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WVEC Green Legislative UpdateJanuary 7, 2010Oil and Gas Drilling Rule Will Kick Off Legislative Session By Donald S. Garvin, Jr. The 2010 regular session of the West Virginia Legislature begins on January 13. The session lasts for 60 days. And the political debate over new regulations for drilling oil and gas wells may not conclude until the final hour of the final night. The debate will actually begin in the final Legislative Interim Committee meetings that occur three days before the regular session convenes. On Wednesday morning, January 13, just before the Legislature convenes, the Legislative Rulemaking Review Committee will consider changes to 35CSR4, the oil and gas well drilling rule, proposed by the Department of Environmental Protection. Some of DEP’s proposed changes to the rule are beneficial, such as finally requiring synthetic liners for drilling pits and new construction standards for waste pits and water storage impoundments. However, environmental groups by and large feel the proposed changes fall far short of being protective of the threats to water and land resources and human health posed by recent increased drilling activity in the state. At issue is the multitude of new environmental concerns surrounding the drilling of Marcellus Shale natural gas wells. Drilling into the Marcellus Shale formation requires the use of new techniques, such as “horizontal” drilling and large-volume “fracs.” These new techniques use huge amounts of water to drill and “fracture” the gas formation, and in turn produce huge amounts of wastewater that is high in total dissolved solids and chlorides. Environmental groups want to know what chemicals are in the “frac” water (heretofore considered an industry “trade secret”), and they want the DEP to require that the wastewater from these wells be removed from the site and disposed of either in underground injection wells or at authorized commercial wastewater treatment facilities. A working coalition of concerned environmental groups convened earlier this summer and drafted comprehensive comments in support of the changes to the rule proposed by DEP, but also urged the agency to adopt an extensive list of additional changes. The oil and gas industry, of course, opposes even the modest rule changes proposed by DEP. This will be a complicated and controversial rule for the Legislative Rulemaking Review Committee to deal with. The committee almost never rejects or sends a rule back to the agency that originates it. So it is likely that the committee will pass the DEP proposed rule, perhaps in an amended form, on to the full Legislature for consideration by the various committees in both the House and the Senate. However, there are other issues involving the drilling of Marcellus Shale wells that are not covered under the statutory authority of the oil and gas well drilling rule. Those include the regulation of water withdrawals from rivers and streams for use in drilling and fracturing the wells, and establishing a statewide water quality standard for total dissolved solids. The Joint Legislative Oversight Commission on State Water Resources (another Interim Committee) meets on Sunday, January 10, to consider new legislation that would set up a system for regulating water withdrawals as well as addressing some of the issues regarding frac fluid content and wastewater disposal. Committee co-chairman Delegate Tim Manchin (D-Marion) recently said publicly that if the committee does not pass the bill out, he would sponsor it on his own. And Delegate Barbara Fleischauer (D-Monongalia) has said she will once again sponsor comprehensive legislation addressing Marcellus Shale drilling operations, including setting a statewide water quality standard of 500 ppm for total dissolved solids. So the debate on oil and gas well drilling regulations is almost guaranteed to continue throughout the 60-day session. There will be some notable changes in the House of Delegates this session. Delegate Carrie Webster (D-Kanawha), chairwoman extraordinaire of the powerful House Judiciary Committee, has resigned from the Legislature and was recently sworn in as Kanawha County's newest circuit judge. Governor Manchin has appointed Charleston lawyer Meshea Poore to fill Webster's vacant seat, representing the House of Delegates' 31st District. In last year's Democratic primary election, Poore lost to Webster by fewer than 120 votes. Speaker of the House Richard Thompson (D-Wayne) has appointed Delegate Tim Miley (D-Harrison) to serve as the new chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, and Delegate Mark Hunt (D-Kanawha) to serve as the committee’s vice chair. And finally, in this legislative game of musical chairs, the Speaker has appointed Delegate Barbara Fleischauer to replace Miley on the Legislative Rulemaking Review Committee. My, oh, my . . . WVEC Information & Dates / Events During 2010 Session January 13: Regular Legislative Session Begins WVEC Lobby Team: Office Coordinator: Stacy Slaughter. January 15: First WVEC Legislative Update newsletter. ACTION ALERTS: Watch your e-mail in boxes for WVEC Legislative ACTION ALERTS throughout the session. We will provide details and contact information for actions you can take as we move through the session. January 19: WVEC’s Annual “Legislative Kick Off Blast” Benefit. WVEC Office Building – 2206 Washington Street East, Charleston. 7:00 PM – 10:30 PM. Live music, refreshments, and great people. Join us as we kick off the session in style with the WVEC Lobby team, friends, and some legislators will be stopping by! February (exact date to be announced): E-Day at the Capitol (Environmental Lobby Day), to be followed by our annual E-Day Reception Benefit Dinner & Awards Ceremony. Stay tuned for further details. Citizen Lobbying: Please try to find time to call your representatives, make an appointment to meet with them, and come to the capitol during the session if you can. They need to hear from you on issues of importance to you. Also, please join us for E-Day in February as we focus on an environmental lobby day. Our Legislative Updates will keep you informed, and the Action Alerts will further help in this effort. March 13: 2010 Regular Session concludes. Shameless Plea: Funding Needed Heart felt thanks go out to everyone who so quickly responded to our December fundraising appeal. Your contributions are already helping our legislative lobbying effort. If you have not yet renewed your membership or made a donation to WVEC for the 2010 session, please take a moment and do so. We continue to be your voice at the capitol, and need your support as much as ever to keep us there. Thank you in advance for your donations. We appreciate anything you are able to give at this time. WV Environmental Council Phone: (304) 414-0143
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2206 Washington Street East - Charleston, WV 25311 (304) 414-0143 www.wvecouncil.org |