All Posts by Date

304 posts found, showing 20 per page

Drillers can NOT pool a mineral owner’s lease without authorization!
Leasing / Amendment Advice WVSORO November 8, 2016
UPDATE: WE WERE RIGHT! There is no "implied right to pool" in a lease.
If a driller tries to talk you into a lease amendment (some of our members also owns minerals) by saying this, you really need to educate yourself on this web page. More
Issues: Horizontal wells, Leasing, Pooling

Eleven reasons why a judge was wrong to imply a lease covenant to pool
Leasing / Amendment Advice WVSORO November 8, 2016
Here Are the Eleven Reasons That The Tyler County Circuit Court Judge's Ruling Is Wrong, And Why No Other Circuit Court Judge nor the Supreme Court Should Agree With the Ruling. More
Issues: Horizontal wells, Leasing, Pooling

Enacting local city or county ordinances
Enacting Local City or County Ordinances - Advice WVSORO August 14, 2016
Enactment of city or county ordinances or land use regulations is very tricky legally in order to make them stick. And each situation is different. More
Issues: Land use

Dave McMahon: West Virgina must get it right with gas
Blog, News WVSORO July 8, 2016
I write in response to “Conservation makes for good business,” an op-ed column by a top official of Antero, a natural gas company, published May 28. More
Issues: DEP, Horizontal wells, Marcellus shale, Oil and Gas

What Land/Surface Owners Should Know When a Landman Shows Up And Wants an Easement/Right of Way To Put a Pipeline Across Your Land
Pipeline Advice WVSORO May 31, 2016
By 2013 we found out that Marcellus Shale pipelines are worth way MORE than that. If you are only being offered $1 per inch per foot, you are getting underpaid. More
Issues: Pipelines

They are drilling or going to drill a well on my land. I want to have it re-seeded with vegetation I want, not the fescue etc. that is in the State’s soil erosion and sediment control manual. What can I do?
WV Surface Owners' Guide Update WVSORO April 28, 2016
If you want re-vegetation with seeds other than that at page 32 of the State's Soil Erosion and Sediment Control Field Manual, then work on your driller before,during or after the comment period to use seed mixtures you get from your local soil conservation district More
Issues: Land use, Legislation, Oil and Gas

If you own the coal you might be able to block or at least move a well site
WV Surface Owners' Guide Update WVSORO March 15, 2016
This strategy will probably be used mostly by people who own the surface and the minerals, but whose land is subject to an old (or new) oil and gas lease signed by the current surface owners or their predecessors, and that lease allows the drilling of gas wells on the property. More
Issues: Leasing, Oil and Gas

Anti-Nuisance Suit Bill Dead; Solid Waste Bill Amended
Updates and Alerts WVSORO March 12, 2016
Today is the last day of the 2016 legislative session and it is now safe to say that SB 508, the anti-nuisance suit bill, is officially dead. More
Issues: Drilling waste, Legislation, Nuisance suits

Fate of Anti-Nuisance Suit Bill Uncertain; Drilling Waste Bill Advances
Updates and Alerts WVSORO March 6, 2016
Thanks to everyone who has responded to our calls for action -- your calls and emails to legislators can and do make a difference. As we head into the final week of the legislative session, we're relieved that several bills to benefit the oil and gas industry have died. More
Issues: Drilling waste, Legislation, Nuisance suits

Some Good News
Updates and Alerts WVSORO February 28, 2016
Earlier today, SB 596, the pipeline survey access (or "right to trespass") bill was soundly defeated on the Senate floor, with only 11 Senators voting in favor and 23 opposed. More
Issues: Legislation, Nuisance suits, Pollution

Legislature Adds Insult to Injury with Bills to Aid Drillers
Updates and Alerts WVSORO February 21, 2016
It was bad enough that the Legislature and Governor Tomblin included few protections for surface owners in the Horizontal Well Act when the state finally updated antiquated drilling laws in 2011. Instead, the Legislature included an arbitrary setback of 625 feet from the center of the pad in the Act. More
Issues: Legislation, Nuisance suits, Pooling

SB 508 Eliminates Laws That Ensure You Can Feel Safe and Enjoy Your Home
Updates and Alerts WVSORO February 15, 2016
Last week we told you about SB 508, a bill that would take away citizens' ability to bring "nuisance" suits against against oil and gas drillers or others who engage in activities that harm their property values or interfere with the enjoyment and use of their property. More
Issues: Legislation, Nuisance suits, Oil and Gas

Act Now to Stop SB 508
Updates and Alerts WVSORO February 7, 2016
Earlier this week, seven Senators introduced SB 508, which would take away citizens' ability to bring "nuisance" suits against against oil and gas drillers. More
Issues: Legislation, Nuisance suits

Action Needed to Stop Lease Integration, Implement Study Recommendations
Updates and Alerts WVSORO January 30, 2016
Happy New Year from WV-SORO! Although Winter Storm Jonas is now behind us, the WV Legislature is continuing its work in Charleston through March 13. Please keep reading to learn more about what we've been up to and issues that are coming up during the 2016 legislative session. More
Issues: Drilling waste, Horizontal wells, Legislation, Pollution

Who is Helped and Who is Hurt by a GOOD Forced Pooling Bill
Blog WVSORO January 12, 2016
Who does a good forced pooling statute hurt or help? More
Issues: Legislation, Pooling

What Is in the “Horizontal Well Act Studies Implementation Bill” Surface Owners Need Before a Pooling Bill Should Pass
Blog WVSORO January 12, 2016
Provisions of Proposed Bill Implementing Findings of Studies Required By the Horizontal Well Act More
Issues: Horizontal wells, Legislation

Someone contacted me and wants to buy my interest in mineral/oil or gas property. Should I sell?
Selling Land / Mineral Rights Advice WVSORO November 27, 2015
As a general rule it is not a good idea in the long run to sell interests in oil and gas or other mineral properties. Many people who do not have much interest in or knowledge of oil and gas drilling and leasing sometimes end up owning an interest in a tract of oil and gas -- often through inheritance. More
Issues: Oil and Gas

Events of interest to WV-SORO members
Updates and Alerts WVSORO November 3, 2015
Public Meeting on Air Quality Permit for Proposed Water Treatment Facility in Doddridge Co.; Free Screening of Josh Fox Short Film "Gaswork" in Buckhannon on Thursday, Citizen Hearings on Fracking Air Pollution & New EPA Rules, Nov. 7 & Nov. 9. More
Issues: Oil and Gas, Pollution

WVU Extension Hosting Pipeline Educational Meetings Next Week
Updates and Alerts WVSORO October 8, 2015
Next week, as part of its Natural Gas Education Programs for Fall 2015, the WVU Extension Service is hosting three meetings next week (October 12, 13 and 14) to help landowners make sense of natural gas pipelines and right-of-way agreements. More
Issues: Pipelines

WVSORO testifies for its members and E-Council for “green completion drilling”
Blog WVSORO September 28, 2015
Testimony of David McMahon, J.D. before the Environmental Protection Agency Oil and Natural Gas Sector Re: Emission Standards for New and Modified Sources. Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OAR-2010-0505 More
Issues: EPA, Green completion drilling