Tyler Courthouse Backdoor Lineup

Tyler County Courthouse Campout Causes Consternation

Abstractors are Root of Overnight Chaos, Tyler County Neighbors Say

From Article by Casey Junkins, Wheeling Intelligencer, July 16, 2013

MIDDLEBOURNE – Dozens of abstractors looking to lock up land for oil and gas drilling flood the Tyler County Courthouse daily, with some arriving as early as 6 p.m. the night before just to secure a place in line to enter the County Clerk’s Office in the morning.

Although Middlebourne residents Brandy Frye and Sherry Perkey understand the abstractors and the accompanying “line holders” – who can hold the abstractors’ places in the long line to the clerk’s office – have the right to earn a living, they want some sort of order restored to what they believe is becoming a chaotic, “free-for-all” situation.

“I want people to be able to work, but I want there to be some kind of supervision,” said Perkey, spokeswoman for a group of concerned residents. “We need some police protection from midnight to 8 a.m.And there is no place for these people to go to the bathroom when they are out there at night.”

Tyler County Sheriff Earl P. “Bob” Kendle Jr.’s office said a public meeting is set for 6 p.m. Thursday on the second floor of the county courthouse at the corner of Main and Court streets in Middlebourne. In addition to the sheriff, county commissioners, County Clerk Theresa Hamilton, representatives of the oil and natural gas companies and residents are expected to attend.

“I want us to come together as a community to figure out a way to resolve these problems,” Perkey said.

Throughout the Marcellus and Utica shale fields, courthouses crowded with oil and gas abstractors are a common sight. Even though the title searching and leasing seems to have slowed a bit in Ohio County over the past six months, activity remains very heavy in Belmont County where some abstractors are now doing some of their work across the street at the St. Clairsville Public Library.

What makes Tyler County’s situation more difficult, according to Hamilton, is that the records vault is extremely small, holding a maximum of 16 people at any one time. To accommodate the increase in business, abstractors are limited to two hours inside the vault, while the courthouse is now open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Friday.

Because this means a maximum of 96 abstractors can get work done during the day, getting a position inside Hamilton’s office can be quite a chore. Some abstractors or line holders use lawn chairs, blankets, cots and mattresses to catch some sleep while waiting in line at night.

“Most of them are very respectful,” Hamilton said. “They are wanting to do a job just like we do.”

Frye and Perkey agree that most of the workers are polite and do not cause problems, but they said there have been reports of people littering and smoking on private property. There was also a report last week of some vehicle break-ins overnight, though the incidents have not been tied to any abstractors.

“All we are asking for is some organization and protection,” Perkey said.

Hamilton said she and her small staff are working as quickly as they can to digitize the land records, which would allow abstractors to search for information on the Internet, rather than having to physically work their way through the deed books in the small office.

“We really have no idea how long this is going to last. I guess it all depends on the market,” she said.

 New Shale Bills in the WV Legislature

From the article by Casey Junkins, Wheeling Intelligencer, February 24, 2003

Via the proposed West Virginia Futures Fund, state Senate President Jeff Kessler, D-Marshall, wants all residents to benefit from the Marcellus shale rush for years to come. This is just one of several bills introduced during the regular session of the Legislature that would impact the Mountain State’s burgeoning natural gas and oil drilling industry.

With Chesapeake Energy now drawing oil from wells in Ohio and Marshall counties, there is clear potential for the shale boom to create sustained economic growth. However, as Dels. Mike Manypenny, D-Taylor, and Barbara Evans Fleischauer, D-Monongalia, point out in bills they have introduced, concerns regarding the safety of horizontal drilling and fracking remain. Manypenny represents the county where a blast at an EQT Corp. drilling site this month left one worker dead.

Futures Fund

Kessler and Sen. Rocky Fitzsimmons, D-Ohio, are among those sponsoring Senate Bill 167, which would establish the West Virginia Futures Fund. The bill would create the fund to hold 25 percent of the increased revenue the state receives from severance taxes to be appropriated by the Legislature at a later time. The object of the program would be similar to one in Alaska that allows residents to benefit from drilling.

Development Account

House Bill 2435 sponsors include Dels. Mike Ferro, D-Marshall; Dave Pethtel, D-Wetzel; Ryan Ferns, D-Ohio; Randy Swartzmiller, D-Hancock; and Erikka Storch, R-Ohio. This bill would help fund infrastructure projects in counties that produce Marcellus and Utica shale gas. Ten percent of everything the state collects from oil and gas drilling – over the $64.8 million baseline – would benefit the counties and cities directly impacted by drilling and fracking. The remaining 90 percent would be placed into the new Marcellus Development Account for later infrastructure projects.

Earthquake Monitoring

Another piece of legislation, HB 2255, is sponsored by Swartzmiller, Fleischauer and Manypenny. This bill would require monitoring of seismic activity near both production well and wastewater injection well sites for possible earthquakes. This is similar to action taken in Ohio following an earthquake near a Youngstown injection well last year.

A briny wastewater injection well should not be confused with a Marcellus or Utica shale production well. After gas drillers pump millions of gallons of fracking fluid – consisting mostly of water and sand, but also including different chemical combinations that vary per the choice of the driller – into a production well, much of this substance flushes back up through the shaft. The fracking fluid combines with minerals and mud from the earth to create the briny wastewater, which must be discarded.

Water Sources

Manypenny and Fleischauer are sponsoring HB 2256, which would require “cradle to grave” monitoring of water withdrawals from the state’s water resources. According to the legislation, each monitoring system “shall include the use of hydrants with a backflow preventer to protect the state’s streams and rivers from contamination from truck wastewater backflow.” The bill authorizing rulemaking and fee collection for the monitoring program.

Landmen Regulations

Manypenny is also sponsoring HB 2280, a measure to require “landmen” – those who sign contracts with mineral owners – to meet specific requirements before working in West Virginia. Unless these individuals are members of the American Association of Professional Landmen, the legislation would compel them to have at least two years of experience in contracting before being allowed to sign Marcellus Shale leases in the Mountain State.

It also requires the landmen to complete an ethics class. “Most new landmen are challenged by the fact that they have to be an analyst, manager, salesman and negotiator all at the same time,” the bill states.

Forced Pooling

Nicholas “Corky” DeMarco, executive director of the West Virginia Oil and Natural Gas Association, is not sure if his organization will make another push for forced pooling legislation as it has in past years.

As of last Friday, a forced pooling bill had not been introduced. “I am not sure if we will make a push for it or not. I don’t know whether there is much of an interest in doing anything here other than building jails,” he said when asked of his organization’s intentions.

Forced pooling – which is now illegal for horizontal Marcellus drilling in West Virginia – would allow natural gas drillers to draw gas and minerals from land they have not leased.

“Pooling is necessary if you are going to realize maximum output. Sometimes, you get someone who has 5 acres right in the middle of something – they are keeping their neighbors from developing their gas,” DeMarco said.

The Legislature considered a provision for forced pooling in 2011, but ultimately decided against it after many landowners voiced concerns about losing their ability to negotiate better lease deals from the gas companies.

The Legislature’s regular session ends April 13, 2013.