Legislators are considering the Orphaned Well Prevention Act (OWPA), SB 532 and HB 5414, that would require West Virginia oil and gas well operators to set aside money for future well plugging so that the cost does not fall on taxpayers or landowners. Check out our fact sheet to learn more. We expect this bill to run in the Senate Energy, Industry, & Mining Committee this week. Please urge committee members to put it on their agenda.

What you can do:

On the Senate Side: Please contact your senators on the Energy, Industry, & Mining Committee – we expect the bill to run in this committee on Tuesday or Thursday of this week – and the Finance Committee and ask them to support SB 532 in its current form. 

On the House side: Ask your delegates in the Energy & Manufacturing Committee and Finance Committee to support HB 5414.

The bill requires newly drilled wells and transferred wells to either have a single well plugging bond, or for the driller/operator to start putting a small percentage of that well’s financial proceeds into the State Treasurer’s office for future plugging. For wells currently in use, the bill requires operators to pay 15¢/MCF into the State Treasurer’s office for future plugging. 

It also requires horizontal well operators to plug “abandoned” conventional wells in the horizontal well’s  drainage area and collect the cost of doing so from the conventional well operator.