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303 posts found, showing 20 per page

Act Now: Protect Our Drinking Water and Reject HB 2598
Updates and Alerts WVSORO February 20, 2021
The WV Legislature and industry lobbyists have brought back the bill for exemptions to the Aboveground Storage Tank Act as HB 2598, reintroduced this week and expected to make the House Energy and Manufacturing Committee agenda on Tuesday morning, February 23. More
Issues: Pollution, Water

2021 legislative priorities
Blog WVSORO January 26, 2021
Restoring and increasing funding to the DEP’s Office of Oil and Gas will be our lead priority this year.  But we will still be pushing legislation to have the property rights of surface owners recognized, to increase their chances of owning some of the minerals under them, and to deal with thousands and thousands of orphaned wells and other environmental problems. More
Issues: Abandoned wells, Land re-union, Legislation, Pipelines

Winter 2020/21 Newsletter
Newsletter WVSORO January 12, 2021
Read about valuing your surface rights, funding needed for the Office Oil and Gas, possible stimulus money to plug wells, a look back at our successes in the 2020 legislature, and a look at our 2121 Legislative priorities. More
Issues: Fracking, Horizontal wells, Legislation, Oil and Gas, Orphaned wells

WVSORO Sample Answer to a Partition Suit
Partition Suit Advice Kayla Young August 19, 2020
Our co-founder lawyer has drafted a sample that can be used to fight a partition suit filed in Circuit Court that attempts to take a mineral owner's interest in their land from them. More
Issues: Partition suits

HELP GET FEDERAL STIMULUS MONEY TO PLUG ORPHANED WELLS!
Updates and Alerts Kayla Young July 31, 2020
There is a good chance that West Virginia and other states can get money in the next federal stimulus bill to plug more orphaned wells. We need you to contact Senators Capito & Manchin! More
Issues: Abandoned wells, Oil and Gas, Orphaned wells

Cotenancy/Forced Pooling By OGCC can be challenged
Blog, Leasing / Amendment Advice Kayla Young June 25, 2020
WVSORO believes that two of the five members of the Oil and Gas Conservation Commission are not qualified to hold their positions. More
Issues: Leasing, Oil and Gas

Spring 2020 eNewsletter
Newsletter, Updates and Alerts Kayla Young April 3, 2020
Because of coronavirus we could not do a timely spring, hard copy newsletter. Here is an unusually long update/eNewsletter to take its place. More
Issues: Abandoned wells, Land use, Legislation, Oil and Gas, Partition suits

I own a share of a mineral tract and I have been included in (or threatened with) a partition suit. What should I do? A West Virginia Supreme Court case stops mineral partition suits. Use it!
Partition Suit Advice WVSORO April 2, 2020
If you are sued for partition of your interest in a mineral tract, or if you are just threatened with such a lawsuit to try to get you to sign a lease or to sign a lease with terms that you do not want, do not be alarmed.  You should know that the West Virginia Supreme Court has made a decision which we believe says that minerals are not subject to partition. More
Issues: Partition suits

Our Bills Passed – Help us encourage the Governor to sign them into law!
Updates and Alerts Kayla Young March 6, 2020
Please contact Governor Justice and ask him to sign into law three bills to help surface owners who have orphaned oil and gas wells on their property!  They are HB 4090, HB 4088, and SB 120.   More
Issues: Orphaned wells

Action Alert: Ask Senators to Vote YES for a Third Well Plugging Money Bill on Thursday!
Updates and Alerts Kayla Young March 3, 2020
PLEASE CALL OR EMAIL THE SENATORS TODAY AND TELL THEM SB 4088 IS A SURFACE OWNERS’ BILL; AND TELL THEM TO VOTE FOR THE BILL. Please do it right now. The vote is on Thursday. More
Issues: Orphaned wells, Reclamation fund

Alert: Protect Your Rights as Property Owners! NO to Intermediate Court
Updates and Alerts Kayla Young February 25, 2020
Creating an Intermediate Court delays justice for Property Owners. SB 275 would allow Industry to appeal your property rights case not once but TWICE. Appeals now take up to a year and adding another level of course can double that time. We support property owners getting justice. Contact House Judiciary members and urge them to REJECT SB275 Intermediate Court of Appeals!  More

ACTION ALERT: Save the Creation of the Oil and Gas Abandoned Well Plugging Fund!
Updates and Alerts Kayla Young February 21, 2020
One of our bills, HB4090, is stuck in committee! We need the bill placed on the Senate Finance agenda ASAP!  More
Issues: Abandoned wells

WV-SORO Legislative 2020 Update 1
Updates and Alerts Kayla Young February 7, 2020
We are 40% of the way through the legislative session, and bills for surface owners are moving right along! We are tracking several bills, moving through both chambers.  More

WVSORO’s Dave McMahon to appear on Public Broadcasting’s Legislature Today on Tuesday
Updates and Alerts Kayla Young January 21, 2020
Dave McMahon, founder of WV Soro will be on Legislature Today on Tuesday January 21st at 6 pm (watch options below) to talk about orphaned wells and funding for the Office of Oil and Gas within the Department of Environmental Protections. Also joining Dave is Angie Rosser of West Virginia Rivers Coalition.  More
Issues: DEP, Orphaned wells

Dave McMahon Metro News Radio Interview: Update on Orphaned Well Bills
Updates and Alerts WVSORO January 16, 2020
In our newsletter we said that one of our legislative priorities was a trio of bills to provide money to plug wells that have already become orphans.  Two of those bills already passed out of the first committee in the House!  More
Issues: Abandoned wells, Legislation, Orphaned wells

Winter 2019/2020 Newsletter
Newsletter WVSORO January 14, 2020
The West Virginia Supreme Court has issued a much anticipated decision upholding the property rights of surface owners when well drillers try to use their surface for the enormous well pads necessary to drill horizontally. More
Issues: Abandoned wells, Well pads

Have you been sued, or threatened to be sued, for partition of your minerals?
Advice, Leasing / Amendment Advice Kayla Young December 17, 2019
Drillers have to get all of the co-owners (usually heirs of family property, and technically "cotenants") to sign a lease or a pooling amendment to a lease, before they can drill.  What if the driller cannot get all the co-owners to sign but the driller still wants to drill? More
Issues: Leasing, Minerals-Royalties, Oil and Gas

Legislative Priorities 2020 E-Blast
Updates and Alerts Kayla Young December 5, 2019
We want to hear from you!! Now is your chance to get involved in the legislative priorities for the WV Surface Owners' Rights Organization for the upcoming 2020 session! We work for you and this year we've created an online survey to make it as easy as possible for your voice to be heard. The survey is very short and easy to fill out! More
Issues: Fence-line monitoring, Land re-union, Orphaned wells, Pollution

WV-SORO 2020 Legislative Priorities
Blog WVSORO December 1, 2019
Legislation to have the property rights of surface owners recognized, to increase their chances of owning some of the minerals under them, and to deal with orphaned wells and other environmental problems, continue to be WV-SORO's legislative priorities for 2020.  We will also be active opposing legislation the industry introduces (out of its sense of entitlement) which will harm the interests of surface owners (including some fortunate few of whom are also small mineral interest owners). More
Issues: Abandoned wells, Eminent domain, Fence-line monitoring, Horizontal wells, Land re-union, Orphaned wells, Pipelines

Governor’s Appointment to Oil and Gas Conservation Commission Blasted
Press Release, Updates and Alerts Kayla Young October 29, 2019
A representatives of surface owners and mineral owners today blasted the Governor for appointing a long time leading oil and gas industry member, a person who is still a consultant and expert witness for the industry, to the seat designated for the public on the Oil and Gas Conservation Commission.  More