Surface Owner Legislation Being Considered

Ken Ward of the Charleston Gazette reports that a legislative interim committee is considering a Surface Owner's Bill of Rights. Presumably it is not the same as the one posted on the Surface Owner's website, which is in rough legislative form but is awkwardly written. The intent of the group is to protect the rights of surface owners who no longer own the oil and gas under their property. In many places in West Virginia, ownership of the oil and gas was severed from ownership of the surface, with the owner maintaining the surface, and oil and gas owners taking the minerals and the right to drill from the surface. When the time comes to drill, disputes can sometimes arise as to how much land can be used for the drilling site and the roads leading to it.

In my experience the oil and gas companies have worked hard with landowners to avoid disputes over surface usage, and have accommodated landowners where possible. It's not to their benefit to get into a fight with landowners, and they generally work things out. In addition, there is the Oil and Gas Production Damage Compensation Act, W. Va. Code 22-7-1 et seq. that allows landowners to receive money for damages suffered as a result of drilling activity. We'll follow the Surface Owners Bill of Rights if it is introduced in this session of the Legislature.