Current Issues and Events

54 posts found, showing 20 per page

In Court: WV-SORO Litigation Update
Blog Julie Archer Feb 7 2017
Here is a brief update on some court cases we've been involved in or monitoring that affect West Virginia surface owners. Because one-third of WV-SORO members also own an interest in their underlying minerals, so we are including updates on cases that affect some mineral owners. More
Issues: Coal bed methane, Eminent domain, Leasing, Minerals-Royalties, Partition suits, Pipelines

Court Approves Drilling Waste Settlement with EPA
Press Release Julie Archer Dec 29 2016
The U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia formally approved a consent decree between the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and a coalition of community and environmental organizations. which requires the agency to review and, if necessary, revise its rules for the disposal and handling of dangerous and harmful oil and gas wastes, such as those that result from drilling and fracking. More
Issues: Drilling waste, EPA, Fracking, Pollution

Eminent Domain Update
Pipeline Advice WVSORO Dec 16 2016
In November 2016, The West Virginia Supreme Court has upheld the Monroe County Circuit Court judge saying Mountain Valley transmission pipeline conveying gas only out of State is not for a "public purpose" to West Virginians and so cannot use eminent domain (and cannot force access for surveying) More
Issues: Eminent domain, Pipelines

Dave McMahon: West Virgina must get it right with gas
Blog, News WVSORO Jul 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

West Virginia Supreme Court cites WVSORO “amicus brief” regarding ownership of coalbed methane
Blog WVSORO Dec 16 2016
The West Virginia Supreme Court ruled in the Moss case in 2003 that leases and deeds that granted or reserved rights to “oil and gas” or “natural gas” did not automatically give or reserve rights to coalbed methane More
Issues: Coal bed methane

Anti-Nuisance Suit Bill Dead; Solid Waste Bill Amended
Updates and Alerts WVSORO Mar 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

WVSORO testifies for its members and E-Council for “green completion drilling”
Blog WVSORO Sep 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

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

What Has to Be in a Forced Pooling Bill for it to Be a GOOD Forced Pooling Bill
Blog, Document WVSORO Jan 12 2016
A forced horizontal unitization/pooling/integration bill is only a good idea if: 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 Jan 12 2016
Provisions of Proposed Bill Implementing Findings of Studies Required By the Horizontal Well Act More
Issues: Horizontal wells, Legislation

WV Citizens Join National Groups Filing Notice of Intent to Sue EPA Over Dangerous Drilling and Fracking Waste
Press Release WVSORO Aug 26 2015
A coalition of environmental organizations filed a legal notice with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency today demanding regulations to stop oil and gas companies from dumping drilling and fracking waste in ways that threaten public health and the environment. More
Issues: Drilling waste, EPA, Oil and Gas

Legislative Wrap-Up and Update
Updates and Alerts WVSORO Apr 9 2015
WV-SORO's Take on the 2015 Forced Pooling Legislation and Its Fate More
Issues: Horizontal wells, Pooling

Surface Owners’ Responses to the Myths and Distortions Put Out by the Industry On the Dangers of Marcellus Shale Horizontal Drilling
Blog WVSORO Nov 7 2011
Serious environmental concerns, plus concerns about abuses of surface owners are a result of Marcellus Shale horizontal drilling More
Issues: Horizontal wells, Marcellus shale

The industrialization of rural West Virginia caused by the Marcellus Shale gas play
Resource Gallery WVSORO Dec 12 2010
A few years ago, Marcellus Shale gas was unrecoverable, and West Virginia was a relative backwater in the oil and gas industry. The new techniques of high-volume hydraulic fracturing and horizontal drilling have made a sea change in all of that. More
Issues: Marcellus shale, Rural industrialization