Current Issues and Events
Surface Owners’ News – 2026 Annual Newsletter
Newsletter WVSORO Jan 22 2026
Read about how we’re holding regulators and drillers accountable, and fighting the latest crop of bad ideas proposed by the WV Legislature. While you're here, be sure to check out recent additions to the website, including our latest advice on leasing pore space for carbon sequestration. More
Issues: Abandoned wells, DEP, Horizontal wells, Injection wells, Land re-union, Land use, Leasing, Legislation, Minerals-Royalties, Orphaned wells
Newsletter WVSORO Jan 22 2026
Read about how we’re holding regulators and drillers accountable, and fighting the latest crop of bad ideas proposed by the WV Legislature. While you're here, be sure to check out recent additions to the website, including our latest advice on leasing pore space for carbon sequestration. More
Issues: Abandoned wells, DEP, Horizontal wells, Injection wells, Land re-union, Land use, Leasing, Legislation, Minerals-Royalties, Orphaned wells
Tell Your Delegate to Vote NO on Forced Subsidence
Updates and Alerts WVSORO Mar 7 2026
SB 686 has nothing to do with miner safety, and it is not the same as oil and gas cotenancy law. It will just allow more people’s homes, water, fields, ponds to be damaged or destroyed by longwall coal mine subsidence without the consent/agreement of the surface owner, and without replacement value compensation. More
Issues: Leasing, Legislation, Minerals-Royalties, Water
Updates and Alerts WVSORO Mar 7 2026
SB 686 has nothing to do with miner safety, and it is not the same as oil and gas cotenancy law. It will just allow more people’s homes, water, fields, ponds to be damaged or destroyed by longwall coal mine subsidence without the consent/agreement of the surface owner, and without replacement value compensation. More
Issues: Leasing, Legislation, Minerals-Royalties, Water
Take Action to Stop Forced Subsidence
Updates and Alerts WVSORO Mar 2 2026
WV SORO dubbed SB 686 the “forced subsidence” bill. This coal co-tenancy bill benefits coal companies that cannot get all the people who share ownership of coal underlying a surface tract to agree to a longwall mining lease. Tell legislators to STOP SB 686, which allows surface subsidence without surface owner’s consent. More
Issues: Legislation, Minerals-Royalties, Water
Updates and Alerts WVSORO Mar 2 2026
WV SORO dubbed SB 686 the “forced subsidence” bill. This coal co-tenancy bill benefits coal companies that cannot get all the people who share ownership of coal underlying a surface tract to agree to a longwall mining lease. Tell legislators to STOP SB 686, which allows surface subsidence without surface owner’s consent. More
Issues: Legislation, Minerals-Royalties, Water
The Governor’s plugging assurance deal with Diversified does not plug wells like they say it does.
Blog WVSORO Oct 27 2025
Diversified got big by buying wells from bigger operators who might have had the money to plug those wells, but Diversified will not have enough money to plug all those wells. This new scheme got good press for the Governor and Diversified. It somehow uses multi-layers of "insurance" companies unknown to us. And even assuming their unrealistic numbers, the scheme will not generate enough money to plug all or maybe even half of the wells Diversified will eventually need to plug. Does it take the plugging liability off Diversified's books so it can buy more wells in other states so it can milk them and not be able to plug them either? That is one of several concerns. More
Issues: DEP, Oil and Gas
Blog WVSORO Oct 27 2025
Diversified got big by buying wells from bigger operators who might have had the money to plug those wells, but Diversified will not have enough money to plug all those wells. This new scheme got good press for the Governor and Diversified. It somehow uses multi-layers of "insurance" companies unknown to us. And even assuming their unrealistic numbers, the scheme will not generate enough money to plug all or maybe even half of the wells Diversified will eventually need to plug. Does it take the plugging liability off Diversified's books so it can buy more wells in other states so it can milk them and not be able to plug them either? That is one of several concerns. More
Issues: DEP, Oil and Gas
West Virginia Supreme Court grants WVSORO’s motion to file an amicus brief in long wall mining surface subsidence compensation case.
Press Release WVSORO Aug 20 2025
The case on appeal is about when the clock starts -- if at all -- on surface owners' suits for subsidence compensation: Surface owners think there should be no statute of limitations, or if there is, there should be equitable tolling where surface owners do not know when the mining occurs or when the subsidence will be over. More
Press Release WVSORO Aug 20 2025
The case on appeal is about when the clock starts -- if at all -- on surface owners' suits for subsidence compensation: Surface owners think there should be no statute of limitations, or if there is, there should be equitable tolling where surface owners do not know when the mining occurs or when the subsidence will be over. More