“Fracking problems are not solvable by us,” said the County Commission task force on Marcellus Shale. But Berkeley Springs has to protect its water.
Who will come to Bath when the Springs burst into flames?
(These are my raw notes from the Jan. 26, 2012, Morgan Count Commission meeting on fracking:)
City Attorney for the Town of Bath Richard Gay presented to the working group on fracking about Landowners’ Rights and Land Use issues:
State Constitution Article 9 section 11 gives the county jurisdiction over land records.
But thanks to Dillon’s Rule passed in the 1800s, the Legislature has authority over ALL land in the state and the county can only carry out the state’s wishes.
More recently, Chapter 8A amendment passed in 2004 Article 7-10 Subpart B led to an appeals court battle involving landowners, counties, and the state. At the end of an appeals process, the DEP won, so in the end, “Fracking problems are not solvable by us,” agreed the committee members.
December 2011: The state Legislature passed the Natural Gas Horizontal Well Control Act http://www.martindale.com/natural-resources-law/article__1405998.htm in a special session of the West Virginia Legislature while the rest of us were getting ready for Christmas.
The state Constitution limits what any county in West Virginia can do.
With nudging from the packed audience of citizens, the group brainstormed on what we can do to protect the water in Berkeley Springs from natural gas fracking,
All agreed, we have to educate people:
Fracking uses volatile chemicals to explode rock underground and release natural gas. Pipes then take the product away for oil companies elsewhere to develop, leaving the poison chemicals behind.
Commissioners agreed that people in West Virginia has had its share of experience with oil companies and leasing.
“There are legions of cases fraught with leasing issues,” said Richard Gay.
Most members of the audience were concerned about the upcoming arrival of land men buying mineral rights. “What can people say when they come to talk about an oil lease?” asked several citizens.
I called out, “How much do they pay for leases?” and that depends. Early in the game, the offer will be in the low four figures per acre, but if they find gas, of course, the value rises.
“Pay you enough to move away,” came a grumbling voice from the crowd.
Meantime, a lot of people do not even know what fracking is. “The whole process was pre-empted by the state,” Gay said. The County’s one tool is a Commercial ILP which Gay said the County can only use “to make sure the state sticks to the state’s ordinancew.”
Jim Hoyt said, “Our commercial ILP does require Storm Water Management."
The commissioners told us that private citizens can file a complaint under the federal Clean Water Act....
The county CAN make a recommendation to the state that would “enable us to restrict fracking as it comes closer to Morgan County,” said – Hoyt.
“To protect the Springs.”
(Me: Finally someone mentions what to me is so obvious. The Springs!!! Berkeley Springs, the Town of Bath, and Morgan County have a vested interest in arresting the expansion of fracking before it gets here. The Springs!)
I call out, did you guys say you were writing a recommendation to the state to protect the Springs. A couple commissioners squirm,
"Well, we're writing it... we've been working on it for a while.
Let’s see if they've finished writing the recommendation to the state by next meeting.
The conversation started to drift, there was talk of Wetzel County, where there are now about thirty fracking wells, which has created jobs for local people.
They got jobs waiting on all the employees from other states who are filling up the hotels and restaurants.
Watch out for the Land Man, someone called out.
“The Lease Hound.”
“They can come on your land and take the minerals,” one commissioner mentioned as we were packing up to leave.
In my notes I find reference to things like “delayed rental” and “best management practices.”
Point is Berkeley Springs has to protect its waters. How many people will come to dip in the Springs if the water starts to erupt in flames?
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- Kay Ebeling
Berkeley Springs WV
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As humans turn into cogs, our one hope may be Guerrilla Documentaries. In feature film below, Yes Men speak at conferences as corporate PR reps and reveal a lot of truth in the process:
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