Updates and Alerts - WV Surface Owners' Rights Organization

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Tell the House Rules Committee to Amend or Stop SB 686
Updates and Alerts WVSORO March 10, 2026
Urge members of the House Rules Committee to demand an amendment to SB 686 so home owners get the replacement cost of their destroyed homes or else prevent the bill from coming to the House floor. More
Issues: Leasing, Legislation, Minerals-Royalties, Water

Tell Your Delegate to Vote NO on Forced Subsidence
Updates and Alerts WVSORO March 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 March 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

Tell the Legislature: Pass the Orphaned Well Prevention Act!
Updates and Alerts WVSORO March 24, 2025
Irresponsible oil and gas well drillers have 12,000 idle wells that should already be plugged. We need to stop more wells from being orphaned. We need the Orphaned Well Prevention Act! More
Issues: Oil and Gas, Orphaned wells

Comment on Well Plugging Priorities; Remember to Vote
Updates and Alerts WVSORO November 1, 2024
The WV DEP will be taking comments on well plugging priorities as part of the Methane Emission Reduction Program. Details here on upcoming public meetings and how to weigh in. In the meantime, remember to vote and make your voice heard in the critical election season. More
Issues: Abandoned wells, Methane, Orphaned wells, Pollution

WV SORO 2024 Legislative Summary; ALERT: Landmen Buying Pore Space Rights
Updates and Alerts WVSORO March 19, 2024
Below is a summary of WV SORO's actions on bills during the 2024 West Virginia Legislature's regular session, which ended March 9. During the session we also learned that there are land agents going door to door trying to get surface owners to sign away rights to the pore space in the rock formations under their land, and we need to educate surface owners about that. So this is intended to kill two birds with one stone. We will start with the alert since it is shorter. More
Issues: Leasing, Legislation, Pore space

Tell the House of Delegates: Don’t stop West Virginians from getting paid for offsetting carbon with their trees!
Updates and Alerts WVSORO March 5, 2024
SB 618 would do by establishing these unnecessary hurdles that will discourage companies from investing in carbon exchange programs in West Virginia. Contact your member of the House of Delegates. Tell them to vote “NO” on SB 618. More

Take Action to Protect Citizen Air Monitoring
Updates and Alerts WVSORO February 12, 2024
Please take action and tell your Senators to reject HB 5018. HB 5018 could prevent you from being able to use in court data you collect (like with a methane detector) from stationary sources of pollution (like a gas well etc.) on or next to or near your land. If courts are not supposed to legislate, then legislatures should not rule on evidence. More
Issues: Pollution

Surface Owners’ News 2023 Print Edition Now Available
Updates and Alerts WVSORO November 30, 2023
The 2023 print edition of Surface Owners News is now available. We hope you enjoy reading the latest news and updates from the WV Surface Owners' Rights Organization. More
Issues: Abandoned wells, Land use, Orphaned wells, Pollution, Well pads

Surface Owners say DEP needs at least 45, not just 23, oil and gas inspectors.
Updates and Alerts WVSORO February 7, 2023
Senate Bill 448 and House Bill 3110 have passed out of the Energy Committees in their respective houses and are now in their Finance Committees. The DEP and the industry and the Governor and maybe some Legislator agreed to fund a total of 23 inspectors in this bill. No one talked to us surface owners whether we agreed to that number -- and we are where the wells are leaking and stinking! More
Issues: DEP, Oil and Gas, Pollution

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