia's Legislature will convene
Sunday night to take up proposed rules for drilling in the Marcellus
shale natural gas field, after Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin concluded
Friday that enough lawmakers supported the draft bill patched
together in recent months.
Tomblin said the measure will include permit fees of $10,000 for an
initial well and $5,000 for each additional well drilled at that
site. Another provision would require 650-foot spaces between wells
and occupied buildings, Tomblin said in a statement. Another
outlines advance notice and other protections for owners of surface
property that host wells, including when others own the gas mineral
rights.
"We have the opportunity to pass landmark legislation that will be a
significant step forward in the development of the Marcellus Shale
in West Virginia,'' Tomblin said in the statement. "I believe we can
complete the legislation next week.''
Lawmakers were already scheduled to arrive at the Capitol on Monday
for the month's three-day series of study meetings. Tomblin wants
them to consider a tweaked version of the draft bill endorsed in
November by a special House-Senate committee after months of work
that included a series of public hearings.
The mile-deep Marcellus Shale formation stretches beneath much of
West Virginia as well as parts New York, Pennsylvania and Ohio. It
is considered one of the biggest reserves in the world, estimated to
contain between two and six times as much natural gas as the entire
U.S. industry produced for market in 2009, the latest year for which
federal figures are available. West Virginia's sits above about 22
percent of those reserves, though available technology has drillers
focused on developing the state's northernmost counties.
Tomblin aides began meeting with legislative leaders following the
joint committee's November endorsement, as well as with
representatives from industry, environmental groups and surface
owners.
"Working with Legislative leaders, I believe we now have sufficient
consensus on a piece of legislation that is in the best interest of
West Virginia,'' said Tomblin, a Democrat.
The Legislature proved unable to pass a Marcellus rules bill during
the 2011 regular session.
House Speaker Richard Thompson and Senate President Jeff Kessler
formed the special committee with a goal of pursuing a measure that
could win special session passage before the 2012 session, which
begins in January.
At Tomblin's order, the state Department of Environmental Protection
also issued an emergency regulatory rule in August. It requires
drillers to explain how they'll protect area land, manage the large
volumes of water involved, and respond to accidents.
Lawmakers are expected to review those provisions as the department
seeks a permanent rule. The special session bill, meanwhile, also
addresses spacing between wells and such water sources as private
wells, streams and wetland areas. The fee levels, which industry
groups balked at earlier this year, are meant to fund the additional
field inspectors and office staff DEP needs to oversee the Marcellus
drilling permits and wells.
Marcellus wells can require operators to drill horizontally toward
the reserve, and not vertically as is usually the case with
conventional wells. Operators may also crack the shale with a
high-volume, high-pressure mix of water, chemicals and sand.
This technique of hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, has spurred
concerns that range from the potential draining of area water
supplies to the storage or disposal of frackwater afterward. Whether
fracking can contaminate drinking water has been a key question in
the Marcellus debate.