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“The report by WVU’s Bureau of Business and Economic Research, done for the West Virginia Oil and Natural Gas Association, said more than 2,800 state permits have been issued for Marcellus wells and that drilling is under way in 45 of the 55 counties.”

Again, you can help, see:

West Virginia Surface Owners Organization

and join the lobbying campaign for better regulations for Marcellus gas drilling in West Virginia, of which New Vrindaban is a part.

Lawmakers Discuss Gas Drilling Rules

CHARLESTON (AP) – The Legislature on Thursday began this session’s discussion of how to handle West Virginia’s share of the Marcellus shale natural gas field.

House Judiciary counsel Joe Altizer told a joint meeting of the body’s Judiciary and Finance committees that the reserves represent the state’s biggest natural resource development since the discovery of mineable coal.

The vast, mile-deep shale underlying several Eastern states promises to become the nation’s richest developable natural gas field “in our lifetime,” Altizer told his House chamber audience.

“I call it the gas gold rush,” Altizer said.

Analysts estimate that the field holds trillions of cubic feet of gas – enough to provide for U.S. needs for 20 years, according to Altizer.

An industry-funded West Virginia University study, released this week, says economic activity linked to Marcellus drilling created 7,600 jobs and almost $298 million in wages and benefits in the state in 2009.

The report by WVU’s Bureau of Business and Economic Research, done for the West Virginia Oil and Natural Gas Association, said more than 2,800 state permits have been issued for Marcellus wells and that drilling is under way in 45 of the 55 counties.

But with enormous potential profits come considerable costs. Companies spend $3 million on each well they drill and can have multiple wells at a given site, Altizer said, citing industry figures.

The high-tech, horizontal drilling also involves hydraulic fracturing. Also known as fracking, this process involves pumping large volumes of water mixed with chemicals into wells at high pressure to crack open rock and release gas.

These operations carry other potential costs, Altizer noted.

Area landowners complain of damage to well sites they lease to drillers, and to area roads traveled by heavy industry trucks. Other concerns include the chemicals used in fracking, the large pond-like impoundments that store water from the process, and whether the fracking water contaminates area drinking supplies.

One pending bill proposes rules meant to address these various concerns. Crafted by a House-Senate interim committee that studied the issue over the past year, it also proposes hefty hikes for drillers.

Permits now cost $400 or $650, depending on the type of well. The interim study bill would pay drillers $15,000 to apply for a permit, $10,000 to modify it and $5,000 to renew it annually.

The Division of Environmental Protection has also drafted a bill for this session also expected to propose an array of regulations and fee increases for Marcellus operations. House and Senate lawmakers each expect to draw from both bills to develop a final measure.

Senate President Pro Tempore Brooks McCabe said his chamber is also discussing separate legislation meant to embrace the economic benefits from developing the state’s share of the shale field.

“This would be a bill focusing on some of the economic development aspects, the opportunities that the Marcellus shale development presents to us,” said McCabe, D-Kanawha. “We are looking at how to help solidify that industry, to improve West Virginia’s competitive posture with the states around us in the near term.”