House Committee Amends, Passes Marcellus Bill
Morgantown Dominion Post
10 March 2011
By David Beard
CHARLESTON — The House Judiciary Committee amended and passed the
Senate’s Marcellus gas regulation bill — SB 424, the Natural Gas
Horizontal Well Control Act — Wednesday.
The committee kept some Senate provisions and included some of its own
lifted from HB 2878, which it had set aside to take up the Senate bill.
It also includes some new language based on conversations with various
interest groups.
Some of the major points, in their order of appearance in the bill, are:
Leases must contain a bold-faced warning, to be initialed, telling the
parties that it’s a binding contract.
Well operators must provide surface owners 30 days notice before going
on the property for any kind of work.
The surface owner and operator may meet, at the owner’s discretion, to
discuss locations of wells, waste impoundments and such.
It defines a “horizontal shallow well” as one using more than 210,000
gallons of water that begins vertical then becomes horizontal.
The operator must obtain a letter from the Division of Highways
regarding bonding and road maintenance.
Wells may not be drilled within 1,000 feet of a dwelling or water well
without owner’s consent.
Wells must be more than 100 feet from a watercourse or body of water,
and more than 1,000 feet from surface or underground public water
supply intake. The Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) may
waive restrictions if the operator plans additional protections.
The DEP must inspect each site before a new phase of work begins.
Landowners may request a pre-drilling or pre-alteration survey to test
for the presence of fracking fluid chemicals.
Operators must provide a list of chemicals in their fracking fluids —
the committee changed wording to protect proprietary formulations — and
maintain records of water use.
Operators must provide a comprehensive water management plan for all
phases of water withdrawal, drilling and reclamation.
Declares it is “inherently unfair” and against public policy to permit
pooling without an owner’s consent.
Looks to the possibility of Marcellus operations moving farther south
and east by including language about safeguards for karst formations
(soluble bedrock, such as limestone, often with many caves — most of
Monroe County, for example, sits on karst). Committee counsel Joe
Altizer noted most drilling is now in the northcentral area. The
counties in the karst formations have pristine waters, and drilling may
require special precautions not specifically covered in the bill.
Well operators, contractors and subcontractors must maintain a
drug-free workplace policy with random drug testing.
The DEP secretary must deliver a number of annual reports, including
air pollution, worker safety, pits and impoundments.
The DEP will propose rules for permit fees. The Senate fee schedule is
removed.
Delegate Mike Manypenny, D-Taylor, supported by Delegate Barbara Evans
Fleischauer, D-Monongalia, succeeded in adding an amendment requiring
that inspectors be hired by the DEP, with regular civil service
requirements. Well inspectors are now hired by the Oil and Gas
Examining Board.
Fleischauer and Manypenny said the board’s requirements — such as
residency and years of experience — are so unreasonable they discourage
people from applying and contribute to the inspector shortage.
The bill passed by voice vote — apart from the amendment there was no
discussion and only one quiet no — and now goes to the House Finance
Committee.
At the evening House session, leaders tried to waive the Finance
Committee reference so they could pass the bill in three separate
readings, but members objected. In order to pass it by Saturday, they
will have to suspend the three-day reading rule after the Finance
Committee approves it.
Legislators admitted it still isn’t a finished product. Stakeholders
will review it to propose more changes, and some kind of compromise
bill will emerge when it goes to conference committee after returning
to the Senate.