Kudos to Governor Tomblin for enacting regulations today which will help provide stability to the state's natural gas industry and increase public confidence in development of our burgeoning industry in West Virginia's Marcellus Play.
To read the executive order go to this link on our website: Executive Order NO. 4-11.
The following is Governor Tomblin's press release from today's announcement:
CHARLESTON, W.Va. – Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin, joined by West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) Cabinet Secretary Randy Huffman, Legislators, and natural gas industry representatives today announced the filing of an executive order that directs the DEP to promulgate additional environmental regulations governing Marcellus Shale drilling activities.
“This executive order is the first step in my long-term plan to ensure responsible development of Marcellus Shale,” Gov. Tomblin said. “The good-paying jobs predicted with this development must include the protection of our public’s health and safety as well as that of our environment. I want to thank our citizens who have voiced their concerns about Marcellus Shale drilling and want to assure them that I recognize this emerging segment of the natural gas industry warrants my immediate attention to ensure responsible development.”
By directing Secretary Huffman to use his existing emergency rule making authority, Gov. Tomblin is calling for additional regulations concerning: water withdrawals, stream and groundwater protection, and public notice.
This Order outlines several requirements of natural gas companies including but not limited to:
1.) Marcellus Shale drilling applicants seeking to drill within the boundaries of a municipality must file a public notice of intent to drill.
2.) Surface land use that will disturb 3 or more acres must be certified by and constructed in accordance with plans certified by a registered professional engineer.
3.) Companies withdrawing over 210,000 gallons of water a month must file a water management plan with the DEP and adhere to certain specified standards.
4.) Before fracking begins, such companies must also provide a list of additives that will be used in the frack fluid, and after fracking is complete, the additives actually used.
5.) When using water from a public stream, a company must identify the designated and existing uses of that stream.
“I am pleased that the natural gas industry supports my decision to pursue reasonable environmental regulations to ensure responsible development of the Marcellus Shale,” Gov. Tomblin said. “Regulatory certainty is important not only to the industry, but also to our great citizens.”
The executive order also instructs the DEP to further review the agency’s overall authority over drilling activities related to horizontal wells.
Tuesday, July 12, 2011
Wednesday, June 8, 2011
Ethane Transportation: One Piece to Cracker Puzzle
The transportation subcommittee of the Governor’s Marcellus to Manufacturing Task Force met Wednesday, June 8, 2011 to discuss transportation infrastructure in regard to moving ethane from drilling locations to potential cracker plant locations in West Virginia.
Will West Virginia get an ethane cracker plant? While more than one possible plant is rumored, it was said at today’s meeting, “The Marcellus in West Virginia could definitely support one world class cracker plant.”
The existing infrastructure of NiSource, Dominion, EQT, and Caiman Energy’s pipelines was discussed in relation to how capable they are in transporting ethane or ethylene throughout the state.
Infrastructure needed to transport ethane and ethylene could include pipelines that would run from Hastings to Kanawha County, specifically Institute. Possible cracker plant locations mentioned in recent published reports include Institute and New Martinsville. Bob Orndorff, of Dominion, predicted that it would take approximately one year to build the necessary pipeline from Hastings to Institute.
Once the ethane is at a cracker plant, storage becomes the next issue, as Jim Crews pointed out. Mr. Crews, of NiSource, also serves as President of the West Virginia Oil and Natural Gas Association (WVONGA).
Besides Crews and Orndorff, Task force members at the table included Kurt Dettinger, Governor Tomblin’s General Counsel, Patrick Donovan, Executive Director of the West Virginia Public Port Authority, Don Garvin, Legislative Coordinator at the West Virginia Environmental Council and Jack Lafield, President and CEO of Caiman Energy.
In addition to pipeline transportation, Patrick Donovan noted that rail and barge could be an option for both the Wetzel and Kanawha County locations. The committee determined that maps of current transportation infrastructure of both the natural gas companies and the transportation sector must be merged in order to better predict which location would be most beneficial.
Discussions on securing a cracker are in their infancy. But bringing these players to the table to work out the transportation piece of the puzzle is important to see this potential economic boon come to fruition for the state.
Will West Virginia get an ethane cracker plant? While more than one possible plant is rumored, it was said at today’s meeting, “The Marcellus in West Virginia could definitely support one world class cracker plant.”
The existing infrastructure of NiSource, Dominion, EQT, and Caiman Energy’s pipelines was discussed in relation to how capable they are in transporting ethane or ethylene throughout the state.
Infrastructure needed to transport ethane and ethylene could include pipelines that would run from Hastings to Kanawha County, specifically Institute. Possible cracker plant locations mentioned in recent published reports include Institute and New Martinsville. Bob Orndorff, of Dominion, predicted that it would take approximately one year to build the necessary pipeline from Hastings to Institute.
Once the ethane is at a cracker plant, storage becomes the next issue, as Jim Crews pointed out. Mr. Crews, of NiSource, also serves as President of the West Virginia Oil and Natural Gas Association (WVONGA).
Besides Crews and Orndorff, Task force members at the table included Kurt Dettinger, Governor Tomblin’s General Counsel, Patrick Donovan, Executive Director of the West Virginia Public Port Authority, Don Garvin, Legislative Coordinator at the West Virginia Environmental Council and Jack Lafield, President and CEO of Caiman Energy.
In addition to pipeline transportation, Patrick Donovan noted that rail and barge could be an option for both the Wetzel and Kanawha County locations. The committee determined that maps of current transportation infrastructure of both the natural gas companies and the transportation sector must be merged in order to better predict which location would be most beneficial.
Discussions on securing a cracker are in their infancy. But bringing these players to the table to work out the transportation piece of the puzzle is important to see this potential economic boon come to fruition for the state.
Tuesday, June 7, 2011
Morgantown: Don’t Send the Wrong Message
Tonight, Morgantown City Council will vote whether to pass an ordinance that will ban Hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, within its city limits. Yesterday, Shell announced it will build a world-class cracker plant in the Appalachian Basin, probably either West Virginia or Pennsylvania. Also yesterday, New York’s General Assembly extended its ban on fracking for another year.
Drilling in the Marcellus can be a game changer for West Virginia. A cracker is estimated to create thousands of new, high paying jobs. Drilling alone will create 7,500 new jobs for North Central West Virginia over the next several years.
Drilling and hydraulic fracturing of wells has been conducted in the state for decades. Some people think that because the Legislature failed to pass a bill to more specifically regulate horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing in the Marcellus Shale formation that no regulation exists. Nothing could be further from the truth. The drilling and hydraulic fracturing processes are heavily regulated right now in West Virginia.
Yesterday, New York’s General Assembly said no to thousands of new jobs for the state when it failed to consider the facts and science and extended its statewide moratorium on drilling.
Morgantown leaders should consider the facts and science. If they do so, they are saying yes to one of the greatest game changers ever for West Virginia’s economy.
Drilling in the Marcellus can be a game changer for West Virginia. A cracker is estimated to create thousands of new, high paying jobs. Drilling alone will create 7,500 new jobs for North Central West Virginia over the next several years.
Drilling and hydraulic fracturing of wells has been conducted in the state for decades. Some people think that because the Legislature failed to pass a bill to more specifically regulate horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing in the Marcellus Shale formation that no regulation exists. Nothing could be further from the truth. The drilling and hydraulic fracturing processes are heavily regulated right now in West Virginia.
Yesterday, New York’s General Assembly said no to thousands of new jobs for the state when it failed to consider the facts and science and extended its statewide moratorium on drilling.
Morgantown leaders should consider the facts and science. If they do so, they are saying yes to one of the greatest game changers ever for West Virginia’s economy.
Monday, May 23, 2011
The Fracking Facts Fracas
There’s a big debate about the practice of fracking, formally known as hydraulic fracturing, in West Virginia. But within this fracas, much of the debate is leaving out some critical facts.
Fact #1 – In over 50 years of drilling for natural gas in the United States, there has never been a confirmed case of groundwater contamination from stimulating a well through hydraulic fracturing.
Fact #2 – If chemicals used in fracking are so bad, why are the industry and many companies so willing to publicly disclose what is used in the process. For example, Chesapeake Energy has a fracking disclosure website. Then there is this great website for industry transparency called FracFocus. And just this month the Williams Company began listing its fracking ingredients online as well.
Fact #3 – Last week top officials of West Virginia’s Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) told members of the Legislature they have no (that’s zero) confirmed cases of well water contamination from fracking.
So why all the fracking fracas? Could it be people just haven’t considered the facts?
Fact #1 – In over 50 years of drilling for natural gas in the United States, there has never been a confirmed case of groundwater contamination from stimulating a well through hydraulic fracturing.
Fact #2 – If chemicals used in fracking are so bad, why are the industry and many companies so willing to publicly disclose what is used in the process. For example, Chesapeake Energy has a fracking disclosure website. Then there is this great website for industry transparency called FracFocus. And just this month the Williams Company began listing its fracking ingredients online as well.
Fact #3 – Last week top officials of West Virginia’s Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) told members of the Legislature they have no (that’s zero) confirmed cases of well water contamination from fracking.
So why all the fracking fracas? Could it be people just haven’t considered the facts?
Wednesday, May 11, 2011
Duke's Hazard
Erroneous information can be hazardous. This is certainly the case with the misinformation in Duke University’s study linking methane in well water to hydraulic fracturing.
No one in West Virginia wants their water poisoned. That includes companies using hydraulic fracturing to stimulate natural gas production in the Marcellus and Utica Shale regions of our state. When Duke University released its questionable study yesterday, a lot of eyebrows were raised by West Virginia natural gas producers as well as industry experts in neighboring states.
Energy in Depth (EID) posed several substantive questions in their analyses of the study yesterday. But nothing raises eyebrows more than the quotes EID included from the study itself which concedes that hydraulic fracturing likely has zero impact on water wells:
• “Methane migration [via fracturing] through the 1- to 2-km-thick geological formations that overlie the Marcellus and Utica shales is less likely as a mechanism for methane contamination than leaky well casings …” (Osborn, et al., Duke Univ., May 9, 2011)
• “Based on our data (Table 2), we found no evidence for contamination of the shallow wells near active drilling sites from deep brines and/or fracturing fluids.” (ibid)
• “When gas wells are thousands of feet deep – and far below the shallow aquifers that typically provide drinking water – contamination is often stated to be impossible due to the distance between the well and the drinking water. Although this seems reasonable in most (and possibly all) cases, field and modeling studies should be undertaken to confirm this assumption.
Former Secretary of Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) John Hanger weighs in with extensive criticism. Hanger, who was Pennsylvania’ chief protector of the environment, points out that gas migration, not frack fluids, is the real issue for water wells in his informative blog.
West Virginia is excessively proud of its natural resources. We should be! Our natural resources are our state’s economic life blood. Whether it is timber, natural gas, coal, tourism or water, our state must maximize every opportunity while protecting what we all value.
However, false information will be hazardous to West Virginia’s future if we allow its dissemination. Marcellus drilling will create 20,000 new jobs in West Virginia by 2015. These jobs, and the economic vitality it will bring, are far too important to our future. Duke’s misinformation is a hazard to this future so let’s set the record straight so we can all reap the benefits.
No one in West Virginia wants their water poisoned. That includes companies using hydraulic fracturing to stimulate natural gas production in the Marcellus and Utica Shale regions of our state. When Duke University released its questionable study yesterday, a lot of eyebrows were raised by West Virginia natural gas producers as well as industry experts in neighboring states.
Energy in Depth (EID) posed several substantive questions in their analyses of the study yesterday. But nothing raises eyebrows more than the quotes EID included from the study itself which concedes that hydraulic fracturing likely has zero impact on water wells:
• “Methane migration [via fracturing] through the 1- to 2-km-thick geological formations that overlie the Marcellus and Utica shales is less likely as a mechanism for methane contamination than leaky well casings …” (Osborn, et al., Duke Univ., May 9, 2011)
• “Based on our data (Table 2), we found no evidence for contamination of the shallow wells near active drilling sites from deep brines and/or fracturing fluids.” (ibid)
• “When gas wells are thousands of feet deep – and far below the shallow aquifers that typically provide drinking water – contamination is often stated to be impossible due to the distance between the well and the drinking water. Although this seems reasonable in most (and possibly all) cases, field and modeling studies should be undertaken to confirm this assumption.
Former Secretary of Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) John Hanger weighs in with extensive criticism. Hanger, who was Pennsylvania’ chief protector of the environment, points out that gas migration, not frack fluids, is the real issue for water wells in his informative blog.
West Virginia is excessively proud of its natural resources. We should be! Our natural resources are our state’s economic life blood. Whether it is timber, natural gas, coal, tourism or water, our state must maximize every opportunity while protecting what we all value.
However, false information will be hazardous to West Virginia’s future if we allow its dissemination. Marcellus drilling will create 20,000 new jobs in West Virginia by 2015. These jobs, and the economic vitality it will bring, are far too important to our future. Duke’s misinformation is a hazard to this future so let’s set the record straight so we can all reap the benefits.