W.Va. Delegates Schedule Marcellus Drilling Hearings
Charleston Gazette
15 July 2011
By Staff reports
CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Members of the House of Delegates plan three
public hearings on Marcellus Shale issues over the next few weeks.
The hearings are set for Wheeling on July 21, Morgantown on July 25,
and Clarksburg on July 27. The times and locations of the meetings will
be announced early next week, but all will take place in the evening.
The meetings are sponsored by the House members of the Legislature's
Joint Select Committee on Marcellus Shale. The new committee, made up
of delegates and state senators, is working on legislation to regulate
natural gas drilling in the Marcellus Shale.
Delegate Tim Manchin, a Marion County Democrat and the House chairman
of the committee, said the group wants to hear suggestions on what to
include in the legislation, both to encourage efficient development and
address local and environmental concerns.
The committee is using Senate legislation (SB424) passed earlier this
year as a framework for the new bill. Before the first hearing, a copy
of that legislation and summaries prepared by a committee attorney will
be posted to Legislature's website, www.legis.state.wv.us.
Other House members on the committee are Delegates Barbara Fleischauer,
D-Monongalia; Tom Campbell, D-Greenbrier; Woody Ireland, R-Ritchie; and
Bill Anderson, R-Wood.