January 28th, 2019
House Bill 2073 Seeks Additional Protections from Oil and Gas Operations
House Bill 2073 was introduced on January 9, 2019 and was referred to the House Energy Committee. The stated purpose of the bill is to implement recommendations that were made as a result of studies that the legislature required when it passed the Natural Gas Horizontal Well Control Act. Importantly, the proposed law requires the continuous monitoring of air, noise, dust and particulates. It would also move the required set-back for well operations from 625 feet to 1,500 feet from the outer limits of disturbance of the well site.
The proposal would add real time monitoring of many issues which have caused tremendous nuisance and stress to landowners. It would also require that data resulting from these monitoring programs be made available for public study. If passed as written the law would limit permitted noise ranges and prohibit “light from artificial illumination, flares or other sources” from shining directly on any residence or livestock. These are the types of laws that our legislature should be getting behind. Laws that seek to reasonably regulate an industry that has grown tremendously without giving due regard to the property rights of West Virginia citizens. These are the types of laws that show that our representatives are looking out for the citizens and the people of West Virginia. These laws allow the reasonable extraction of minerals while balancing the rights of our citizens. I will continue to follow this law and hopefully report on its passage as the legislative session continues.
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