Frack well pads & pipelines disturb hundreds of people and thousands of acres

Letter to Editor, Charleston Gazette (Opinion Section), August 4, 2018

Last month, our elected officials were hard at work to fund the Public Employee Insurance Agency (PEIA).

West Virginia Senate President Mitch Carmichael led 22 senators to vote down a proposal from Sen. Richard Ojeda that would have funded teachers’ health care through an increased severance tax on natural gas extraction. Their justification? The natural gas market is “too volatile” to provide adequate, secure funding into the future. What foresight!

Acknowledging this legitimate concern (which may or may not be connected to the fact that these 22 state senators have collectively received over $140,000 from oil and gas companies in the form of campaign contributions, according to the secretary of state), Delegate Mick Bates is proposing a production fee for natural gas extraction, which would not be at the mercy of the market, in contrast to gas prices and a subsequent severance tax.

Revenue from this fee could then be deposited in a West Virginia Trust Fund, such as Ted Boettner of the West Virginia Center for Budget & Policy advocates, where it could compound over time, securing this funding stream in perpetuity.

For years, West Virginians neglected to reap the full financial benefit of the black gold extracted so painstakingly from our hills. Let’s not make this mistake again

Just as the people of West Virginia should be fairly compensated for these resources, our teachers must be compensated for the time, energy and talent they invest in our children, who are our future.

What are they worth?

>>>> Moira Reilly, Morgantown

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Marcellus Shale companies say proposed permit fee hike is too high

From an Article by Laura Legere, Pittsburgh Post Gazette, August 15, 2018

Marcellus Shale companies are resisting a proposal by Pennsylvania regulators to more than double the price of drilling permit applications.

The PA state Department of Environmental Protection says it needs to raise permit fees from $5,000 to $12,500 per shale well to keep the state’s oil and gas oversight program from running out of money by next summer.

In response, shale companies and trade groups that have backed past fee increases now argue in public comments that the department has not sufficiently justified the need for this one.

Other funding sources — including the impact fee on shale companies and the department’s share of the taxpayer-supported general fund — should be tapped first, they say.

Pennsylvania would impose the highest well permit fee in the nation if the proposal is adopted, the Robinson-based Marcellus Shale Coalition said.

PA-DEP’s oil and gas program reviews permit applications, inspects well sites and develops policies to improve oversight of the industry.

The monthlong public comment period on the proposal closed Monday. Common industry complaints in the comments included that past fee hikes did not lead to faster permit reviews, which dragged on well past mandated deadlines last year amid a shortage of reviewers, and that there is no guarantee the new proposal will have a different outcome.

Also, shale companies say they are being asked to subsidize oversight of the state’s conventional, storage and legacy wells, which take up about 40 percent of the agency’s workload.

While none of the industry commenters recommend raising fees on conventional drillers — and the department is not proposing any changes in conventional well fees — “it is readily apparent that PA-DEP is looking at the unconventional industry as a ‘cash cow,’” the Wexford-based Pennsylvania Independent Oil & Gas Association said.

A statewide environmental group, the Pennsylvania Environmental Council, said it is clear that state regulators and lawmakers need to identify other options to “provide more stable funding for the agency while maintaining protections and balancing costs for the regulated community.”

Department officials acknowledge that one-time shale well permit fees are not a sustainable funding source for a broad program of oil and gas oversight, and they have pledged to advocate for a more balanced funding mix.

One goal would be to pursue funding “that doesn’t require someone else” — meaning, other PA-DEP programs or state agencies — “to get shortchanged for our benefit,” Scott Perry, the deputy secretary for the department’s office of oil and gas management, said at an advisory board meeting last week.

“I welcome everyone’s good ideas on how to do that,” he said.

It generally takes more than a year for a PA-DEP regulation to take effect after it is first proposed. The review process includes scrutiny by committees in the Republican-led General Assembly, which also determines the agency’s annual general fund appropriation in conjunction with the governor.

Thirty-two Republican state representatives wrote to criticize the permit fee proposal and questioned whether the department has the authority “to propose such a disproportionate share of funding responsibility upon one segment of industry.”

Instead, they suggested PA-DEP use part of its general fund appropriation to support the oil and gas program.

Teachers Work Stoppage for Information Picketing at West Liberty, WV

By Duane Nichols, Retired Chemical Engineer, Stewartstown, WV

This is the Second Day of work stoppage protest by the WV educators. This is important because we ALL benefit from a strong and comprehensive system of education. Education in West Virginia is under funded. There are over 700 openings in the 55 counties, because the salaries and benefits are too low.

The teachers held an incredible rally at the State Capitol in Charleston yesterday, very well attended and very active! The State Legislature, bent on tax cuts year after year, has a responsibility to fully fund education. It’s even specified in our State’s Constitution.

There is money in our natural resources, coal, oil, natural gas, timber, wind, and solar. These sources need to be tapped as necessary to achieve a strong and vibrant state government. We are overdue for an increase in the gasoline tax.

We are overdue for a new tax called a “carbon fee.” Such a carbon tax can supplement education and be used for infrastructure in our state. It’s primary purpose is to reduce the impacts of climate change. Lord knows it is time to start a real response to the effects of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. The main effect is called “global warming” that influences our earth in many and various ways.

My education started in 1940, in a one room school for eight grades. Change is inevitable. Later, I was in a three room school until the eighth grade. My high school building had over 12 rooms, but the wood inner structure burned a few years after. The community had such pride in the schools that new and better facilities were constructed. West Virginians have very great pride in our educational system and our educators. Community spirit is high across the State.

We have always had a plentiful supply of coal and natural gas in West Virginia. These can and should be taxed. The coal and gas industries use our land and water (public water), and they dispose of their wastes on the land and in the air and water. These industries should pay for education!

Our teachers are becoming active and they are to be admired for that, as they care deeply! Information picketing has been underway statewide. I saw them in person in Baker in the far East of WV off US Route 48, and in Mount Storm on US Route 50, and in Morgantown on WV 857 near I-68. I known they were out all across the State. See the photo above from West Liberty in Brooke County.

One chant of the educators is “Tax Our Gas.” When deep natural gas is recovered from depths of approximately one mile, it actually belongs to the earth and to the people in general as much as it belongs to mineral owners or surface land owners. So, let’s continue to say Tax Our Gas!

Change continues world-wide. We need education at all ages! We need to learn about the Food-Energy-Water Nexus. We need to learn about “the limits to growth” and the threats to the future of mankind. In education we have hope for the future, so let’s fully fund education and support education in our work day lives and in our leisure time.

Most poems contain ideas to make us think:

“Don’t tax you, don’t tax me; Tax that fellow behind the tree!”

The level of unemployment in Wetzel county is about 12%, the highest in WV, with Marshall (8.5%), Ohio (7.5%), Brooke (9%), and Hancock (10.5%) being close behind.  Overall, the State of West Virginia has been at about 8%, and all these numbers would be higher if those no longer looking for work were included.  Gas well drilling, truck haulage, pipeline construction and the new separation plant at Natrium are all potential for increased employment, says various industry representatives and county commissioners.

 The Mayor of Benwood is pleased about the Fluids Management’s new drilling mud plant expected to create 12 to 15 full-time jobs.

 A ShaleNET project is now underway in WV, PA, and OH with a $4.9 million grant from the US Dept. of Labor.  The training curriculum is to be finished early in the new year, with local training by the WV Northern Community College.  A Web site, www.shalenet.org, is being developed that will help with the job search.

The Independent Oil and Gas Association (IOGA) hosted a Job Fair in Moundsville on November 30^th, at the Alan Mollohan Training Center so as to recruit, hire and then train employees for long-term and good paying jobs, according to a recent report.

About 1,400 people came out to apply for jobs at this Job Fair; and, the 40 some companies are reported pleased with the applicants and plan to do some hiring from this pool. IOGA may hold a similar job fair somewhere in the Harrison County area in the new year.  This is to be posted at:  www.iogawv.com.

Organized labor unions say that the jobs in the expanding Marcellus shale development should go to local workers rather than to those coming in from other States. Larry Young of International Union of Operating Engineers Local 132 said,  “They promote Marcellus Shale like it is the biggest thing in the world that will produce millions of dollars. But the local people sure don’t see much of that. When Dominion doesn’t hire local workers, that makes the company a bad steward of the community.” Chuck Penn, media relations manager for Dominion in West Virginia, said “Dominion hires contractors that have the technical expertise and the experience to perform the work we need to be done. The contractors in turn hire people who will meet that end as well.”

Dave Efaw, the secretary-treasurer of the West Virginia State Building Trades, has been leading the effort in lobbying companies to hire workers native to the Mountain State. “West Virginia workers are some of the best in the country,” Efaw said. “We want people to know it and we want people to use them.” Part of the push for local workers includes working with county commissions, and municipalities. Efaw says the “Marcellus Principles,” which have been adopted in Wirt, Marshall, and Wetzel counties, include a passage that encourages hiring local workers. Efaw says partnerships with local governments have been working so far. Efaw also says the Legislature could pass further tax incentives for companies that hire local workers.

The WV Legislative Select Committee on Marcellus Shale has included a labor provision in the proposed Marcellus framework to be considered starting December 12^th. However, the Governor has said that he finds this problematic, and will likely oppose its adoption. This is as follows: 

§21-1-3a. Duties of employers and owners conducting horizontal well drilling activities.

Beginning January 1, 2012, an employer shall submit the following information to the Division of Labor: (1) The total number of employees in-state and out-of-state identified by full time and part-time status; (2) The city and state in which the employee lives; (3) The state or states in which the employee pays income tax; (4) The total payroll for all employees regardless of location of the employees, and a break down of payroll comparing in-state verses out-of-state total payroll; (5) A comparison of the number of in-state residents versus the number of out of state residents being employed in the above activities; and (6) The average salary per job type.

It appears that Governor Tomblin intends to revise a number of the amendments to the SB-424 bill, based upon industry input to his Office, in spite of the long and difficult work done by the Select Committee to construct their proposed Marcellus framework.

West Virginia unions have united to voice their concerns about out-of-state workers being employed by the gas drilling industry before locals.  They have launched a campaign to pressure companies into hiring locally first, especially in northern West Virginia.  One of the points raised is that Wetzel County, experiencing an abundance of gas industry activity, has the highest unemployment rate of any county in West Virginia.  Read more in the Charleston Gazette…

One reason given by industry representatives in the past regarding bringing in out-of-state workers is a lack of  West Virginians with the needed skills and knowledge for the jobs.  In a laudable endeavor, EQT has been helping to address this problem with a generous scholarship program which was started in 2009.  This year the company awarded three full rides to students studying engineering, information technology, safety science, or geology, in addition to its annual awards of $1000 to one student in every West Virginia county.  Read the full article in the WV State Journal…