Finally -- Rules Governing W.Va. Horizontal Well Development
as published in the IOGA of West Virginia newsletter
On April 12, 2013, the West Virginia Legislature passed Senate Bill 243 which contained, among other West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection ("DEP") rules, the Rules Governing Horizontal Well Development 35-8 ("Rule"). The Rule was developed to provide further direction in the implementation and administration of the Natural Gas Horizontal Well Control Act that became effective on December 14, 2011 ("Act").
The August
IOGA of West Virginia News contains an article about the Rule as originally proposed on June 29, 2012, and the October
IOGA of West Virginia News contains an article about the Rule as modified based upon the 345 written comments submitted to DEP and filed with the Secretary of State's Office on September 14, 2012.
This article highlights some of the more significant adjustments to the Rule through the legislative review and approval process. On February 11, 2013, the West Virginia Legislature's Legislative Rulemaking Review Committee ("LRRC") took up for consideration the Rule, as filed September 14, 2012. Following consideration of the Rule by the LRRC, on Feb. 14, 2013, DEP filed with the Secretary of State another modified version of the Rule.
- Plats of wells - § 6.2.j. regarding plats was revised with respect to the requirement to identify all wells (active, drilling or abandoned) within 500 feet of the horizontal section of the well bore by adding the following sentence: "To make this demonstration, the permit applicant may rely on all available records and locational information; the permit applicant need not conduct a physical survey of the area."
Read the full article on our website.
