This article originally provided by The Charleston Gazette

March 11, 2011

Time is short to resolve the many Marcellus conflicts

By Alison Knezevich

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- State lawmakers will have just hours Saturday to iron out disputes on legislation to regulate natural gas drilling in the Marcellus Shale.

Delegates on Friday advanced the legislation, which is now set for a full House vote Saturday. Because the House has made changes to the Senate-passed bill (SB424), a conference committee will likely be appointed to work out the differences.

For the legislation to survive, committee members will have to reach agreement, and the Senate and the House will have to pass the final version before midnight.

Among other things, the measure addresses permit fees, environmental regulations, notice for property owners, and the hiring of gas well inspectors.

Environmental groups and the industry both say they hope lawmakers will finish the legislation in time.

But Corky DeMarco, head of the West Virginia Oil and Natural Gas Association, said that while industry supports regulations, it opposes the current bill.

"We certainly would support something that allows us to operate, allows the public to have confidence, allows the regulators to regulate," he said. "That product's not alive right now. ... What's alive right now is not workable."

He pointed to a provision added by the House Judiciary Committee that would make drillers place horizontal wells at least 1,000 feet from West Virginians' homes and water wells.

"That is a deal-breaker," DeMarco said. "We can't make a deal with those kinds of distances in there."

Current law allows wells to be placed 200 feet away from homes and wells. The Senate does not want to change that proximity requirement.

The House version would make drill operators notify surface owners within 30 days of surveying their land; the Senate version doesn't have that requirement.

The two houses also differ on permit fees. The Senate wants drillers to pay $5,000 for the horizontal first well and $1,000 for additional ones. The House would leave those fees up to the state Department of Environmental Protection.

The House version also would make the DEP hire inspectors using the same process it does for other types of inspectors. Hiring is currently handled by the state Oil and Gas Inspectors' Examining Board, which environmentalists and surface owners say favors the industry.

The Senate-passed version applies only to horizontal wells. Some provisions in the newest version also apply to conventional vertical wells.

Environmental and citizen groups held a Capitol news conference Friday to urge passage of the bill. Delegates Barbara Fleischauer, D-Monongalia, and Mike Manypenny, D-Taylor, also attended.

"[Natural gas] is a very important resource that could allow us to become less dependent on oil," Fleischauer said. "On the other hand, it could be a disaster if it's not done right."

Steve Conlon, of Wetzel County, said the legislation is especially important to West Virginians who live near the drilling.

"I really feel like I kind of represent the middle of everything," said Conlon, who owns mineral rights.

He described how asphalt roads have turned dusty and muddy because of heavy trucks carry drilling equipment. Vehicles have overturned on the winding, narrow roads, he said. Residents face constant noise from drilling.

He carried a binder of photographs depicting water pollution and other results of Marcellus development. Articles clipped from the local paper described trucks sliding off roads and vehicles overturning.

"Because of the lack of oversight, we have had to be the eyes for the state," he said.

Reach Alison Knezevich at alis...@wvgazette.com or 304-348-1240.