This article originally provided by The Charleston Gazette

Octoboer 19, 2010

Well fees: Drill, baby, drill

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- As America attempts to reduce dependence on foreign oil, U.S. drilling for natural gas is likely to blossom, and West Virginia's economy will benefit.

The Mountain State already has 54,000 producing gas wells, more than any other state except Texas -- and 3,000-plus new drilling permits are issued each year. The state's oil-and-gas industry employs 20,600, more than the coal industry by one count.

Development of high-cost wells in the deep Marcellus shale -- using radical "horizontal drilling" in which shafts go straight down more than a mile, then branch off sidewise in several directions -- is a hot new field.

In view of this potential boom, it makes sense for the Kanawha County Planning Commission to impose a small fee on new wells, to cover the county's cost of supervising pollution problems.

Last week, the commission voted to collect a $100 fee for examining new well site plans -- and the fee jumps to $400 for wells in flood plains. Planning engineer John Luoni pointed out that the county has similar fees for other types of construction.

Representatives of the drilling industry protested, saying drillers already are regulated at the state level. But we think their complaints should be ignored. Every industry howls about every governmental tab.

Conventional mile-deep wells cost between $300,000 to $400,000 to drill, according to Marietta College engineering Chairman Bob Chase -- while horizontal-type Marcellus wells can cost $4 million to $5 million. Compared to this, a $100 county fee is minuscule.

The state Department of Environmental Protection is short-staffed, so county help with pollution control is a welcome addition.

Drill, baby, drill. We hope West Virginia reaps new jobs and revenue from the gas boom -- with full protection for natural beauty. Kanawha County's new $100 fee is a tiny drop in the large bucket of the oil-and-gas industry.

West Virginia Surface Owners' Rights Organization
1500 Dixie Street, Charleston, West Virginia 25311
304-346-5891