Source: http://www.wvlegislature.gov/Bill_Status/bills_text.cfm?billdoc=sb4001%20intr.htm&yr=2011&sesstype=4X&i=4001
Timestamp: 2018-02-25 02:40:34
Document Index: 510911073

Matched Legal Cases: ['§22', '§22', '§22', '§5', '§22', '§22', '§22', '§22', '§22', '§22', '§22', '§22', '§22', '§22', '§22', '§22', '§22', '§22', '§22', '§22', '§22', '§22', '§22', '§22', '§22', '§22', '§22', '§22', '§22', '§22', '§22', '§22', '§22', '§22', '§22', '§22', '§22', '§22', '§22', '§22', '§22', '§22', '§22', '§22', '§22', '§5', '§22', '§22', '§22', '§22', '§22', '§22', '§22', '§22', '§22', '§22', '§22', '§22', '§22', '§22', '§22', '§22', '§22', '§22', '§22', '§22', '§22', '§22', '§22', '§22', '§22', '§22', '§22', '§22', '§22', '§22', '§22', '§22', '§22', '§22', '§22', '§22', '§22', '§22', '§22', '§5', '§22', '§22', '§22', '§22', '§22', '§22', '§22', '§22', '§22', '§22', '§22', '§22', '§22', '§22', '§22', '§22', '§22', '§22', '§22', '§22', '§22', '§22', '§22', '§22', '§22', '§22', '§22', '§22', '§22', '§22', '§22', '§22', '§22', '§22']

SB 4001 Text
Introduced Version Senate Bill 4001 History
Senate Bill No. 4001
[Introduced December 11, 2012; referred to the Committee on the Judiciary; and then to the Committee on Finance.]
A BILL to repeal §22C-7-1, §22C-7-2 and §22C-7-3 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended; to amend said code by adding thereto a new section, designated §5B-2B-4a; to amend and reenact §22-6-1 and §22-6-2 of said code; to amend said code by adding thereto a new section, designated §22-6-2a; to amend said code by adding thereto a new article, designated §22-6A-1, §22-6A-2, §22-6A-3, §22-6A-3a, §22-6A-4, §22-6A-5, §22-6A-6, §22-6A-7, §22-6A-8, §22-6A-9, §22-6A-10, §22-6A-11, §22-6A-12, §22-6A-13, §22-6A-14, §22-6A-15, §22-6A-16, §22-6A-17, §22-6A-18, §22-6A-19, §22-6A-20, §22-6A-21, §22-6A-22, §22-6A-23 and §22-6A-24; to amend said code by adding thereto a new article, designated §22-6B-1, §22-6B-2, §22-6B-3, §22-6B-4, §22-6B-5, §22-6B-6, §22-6B-7 and §22-6B-8; to amend and reenact §22C-8-2 of said code; and to amend and reenact §22C-9-2 of said code, all relating generally to oil and gas wells; requiring West Virginia Workforce Investment Council to complete certain reviews and provide report to Legislature; expanding powers of Secretary of the Department of Environmental Protection; authorizing secretary to determine number of oil and gas inspectors and supervisors and to make investigations or inspections to ensure compliance with applicable law; providing for inspector qualifications, duties and minimum salaries; creating Natural Gas Horizontal Well Control Act; providing short title; making legislative findings and declarations of public policy; providing for applicability of act and exceptions; providing special considerations and rule making for karst formations; defining terms; making horizontal wells subject to certain provisions in article six, chapter twenty-two of the Code of West Virginia; specifying powers and duties of secretary, including certain rule-making power and reporting duties; requiring permit for horizontal wells; establishing permit application requirements and contents; requiring bond and permit fees; providing for issuance of emergency permits; providing for denial, suspension and reinstatement of permits in certain circumstances; providing for application review, requirements for issuance of permit and permit requirements; establishing performance standards; providing for copies of permits to be furnished to county assessors; requiring certificate of approval for large pits or impoundment construction; requiring application for certificate; establishing application requirements and payment of fees; providing for modification, revocation or suspension of certificate and hearing procedure, including an administrative appeals process; providing exceptions for certain farm ponds; authorizing secretary to propose legislative rules governing large pits and impoundment; providing notice to certain property owners of certain applications, intent to enter property or conduct seismic activity; establishing procedure for filing written comments; establishing well location restrictions; requiring promulgation of legislative rules for plugging and abandonment of horizontal wells; establishing reclamation requirements; requiring performance bonds or other security; providing notice of planned operation and contents of notice to certain surface owners; providing notice to certain surface owner and offer for compensation for certain damages to certain surface owner; providing for reimbursement of property taxes to surface owner; providing for civil action, rebuttable presumption and relief for water contamination or deprivation; establishing water rights and replacement procedure; establishing civil penalties and offenses; requiring gas operations to submit certification from Division of Highways that operator has entered into road maintenance agreement pursuant to Division of Highways Oil and Gas Road Policy; creating public website and electronic notification registry of horizontal well permit applications and public notice of website; providing for air quality study, report to Legislature and rulemaking; requiring secretary to report to Legislature regarding safety of pits and impoundments; providing casing and cement standards; authorizing secretary to promulgate legislative and emergency rules relating to casing and cement standards; authorizing secretary to promulgate legislative rules governing pits and impoundments; providing secretary authority to establish, revise and grant waivers regarding casing and cement standards and programs; creating the Oil and Gas Horizontal Well Production Damage Compensation Act; providing legislative findings and purpose; defining terms; providing conditions and parameters for compensation of surface owners for drilling operations; preserving common law right of action and providing offset for compensation or damages paid; requiring notice of claims by surface owners; providing manner in which oil and gas operator must provide notice of reclamation; providing for offers of settlement; providing procedures for civil actions, arbitration and fees; preserving alternate remedies; and modifying definitions of shallow wells and deep wells.
That §22C-7-1, §22C-7-2 and §22C-7-3 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, be repealed; that said code be amended by adding thereto a new section, designated §5B-2B-4a; that §22-6-1 and §22-6-2 of said code be amended and reenacted; that said code be amended by adding thereto a new section, designated §22-6-2a; that said code be amended by adding thereto a new article, designated §22-6A-1, §22-6A-2, §22-6A-3, §22-6A-3a, §22-6A-4, §22-6A-5, §22-6A-6, §22-6A-7, §22-6A-8, §22-6A-9, §22-6A-10, §22-6A-11, §22-6A-12, §22-6A-13, §22-6A-14, §22-6A-15, §22-6A-16, §22-6A-17, §22-6A-18, §22-6A-19, §22-6A-20, §22-6A-21, §22-6A-22, §22-6A-23 and §22-6A-24; that said code be amended by adding thereto a new article, designated §22-6B-1, §22-6B-2, §22-6B-3, §22-6B-4, §22-6B-5, §22-6B-6, §22-6B-7 and §22-6B-8; that §22C-8-2 of said code be amended and reenacted; and that §22C-9-2 of said code be amended and reenacted, all to read as follows:
(2) This economic opportunity presents new and exciting opportunities for jobs for West Virginians; and
(3) The state needs to take all necessary steps to retain, educate and train West Virginians to have the skills necessary to compete for job opportunities resulting from horizontal drilling.
(5) A review of total economic impact; and
(6) The council’s recommendations for the establishment of an overall workforce investment public education agenda with goals and benchmarks toward maximizing job creation opportunities in the State of West Virginia.
(p) "Pollutant" has the same meaning as provided in subsection (16), section three, article eleven of this chapter;
(w) "Waters of this state" has the same meaning as the term "waters" as provided in subsection (23), section three, article eleven of this chapter;
(d) The secretary shall have authority to visit and inspect any well or well site and any other oil or gas facility in this state and may call for the assistance of any oil and gas inspector or inspectors or supervising inspector whenever such assistance is necessary in the inspection of any such well or well site or any other oil or gas facility. Similarly, all oil and gas inspectors and the supervising inspector or supervising inspectors shall have authority to visit and inspect any well or well site and any other oil or gas facility in this state. Such inspectors shall make all necessary inspections of oil and gas operations required by this article and articles six-a, eight, nine, ten and twenty-one of this chapter; administer and enforce all oil and gas laws and rules; and perform other duties and services as may be prescribed by the secretary. The inspectors shall note and describe all violations of this article and articles six-a, eight, nine, ten or twenty-one of this chapter and promptly report those violations to the secretary in writing, furnishing at the same time a copy of the report to the operator concerned. Any well operator, coal operator operating coal seams beneath the tract of land, or the coal seam owner or lessee, if any, if said owner or lessee is not yet operating said coal seams beneath said tract of land may request the secretary to have an immediate inspection made. The operator or owner of every well or well site or any other oil or gas facility shall cooperate with the secretary, all oil and gas inspectors and the supervising inspector in making inspections or obtaining information.
(5) The secretary should have broad authority to condition the issuance of well work permits when, in his discretion, it is necessary to protect the safety of persons, to prevent inadequate or ineffective erosion and sediment control plans, to prevent damage to publicly owned lands or resources, to protect fresh water sources or supplies or to otherwise protect the environment;
(6) Concomitant with the broad powers to condition the issuance of well work permits, the secretary should also have broad authority to waive certain minimum requirements of this article when, in his or her discretion, such waiver is appropriate;
Notwithstanding any other provision of this code to the contrary, the provisions of this article shall apply to any natural gas well, other than a coalbed methane well, drilled using a horizontal drilling method, and which disturbs three acres or more of surface, excluding pipelines, gathering lines and roads, or utilizes more than two hundred ten thousand gallons of water in any thirty day period: Provided, That this article do not apply to or affect any well work permitted for a horizontal well or orders issued regarding horizontal wells prior to the effective date of this article.
(b) In order to carry out the purposes of this section, the secretary, in consultation with the state geologist, may propose legislative rules in accordance with the provisions of chapter twenty-nine-a of this code to establish designated geographic regions of the state where the provisions of this section are applicable and to establish standards for drilling horizontal wells in naturally occurring karst terrain. For horizontal wells drilled into naturally occurring karst terrain in such designated geographic regions, the rules shall, at a minimum:
(2) Provide any other requirements deemed necessary by the secretary to protect the unique characteristics of naturally occurring karst geology, which requirements may include baseline water testing within an established distance from a drilling site.
(c) Nothing in this section allows the department to prevent drilling in naturally occurring karst geology.
(12) “Water purveyor” means any person engaged in the business of selling water to another and who is regulated by the Bureau for Public Health pursuant to title sixty-four, series three of the W. Va. Code of State Rules.
(1) The provisions of section three, article six of this chapter relating to the findings and orders of inspectors concerning violations, the determination of reasonable time for abatement, extensions of time for abatement, special inspections and notice of findings and orders.
(2) The provisions of section four, article six of this chapter providing for the review of findings and orders by the secretary, special inspections and applications for annulment or revision of orders by the secretary.
(3) The provisions of section five, article six of this chapter relating to the requirements for findings, orders and notices, notice to the operator of findings and orders and judicial review of final orders of the secretary.
(4) The provisions of section seven, article six of this chapter relating to the issuance of water pollution control permits, the powers and duties of the secretary related thereto and penalties for violations of the same.
(5) The provisions of section eight, article six of this chapter relating to the prohibition of permits for wells on flat well royalty leases and requirements for permits.
(A) Under subsection (a), section twelve, article six of this chapter, the plat also shall identify all surface tract boundaries within the scope of the plat proposed to be crossed by the horizontal lateral of the horizontal well and the proposed path of such horizontal lateral.
(B) Under subsection (b), section twelve, article six of this chapter, any reference to a time period shall be thirty days in lieu of fifteen days.
(7) The provisions of section thirteen, article six of this chapter providing for notice of the operator’s intention to fracture wells, with the exception that under the third paragraph of section thirteen, article six of this chapter, the applicable periods shall be thirty days in lieu of fifteen days.
(8) The provisions of section fifteen, article six of this chapter pertaining to objections to proposed deep well drilling sites above seam or seams of coal, with the exception that the applicable time for filing objections is within thirty days of receipt by the secretary of the required plat and/or notice in lieu of fifteen days.
(9) The provisions of section seventeen, article six of this chapter pertaining to drilling of shallow gas wells, notice to be provided to the chair of the review board, orders issued by the review board and permits issued for such drilling, with the exception that the applicable time for filing objections is thirty days from the date of receipt by the secretary of the required plat and notice in lieu of fifteen days.
(10) The provisions of section eighteen, article six of this chapter providing for protective devices for when a well penetrates one or more workable coal beds and when gas is found beneath or between workable coal beds.
(11) The provisions of section nineteen, article six of this chapter providing for protective devices during the life of the well and for dry or abandoned wells.
(12) The provisions of section twenty, article six of this chapter providing for protective devices when a well is drilled through the horizon of a coalbed from which the coal has been removed.
(13) The provisions of section twenty-one, article six of this chapter requiring the installation of fresh water casings.
(14) The provisions of section twenty-two, article six of this chapter relating to the filing of a well completion log and the contents thereof, confidentiality and permitted use and the secretary’s authority to promulgate rules.
(15) The provisions of section twenty-seven, article six of this chapter regarding a cause of action for damages caused by an explosion.
(16) The provisions of section twenty-eight, article six of this chapter relating to supervision by the secretary over drilling and reclamation operations, the filing of complaints, hearings on the same and appeals.
(17) The provisions of section twenty-nine, article six of this chapter providing for the Operating Permit and Processing Fund, the oil and gas reclamation fund and associated fees, with the exception that in the first paragraph of subsection (a), section twenty-nine, article six of this chapter, the fees to be credited to the Oil and Gas Operating Permit and Processing Fund are the permit fees collected pursuant to section seven of this article.
(18) The provisions of section thirty-one, article six of this chapter providing for preventing waste of gas, plans of operation for wasting gas in the process of producing oil and the secretary’s rejection thereof.
(19) The provisions of section thirty-two, article six of this chapter pertaining to the right of an adjacent owner or operator to prevent waste of gas and the recovery of costs.
(20) The provisions of section thirty-three, article six of this chapter relating to circuit court actions to restrain waste.
(21) The provisions of section thirty-six, article six of this chapter providing for the declaration of oil and gas notice by owners and lessees of coal seams and setting out the form of such notice.
(22) The provisions of section thirty-nine, article six of this chapter relating to petitions for injunctive relief.
Notwithstanding any other provision of this code to the contrary, no provision of article six of this chapter shall apply to horizontal wells subject to this article except as expressly incorporated by reference in this article. Any conflict between the provisions of article six and the provisions of this article shall be resolved in favor of this article.
(6) Except for the duties and obligations conferred by statute upon the shallow gas well review board pursuant to article eight, chapter twenty-two-c of this code, the coalbed methane review board pursuant to article twenty-one of this chapter, and the oil and gas conservation commission pursuant to article nine, chapter twenty-two-c of this code, the secretary has sole and exclusive authority to regulate the permitting, location, spacing, drilling, fracturing, stimulation, well completion activities, operation, any and all other drilling and production processes, plugging and reclamation of oil and gas wells and production operations within the state.
Furthermore, the secretary shall, on a monthly basis, make a written report to the Governor disclosing, for all well work permits issued in a particular month, the average number of days elapsed between the date on which a complete application for a well work permit was filed and the date on which such well work permit was issued. This report shall be posted to the website required to be established and maintained pursuant to section twenty-one of this article.
(14) A certification from the operator that (i) it has provided the owners of the surface described in subdivisions (1), (2) and (4), subsection (b), section ten of this article, the information required by subsections (b) and (c), section sixteen of this article; (ii) that the requirement was deemed satisfied as a result of giving the surface owner notice of entry to survey pursuant to subsection (a), section ten of this article six-a; or (iii) the notice requirements of subsection (b), section sixteen of this article were waived in writing by the surface owner; and
(5) A listing of the anticipated additives that may be used in water utilized for fracturing or stimulating the well. Upon well completion, a listing of the additives that were actually used in the fracturing or stimulating of the well shall be submitted as part of the completion log or report required by subsection (n), section five of this article;
(C) Methods to be used for surface water withdrawal to minimize adverse impact to aquatic life;
(g) The application for a permit under this section shall be accompanied by the applicable bond as required by section fifteen of this article, the applicable plat required by subsection (f), section five of this article and a permit fee of $10,000 for the initial horizontal well drilled at a location and a permit fee of $5,000 for each additional horizontal well drilled on a single well pad at the same location.
(k) The secretary shall deny the issuance of a permit if the secretary determines that the applicant has committed a substantial violation of a previously issued permit for a horizontal well, including the applicable erosion and sediment control plan associated with the previously issued permit, or a substantial violation of one or more of the rules promulgated under this article, and in each instance has failed to abate or seek review of the violation within the time prescribed by the secretary pursuant to the provisions of subsections (a) and (b), section five of this article and the rules promulgated hereunder, which time may not be unreasonable.
(c) Prior to the issuance of any permit, the secretary shall ascertain from the Executive Director of Workforce West Virginia and the Insurance Commissioner whether the applicant is in default pursuant to the provisions of section six-c, article two, chapter twenty-one-a of this code, and in compliance with section five, article two, chapter twenty-three of this code, with regard to any required subscription to the Unemployment Compensation Fund or to the Workers' Compensation Fund, the payment of premiums and other charges to the fund, the timely filing of payroll reports and the maintenance of adequate deposits. If the applicant is delinquent or defaulted, or has been terminated by the executive director or the Insurance Commissioner, the permit may not be issued until the applicant returns to compliance or is restored by the executive director or the Insurance Commissioner under a reinstatement agreement: Provided, That in all inquiries the Executive Director of Workforce West Virginia and the Insurance Commissioner shall make response to the Department of Environmental Protection within fifteen calendar days; otherwise, failure to respond timely is considered to indicate the applicant is in compliance and the failure will not be used to preclude issuance of the permit.
(d) The secretary may cause such inspections to be made of the proposed well work location as necessary to assure adequate review of the application. The permit may not be issued, or be conditioned including conditions with respect to the location of the well and access roads prior to issuance if the director determines that:
(f) The secretary shall promptly review all written comments filed by persons entitled to notice pursuant to subsection (b), section ten of this article. If after review of the application and all written comments received from persons entitled to notice pursuant to subsection (b), section ten of this article, the application for a well work permit is approved, and no timely objection has been filed with the secretary by the coal operator operating coal seams beneath the tract of land, or the coal seam owner or lessee, if any, if said owner or lessee is not yet operating said coal seams, or made by the secretary under the provisions of section ten and eleven of this article, the permit shall be issued, with conditions, if any. This section does not supersede the provisions of section seven or subsections (f) through (i), section five of this article.
(2) With respect to disposal of cuttings at the well site, all drill cuttings and associated drilling mud generated from horizontal well sites shall be disposed of in an approved solid waste facility or managed on-site in a manner approved by the secretary;
(a) Prior to filing a permit application, the operator shall provide notice of planned entry to the surface owner of at least seventy-two hours but no more than forty-five days prior to entering the surface tract to conduct any plat surveys required pursuant to this article.
(c) If more than three tenants in common or other coowners of interests described in subsection (b) of this section hold interests in the lands, the applicant may serve the documents required upon the person described in the records of the sheriff required to be maintained pursuant to section eight, article one, chapter eleven-a of this code.
(e) Semiannually, the department shall publish a Class II legal advertisement, as described in section two, article three, chapter fifty-nine of this code, to appear in newspapers serving, in the aggregate, every county of the state notifying the public of the website required to be maintained by the department pursuant to section twenty-one of this article six-a, and that members of the public may register to receive electronic notifications of horizontal well permit applications, filings and notices by county of interest.
(b) The secretary, upon written application by an operator showing reasonable cause, may extend the period within which reclamation must be completed, but not to exceed a further six-month period. If the secretary refuses to approve a request for extension, the refusal shall be by order, which may be appealed pursuant to the provisions of subsection (v), section five of this article.
§22-6A-19. Offenses; civil penalties.
(b) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (a) of this section, any person or persons, firm, partnership, partnership association or corporation who willfully disposes of waste fluids, drill cuttings or any other liquid substance generated in the development of a horizontal well in violation of this article or any rule or order promulgated under this article or in violation of any other state or federal statutes, rules or regulations, and which disposal was found to have had a significant adverse environmental impact on surface or groundwater by the secretary, is subject to a civil penalty not exceeding $100,000. The penalty shall be recovered by a civil action brought by the department, in the name of the state, before the circuit court of the county in which the subject well or facility is located. All the civil penalties collected shall be credited to the General Fund of the state.
(c) Any person who intentionally misrepresents any material fact in an application, record, report, plan or other document filed or required to be maintained under the provisions of this article or any rules promulgated by the secretary under this article shall be fined not less than $1,000 nor more than $10,000.
(a) No later than ninety days after the effective date of this article, the secretary shall establish resources on the department’s public website which will list searchable information related to all horizontal well applications filed in this state, including information sufficient to identify the county and approximate location of each horizontal well for which a permit application is filed, the referenced well application number, date of application and name of the applicant.
(5) No gas or oil production or pressure may exist on the surface casing or the coal protection casing.
(1) Exploration for and development of oil and gas reserves in this state must coexist with the use, agricultural or otherwise, of the surface of certain land.
(c) The Legislature declares that the public policy of this state shall be that the compensation and damages provided in this article for surface owners may not be diminished by any provision in a deed, lease or other contract of conveyance entered into after December 31, 2011.
(d) It is the purpose of this article to provide Constitutionally permissible protection and compensation to surface owners of lands on which horizontal wells are drilled from the burden resulting from drilling operations commenced after January 1, 2012. This article is to be interpreted in the light of the legislative intent expressed herein. This article shall be interpreted to benefit surface owners, regardless of whether the oil and gas mineral estate was separated from the surface estate and regardless of who executed the document which gave the oil and gas developer the right to conduct drilling operations on the land. Section four of this article shall be interpreted to benefit all persons.
(e) The provisions of this article apply to any natural gas well, other than a coalbed methane well, drilled using a horizontal drilling method, and which disturbs three acres or more of surface, excluding pipelines, gathering lines and roads or uses more than two hundred ten thousand gallons of water in any thirty-day period. Article seven of this chapter does not apply to any damages associated with the drilling of a horizontal well.
(7) "Surface owner" means a person who owns an estate in fee in the surface of land, either solely or as a coowner.
Any surface owner, to receive compensation under section three of this article, shall notify the oil and gas developer of the damages sustained by the person within two years after the date that the oil and gas developer files notice that final reclamation is commencing under section fourteen, article six-a of this chapter. The notice of reclamation shall be given to surface owners by registered or certified mail, return receipt requested, and is complete upon mailing. If more than three tenants in common or other coowners hold interests in the lands, the oil and gas developer may give the notice to the person described in the records of the sheriff required to be maintained pursuant to section eight, article one, chapter eleven-a of this code or publish in the county in which the well is located or to be located a Class II legal advertisement as described in section two, article three, chapter fifty-nine of this code, containing the notice and information the secretary prescribes by rule.
(b) Unless the context clearly indicates otherwise, the use of the word “and” and the word “or” shall be are interchangeable, as, for example, “oil and gas” shall mean means oil or gas or both.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to establish a specialized regulatory process for large gas drilling operations conducting horizontal drilling activities that disturb three acres or more or use more than 210,000 gallons of water in 30 days; establishes additional permitting conditions to provide requirements particular to this activity; and provide procedures for fair compensation to surface owners.
§5B-2B-4a, §22-6-2a, §22-6A-1, §22-6A-2, §22-6A-3, §22-6A-3a, §22-6A-4, §22-6A-5, §22-6A-6, §22-6A-7, §22-6A-8, §22-6A-9, §22-6A-10, §22-6A-11, §22-6A-12, §22-6A-13, §22-6A-14, §22-6A-15, §22-6A-16, §22-6A-17, §22-6A-18, §22-6A-19, §22-6A-20, §22-6A-21, §22-6A-22, §22-6A-23, §22-6A-24, §22-6B-1, §22-6B-2, §22-6B-3, §22-6B-4, §22-6B-5, §22-6B-6, §22-6B-7 and §22-6B-8 are new; therefore, strike-throughs and underscoring have been omitted.