On September 4, 2013, in the case of Whiteman v. Chesapeake Appalachia, L. L. C. (2013 U.S. App. LEXIS 18359 (4th Cir. W. va. 2013)), the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit upheld a District Court ruling from the Northern District of West Virginia regarding claims of trespass against Chesapeake Appalachia, L. L. C. brought by the surface owners of a 101 acre parcel in Wetzel County. The Fourth Circuit Opinion, written by Judge Faber, concluded that the District Court properly granted summary judgment to Chesapeake. The Opinion specifically stated “that creating drill waste pits was reasonably necessary for recovery of natural gas and did not impose a substantial burden on the [Plaintiffs] surface property, that creation of the pits was consistent with Chesapeake’s rights under its lease, was a practice common to natural gas wells in West Virginia, and consistent with requirements of applicable rules and regulations for the protection of the environment.”
The Wheeling Planning Commission has approved plans of GreenHunter Resources, Inc. for a water recycling and barging facility to be constructed in Wheeling, WV. The $1.7 million construction project, as reported by the Pittsburgh Business Times, is GreenHunter’s latest solution for dealing with production water resulting from hydraulic fracturing activities in West Virginia. The facility will treat production water to be re-used by companies, with any remaining water transported by barge to disposal wells. GreenHunter estimates that every 10,000 barrel barge load can remove 100 trucks from the water transportation process.
A report created by the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection’s Office of Oil and Gas, which was anticipated pursuant to previous studies conducted by the DEP, indicates that no new rules are necessary to protect West Virginia’s air quality from natural gas drilling, reports The Sacramento Bee. The report stated that based upon air quality monitoring data there were no indications of a public health emergency or threat because of hydraulic fracturing. The results of the study were presented to West Virginia State Lawmakers on Tuesday during an interim committee meeting.
The compressed natural gas (CNG) services company IGS Energy recently announced that its CNG fueling station in Bridgeport should be open by September 1st, and that it began construction on another station in Charleston on August 6th, the State Journal reported. The company has committed to building a $10 million dollar CNG fueling corridor in West Virginia and Pennsylvania to provide the infrastructure for the use of the region’s abundant natural gas resources by companies and consumers interested in adopting CNG-powered vehicles. As reported by West Virginia Public Broadcasting, the adoption of CNG-powered vehicles is expected to increase in the region due to Ford Motor Company’s release of a CNG compatible version of its popular F-150 truck.
According to the Charleston Gazette, the Lewis Wetzel Wildlife Management Area in Wetzel County is now contains several natural gas drilling operations by various companies operating in the State of West Virginia. The Lewis Wetzel Wildlife Management area is approximately 13,590 acres; however, the West Virginia Department of Natural Resources only owns a fraction of the mineral rights underlying the preserve. Private owners of those mineral rights are now leasing to various companies who are, or will be, drilling wells in the area. While the natural gas is being extracted from beneath the preserve, operators will be working in conjunction with the WVDEP and other agencies to minimize the impact of any drilling operations on both the preserve and its human visitors.
The Republic reports that a public meeting has been scheduled for July 18 at 6:00 p.m. at the Tyler County courthouse to discuss issues with land records searches in the county. Currently, only 16 people at one time are able to enter the records vault in the County Clerk’s Office, leading to extremely long lines and waiting times to access the records. The courthouse extended its hours and limited access to abstractors to two-hour timeframes, but this has not solved the problem as there are still lines of abstractors outside of the courthouse waiting in line for their turn around the clock. Tyler County Clerk Theresa Hamilton has indicated that the process to digitize the records has commenced, which would enable abstractors to access the records via the internet, but that there is no set time for the process to be completed. It is expected that representatives from the oil and gas industry, the Tyler County Clerk and commissioners and residents will be in attendance at the meeting.
Reuters.com reports that there was a recent explosion and fire at a well site in Doddridge County, West Virginia. Kathy Cosco, a spokeswoman for the West Virginia DEP, indicated that the containment system around the well site properly prevented storage tank fluids from escaping the well site. The West Virginia DEP and the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration are investigating the incident.
West Virginia natural gas operators saw a shift in the permitting and regulation process as new rules governing horizontal drilling went into effect on July 1, 2013. Authorized by the West Virginia Legislature with its passage of the Horizontal Well Act in 2011, the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection submitted the new regulations to the Legislature for approval after a year of work. The result is a comprehensive and somewhat technical set of regulations that will govern horizontal drilling in West Virginia. While some of the regulations merely recite requirements that are in the Horizontal Well Act, below are some of the new and noteworthy regulations in the newly-effective set:
- Provides for an expedited review process for regulatory approval of replacement bore holes (35-8-5.l.1)
- Supplemental requirements for well site safety plans (35-8-15)
- Increased recordkeeping requirements for water used in the hydraulic fracking process (35-8-9.1.b.3) and
- Additional certifications may be required on plats and plans submitted for permitting review.
A copy of the new horizontal drilling regulations can be found here.
The West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals, West Virginia’s highest court, recently overruled a point in the 1923 case of Ramage v. South Penn Oil Co. (W. Va.), which established that the term “surface” was presumptively ambiguous and always subject to interpretation. On June 13, 2013 in the case of Faith United Methodist Church & Cemetery of Terra Alta v. Morgan, the Court determined that the term “surface,” when used in an instrument of conveyance, has a “definite and certain meaning,” and “generally means the exposed area of land, improvements on the land, and any part of the underground actually used by a surface owner as an adjunct to surface use (for example, medium for the roots of growing plants, groundwater, water wells, roads, basements, basements, or footings).”
The State Journal reports that the West Virginia Department of Transportation, Division of Highways (DOH), recently presented to state lawmakers regarding West Virginia roadway issues. DOH showed pictures of roads in Ohio, Marshall and Ritchie Counties in an effort to demonstrate that problems with some West Virginia roads are attributable to the natural gas industry. DOH indicated that the problems are mostly the result of the utilization of secondary roads that were not constructed to handle the type or amount of vehicles and equipment being transported by the industry. DOH also said West Virginia appears to be the only state with a road maintenance policy. Charlie Burd, executive director of the Independent Oil and Gas Association of West Virginia, also spoke to the lawmakers. Burd reported that the oil and gas industry began working voluntarily with DOH two or three years ago, and that the organizations often work together to resolve issues regarding West Virginia roads.
On Friday, June 7th, twelve energy-producing states, including Ohio and West Virginia, signed a letter to the EPA defending the industry practice of hydraulic fracturing. The letter was in response to recent threats to sue the EPA for not assuming regulatory responsibility of the energy industry made by several northeastern states. The letter warned the EPA not to utilize “sue and settle” tactics in an attempt to regulate hydraulic fracturing and emphasized that the Clean Air Act places the regulatory responsibility for the oil and gas industry on the states rather than the federal government.
The Exponent Telegram reports a moratorium on floodplain oil and gas drilling permits in Doddridge County, WV has been lifted. The Doddridge County Commission voted 2-1 on June 4, 2013 to lift the moratorium, which had been in place since December 18, 2012.
MarkWest Energy is slated to sell some of its natural gas facilities in Doddridge County, West Virginia to Summit Midstream Partners in the coming days. According to Platts McGraw Hill Financial, the $210 million transaction is anticipated to close this month and will include approximately 40 miles of high-pressure gathering pipelines, designated right-of-ways associated with the gathering lines and two compressor stations. These WV pipeline and compressor station systems are currently serving an affiliate of Antero Resources based upon a long-term, fee for service contract.
On May 29, 2013, WV Governor Ray Tomblin announced the establishment of the Appalachian Petroleum Technology Training Center, which will include joint programs hosted by West Virginia Northern Community College and Pierpont Community and Technical College and is supported in part by the oil and gas industry. Students will have the opportunity to earn a two-year associate degree or a one-year certificate program in the field of petroleum technology through the program, which opens next fall. The Center will have hands-on facilities, including indoor and outdoor drilling simulation laboratories. Corky Demarco, Executive Director for the West Virginia Oil and Natural Gas Association, noted that “Having business and industry involved in the curriculum and facility planning gives us confidence that graduates will have the skills and hands-on training needed for industry careers.”
The Clarksburg Exponent Telegram reports that CONSOL Energy and Noble Energy are planning projects located in Upshur and Barbour Counties, West Virginia. CONE Gathering, which is a gas pipeline joint venture between the two companies, has secured the right to construct a 24-inch gas pipeline that will run 37 miles through Upshur and Barbour Counties. Construction on the project is expected to being within the next six to nine months, according to a CONSOL Energy spokesperson. CONSOL Energy also plans to drill eight wells in Barbour County, with completion work set to begin in the third quarter of this year.