A simple letter or e-mail might read:

            “I am concerned about the abuses of oil and gas drillers in State Forests [because I (give the reason for your interest)].  The rule greatly improves the protections that Kanawha State Forest and all State Forests will receive.  I support all of the good new requirements that the Department of Natural Resources has in the rule.  However, I think that all re-vegetation should be done with native plants, and not with non-native seeds.  And I think a full inventory of the animals and plants should be done before the construction of any well site or well road.”

We need lots and lots of public comments on DNR’s proposed rule giving more protections to West Virginia's State Forests.   We expect the oil and gas industry to comment against the rule, so we need lots of supportive public comments.  Your comments will first help persuade the agency to do the right thing.  After the DNR does its proposed final rule, the rule will go into effect as a temporary “emergency” rule.  But before the rule becomes permanent, it gets forwarded to the Legislature, along with your comments.  We expect the industry to fight the rule every step of the way so your comments will help there too.

Where did the rule come from?

            After the accumulation of recent abuses, topped off by the huge, unapproved, new road across Wildcat Trail and through heavily wooded parts of Kanawha State Forest, we formed the Kanawha State Forest Coalition, an ad hoc organization of Kanawha State Forest users.  We decided to go to the Legislature for help.  As a result, a bill was introduced in the 2007 Legislature to give extra protections against the abuses of oil and gas drillers in Kanawha State Forest.  The State Legislature expanded the legislation to all State Forests.  And instead of having detailed requirements, the bill required the Department of Natural Resources to propose an emergency and final “rule” setting conditions upon which oil and gas drillers may build roads and well sites in State Forests.

             We ask that you generally praise DNR’s rule.  There are a lot of protections in it and we expect that the industry will be coming after it big time!  There are a couple things we did not get that we would like you might mention.

 What does the proposed rule say?

            It is long and technical.  So we have set out the highlights here. If you want a copy of the rule and the DEP Erosion and Sediment Control Field Manual for all wells in the State that the rule builds upon, send an e-mail to wvdavid@wvdavid.net.  Or the rule can be found at http://www.wvsos.com/adlaw/proposed/58-35.pdf and the Erosion and Sediment Control Manual upon which it builds can be found on the DEP, Office of Oil and Gas web site under “Oil and Gas Forms”.  

Additional protections for State Forests in the DNR rule include:

• Drillers must publish the locations of proposed gas wells and access roads in State Forests in a local newspaper more than 60 days in advance.
• State Forests must take comments from the public on how the State Forests should comment as the surface owner on the Driller’s applications for well permits from the DEP’s Office of Oil and Gas.
• Drillers must notify the state Forest when they are coming to do road maintenance at least 5 days an advance, and the Forest must forward that notice to citizens who have signed up to get copies of the notice.
• Drillers have to meet with the State Forest personnel before filing for the DEP permit.
• Drillers have to identify known trails and other features of the State Forest and other known users of the State Forest when planning their well sites and access roads. 
• State Forests can require proposed well and road locations to be moved to accommodate recreational use, natural resources and other values.
• Drillers have to change the locations of proposed well sites or access roads or provide mitigation if  endangered, rare, etc. species are in those areas that are identified in existing DNR lists, that are known to State Forest personnel, or that are revealed by public comment.
• The steepness of roads is limited to grades that will not erode if property maintained.
• “Daylighting” roads by clearing more trees than are needed for the actual roadbed itself is prohibited.
• Graveling of roads is limited to the minimum necessary to prevent erosion during the expected post-drilling use of the road.
• Drillers must install more waterbars, culverts and broad-based dips.
• Bulldozer “tracking” cannot be used by Drillers to prepare for re-planting vegetation.
•  Drillers are required to use seed mixtures that are more beneficial to wildlife and less invasive than has previously been required.  (Unfortunately the DNR rule does not require the use of native plants, and we think this should be required for State Forests!)
• Construction and maintenance are limited to the dry months of the year.
• State Forests can order the Drillers’ operations suspended during inclement weather.
• Scraping access roads level to fill ruts cannot be done where this scrapes vegetation off the rest of the road.