West Virginia Gas Industry Faces New Regulations

The natural gas drilling industry has grown in West Virginia since the development of the Marcellus Shale formation began a few years back. The Marcellus Shale is a geological formation that holds lots of natural gas, but that gas is tightly locked away, unlike conventional formations of, say, sandstone, where the gas can flow more easily through the pore space in the formation. Horizontal drilling and fracturing the formation along the drill hole has opened up huge areas to drilling in WV, PA and NY, but has also created concern among residents over water withdrawals, the use of fracking chemicals, and the size of drill sites. Horizontal wells require much larger pits to hold the water used for fracking, and for the produced water that comes out of the hole. It also means there are lots more trucks on smaller secondary roads, bringing heavy equipment and water into the drill site.

Last month Gov. Joe Manchin called together the industry and opponents to discuss the future of gas drilling, and announced there would be changes coming in the future. There was the implied threat that those who do not cooperate may see permits harder to come by. He's putting together a group to study possible changes and to make recommendations. As Gov. Manchin is widely expected to become Senator Manchin in November, he'll leave someone else to see this process to completion.

In the meantime, lots is going on. Here is a guidance from the Department of Highways on dealing with damages to roads and requiring bonds for possible road damage. Here is a report from the Associated Press regarding plans to increase the number of inspectors and other actions by the DEP, including a possible two-tier approach to permitting, one for smaller conventional wells and the other for larger horizontal wells. In addition, the Office of Oil and Gas recently took comment on revisions to its sediment and erosion control best management practices, and those will likely be changed in the near future to require additional pit construction controls and reclamation requirements for horizontal wells.