Updates and Alerts - WV Surface Owners' Rights Organization

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West Virginia Supreme Court rules for surface owners and WVSORO on well pads
Document, News, Updates and Alerts Kayla Young June 19, 2019
A highly anticipated and hugely important West Virginia Supreme Court decision agrees with surface owners and WVSORO! The Court ruled that a driller has no right to put a well pad on a surface owner if the well bore is going to go horizontally beyond the mineral tract under the surface owner and into neighboring mineral tracts. Virtually all horizontal well bores start in the mineral tract under the surface owner, but then also go into neighboring mineral tracts. So drillers now need the consent/agreement of the surface owner for virtually all wells pads for horizontal wells -- or the surface owner can just say "No". More
Issues: Horizontal wells, Marcellus shale, Oil and Gas, Well pads

WV Surface Owners WIN BIG!
News, Updates and Alerts Kayla Young June 18, 2019
In a UNANIMOUS decision by the West Virginia Supreme Court on June 5 regarding Crowder & Wentz v. EQT Production, the court agreed that drillers and mineral owners have no right to use a surface owner’s land for well pads or roads etc. to develop minerals under neighboring mineral properties that do not underlie the surface owner’s land without the surface owner’s express permission. The Supreme court upheld the ruling previously made by Doddridge County Circuit Court, in a battle that we have been fighting for the past eight years. More
Issues: Fracking, Horizontal wells, Marcellus shale, Oil and Gas, Well pads

WVSORO To Be Present to Answer Questions About Selling Surface Etc. during a NARO Town Hall Meeting on Buying & Selling Minerals
Updates and Alerts Kayla Young May 3, 2019
The National Association of Royalty Owners (NARO) is having a town hall meeting on the buying and selling of minerals at the Doddridge County Park in West Union, WV, on May 16, 2019 from 6 to 8 p.m. More
Issues: Minerals-Royalties

Legislative Update 2019: What Happened & What’s Next
Updates and Alerts WVSORO April 15, 2019
In the end there was lots to be disappointed about. No bill moved that would have prevented more wells from becoming orphaned. On the other hand, thanks in parts to the contacts some of you made when we asked you, we may get some money from at least one bill to start plugging wells and putting a dent into the existing problem. Importantly we did enormous consciousness raising causing on the orphaned well issue. We may yet get something this year. And with your help and support, we can do even better next year, not just on orphaned wells, but on pipelines, and on reunification, and on surface owner protections. More
Issues: Abandoned wells, DEP, Horizontal wells, Legislation, Marcellus shale, Oil and Gas, Orphaned wells, Reclamation fund

Help Prevent One of the Most (If Not the Most) Widespread Environmental & Property Rights Disasters in WV
Updates and Alerts WVSORO February 15, 2019
One of, if not the most, widespread environmental and property rights disasters ever is now unfolding in West Virginia! WV-SORO needs your help to hold drillers responsible and keep this from happening. Please contact your Senators and Delegate(s) and tell them to support a strong Orphaned Oil and Gas Well Prevention Act (SB 576 & HB 3065). More
Issues: Abandoned wells, Legislation, Oil and Gas, Orphaned wells, Water

We’re Hiring; NARO Town Halls
Updates and Alerts WVSORO November 1, 2018
WV-SORO is hiring a part-time Outreach Coordinator to engage with and provide support to our membership and others dealing with oil and gas development on their land and in their communities. Details here. Also the National Association of Royalty Owners is hosting a series of town hall meeting for WV mineral owners, including a Q&A with experts on legal and policy issues affecting royalty owners in WV. More
Issues: Fracking, Legislation, Minerals-Royalties, Oil and Gas

Is There a Orphan Well on Your Land? Tell Us About It!
Updates and Alerts WVSORO October 9, 2018
WV-SORO is involved in several approaches to getting the industry to plug the 12,000 wells on surface owners’ land that have stopped producing. We would like some examples of those wells on your land to use in our approaches. If you have an “orphaned” well on your land that has been out of production for many years, we would like to hear from you. More
Issues: Abandoned wells, Orphaned wells, Water

Co-Tenancy Law Now in Effect; WVU Research Project Seeks to Interview Landowners
Updates and Alerts WVSORO June 8, 2018
Earlier this week, the “Co-Tenancy Moderation and Majority Protection Act” enacted during the 2018 legislative session, went into effect. WV-SORO has added two new pages to our website to help surface and mineral owners better understand the new law and what to do if they are affected. We've also provided a brief update on some court cases we've benn involved in or monitoring that affect West Virginia surface owners and some mineral owners. Finally, we wanted to let you know about a WVU research project seeking to interview landowners to better understand their experiences with natural gas extraction near their homes and in their communities. More
Issues: Fracking, Horizontal wells, Land use, Minerals-Royalties, Nuisance suits, Pooling

Send Us Your Questions on Co-Tenancy; Community Organizing Summit
Updates and Alerts WVSORO March 26, 2018
Now that the legislative session is over, we are starting to put together more information to help surface and mineral owners understand the new co-tenancy law, which goes into effect June 3, and you can help us by sending us your questions. We will use your responses to help us develop answers to a list of Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) about co-tenancy. Once the FAQ is ready we'll make it available on our website. In the meantime, our co-founder and attorney, Dave McMahon will lead a session on Co-Tenancy, Forced Pooling, Right To Trespass, and Protecting Your Land on Saturday, April 7 at the Community Organizing Summit at Jackson's Mill. The summit runs April 6-8 and is open to members of grassroots groups and individuals, especially those who want to develop skills and tools to protect their communities from oil and gas extraction and related infrastructure development. More details here. More
Issues: Fracking, Horizontal wells, Marcellus shale, Minerals-Royalties, Pipelines, Pollution, Pooling

“Co-Tenancy” Advances to the Senate Floor Unchanged
Updates and Alerts WVSORO March 1, 2018
Since we wrote to you last week, the “co-tenancy” bill (HB 4268), has passed two committees unchanged and is now on the Senate floor. In other news, the Senate unanimously passed SB 360, which would change the way royalties are calculated for flat-rate leases. Unfortunately, most of the bills that were a priority for WV-SORO this legislative session are dead because they were not taken up by their assigned committees and sent to the floor in time to meet yesterday’s deadline (often referred to as Crossover Day) for bills to be out of the house of origin. More
Issues: Eminent domain, Fence-line monitoring, Horizontal wells, Land re-union, Minerals-Royalties, Noise, Pooling

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