3 Hearings Set on Gas Drilling in Northern W.Va

Charleston Gazette
9 July 2011

CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) - Public hearings on Marcellus shale gas drilling issues begin this week in Wheeling.

The Legislature's Joint Select Committee on Marcellus Shale gathers at 7:30 p.m. Thursday in Northern Community College's main auditorium.

The second hearing is July 25 at 7:30 p.m. in Morgantown at the West Virginia University College of Law.

The final hearing is July 27 in Clarksburg. The time and location aren't set.

Lawmakers are considering how to better regulate the fast-growing industry.

It's using horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing technologies to tap a mile-deep shale field that some say is among the world's richest natural gas reserves.

The committee is using legislation that was considered earlier this year as a starting point and has posted it online with some summaries.