Canonsburg, Pa. — Nearly 400 leaders from the shale gas industry, including energy companies, midstream operators, policymakers and legal professionals, gathered today at the Shale Gas Water Management Marcellus Initiative 2012 at the Hilton Garden Inn in Canonsburg. A delegation of attorneys from the law firm Spilman Thomas & Battle, PLLC (Spilman) participated in the conference, providing valuable perspectives and insights on legal concerns related to water management in the shale gas plays.

"Shale Gas Water Management 2012 is a dynamic forum for oil & gas industry professionals to share thoughts and ideas toward developing viable, progressive strategies focused specifically on waste water management,” said Michael J. Basile, conference chair and Spilman’s managing member. “This is an opportunity for us to convert discourse into real-world solutions."

This important, two-day conference, sponsored in part by Spilman, addresses the industry’s push to develop the lowest-cost, highest-efficiency water reuse methods, including innovative techniques, technologies and best practices for managing water. Leading operators shared technical and strategic advances being used to cost-effectively source, transport, treat, reuse and dispose of the water critical to shale gas production.

Spilman attorneys Allyn G. Turner, James D. Elliott, Niall A. Paul and Michael G. Connelly led a preconference workshop, New and Emerging State Laws Governing the Industry, which specifically discussed recent amendments to the Pennsylvania Oil and Gas Act and the recently enacted West Virginia Natural Gas Horizontal Well Control Act. They also analyzed the litigation landscape for the shale gas industry in Ohio, Pennsylvania and West Virginia.
 

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About Spilman Thomas & Battle, PLLC
Spilman Thomas & Battle is a full-service law firm with more than 140 attorneys. Founded in 1864, Spilman has offices in Harrisburg and Pittsburgh, Pa.; Charleston, Morgantown and Wheeling, W.Va.; Winston-Salem, N.C.; and Roanoke, Va.