Business, Government Legal News from throughout WVSpecial legislative session on Marcellus shale in W.Va. will begin Sunday

Special legislative session on Marcellus shale in W.Va. will begin Sunday

Legislation to deal with booming activity in the Marcellus shale gas field in West Virginia will begin a trip through the legislative process starting Sunday.

"We have the opportunity to pass landmark legislation that will be a significant step forward in the development of the Marcellus Shale in West Virginia," Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin said in a news release. "I believe we can complete the legislation next week. I want to express my sincere appreciation to the legislative interim committee for their hard work  in crafting a piece of legislation. Over the past weeks we have consulted with and sought the input of all stakeholders at this monumental juncture in our state's history."

Rob Alsop, chief of staff for Tomblin, emphasized the importance of developing a bill that would strike a balance between concerns of industry, environmentalists and surface owners.

"We have a great potential with Marcellus shale for the development of manufacturing, construction, a number of jobs. It really has expanded the horizon of potential for West Virginia," he said. " … We need clear rules for the industry so they know they can invest and operate in West Virginia, and we need to have reasonable environmental protections so we can protect our land and provide for West Virginia's future."

Alsop predicted the session, which will begin Sunday at 5 p.m., to take four to five days.

"This is complicated legislation. There are a lot of number of concerned citizens, it appears we have to allay a lot of legislators who have a lot of questions," Alsop said. "We think four to five days. I'd love to get out in three days, but we're prepared to address and brief members of the Legislature, answer their questions and show them this is really a good piece of legislation they need to vote for."

A few weeks ago, a joint committee of the West Virginia House and Senate produced a comprehensive bill after separate bills from both chambers failed last year. Leaders of that committee said they believed they had a bill that would be agreeable to leadership.

Tomblin's office made a few tweaks to the bill, Alsop said, after conversations with various stakeholders.

Alsop said the permit fees will remain at $10,000 per new well and $5,000 per additional well on the same pad, as the joint committee designated in their bill.

Some changes Tomblin's office made include moving some elements of the bill such as casing regulations to the authority of the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection instead of writing those rules into state statute. Certain rules and regulations involving roads will be moved from DEP authority to the Department of Highways, Alsop said.

"We've put into Department of Highways and given it some real teeth to make sure that our roads get taken care of," Alsop said. "There's been a number of changes like that, that just sort of go through and try to improve on the bill given what all the stakeholders had said."

Tomblin also indicated concern about the joint select committee requiring employee reporting standards beyond that asked of other industry.

The joint select bill also requires inspectors to have three years of experience in the industry. Similar to legislation regulating the pay of coal mine inspectors, the committee also added that supervising inspectors would be paid at least $40,000 per year, and others would be paid at least $35,000 per year.

It also includes incentives for operator's who enter into agreements with surface owners prior to drilling.

Environmental groups and surface owners were not entirely pleased with the bill produced by the joint committee, and the industry protested as well. Alsop said he believes the bill addresses environmental concerns in the best way possible.

The bill to be presented to the legislature Sunday will also include requirements that operators obtain an agreement with the West Virginia Division of Highways to maintain and repair roads affected by drilling operations as well as standards to protect  water resources including "private wells, streams and wetland areas."

"We've had discussion with those stakeholders," Alsop said. " I think they're comfortable. There will be some of them who won't like the bill. I think there's some of them who don't want to see drilling period. It's very tough to get an agreement with them. I think some of the reasonable folks think that we're making good strides in protecting our environment."

Alsop said he was confident that the bill would not die on the legislative floor. Lawmakers, Alsop said, will likely pass the significant legislation.

"We do think we can get a bill passed," Alsop said. " … We would not call the legislature into session unless we thought we had an agreement we could get done and a piece of legislation that could pass."

Tomblin was also confident in the legislation produced by his office and he thanked leadership from both sides of the legislature.

"Working with Legislative leaders, I believe we now have sufficient consensus on a piece of legislation that is in the best interest of West Virginia," Tomblin said. "We look forward to working with the Legislature to pass legislation next week."