WVEC Action AlertJuly 24, 2011Update: Public Hearings on Marcellus Drilling Morgantown and Clarksburg This Week House of Delegates members of the state Legislature’s Joint Select Committee on Marcellus Shale held their first public hearing on Marcellus shale drilling regulations last Thursday in Wheeling. The meeting was well attended. Two additional public hearings will take place this week. The second hearing is tonight, Monday, July 25 at 7:30 p.m. in Morgantown at the West Virginia University College of Law. The final hearing is Wednesday, July 27 in Clarksburg at the Robert C. Byrd High School. This is your chance to tell the Legislature in person what you would like to see in a bill regulating the drilling of Marcellus Shale gas wells in West Virginia! These public hearings are scheduled to last only 90 minutes, and the amount of time allotted to individual speakers will be allocated according to how many citizens want to speak. So get there early and sign up! Legislators are looking for specific suggestions as to what should be included in a regulatory bill. The House members of the joint Select Committee are sponsoring these public hearings. Other House members of the committee are Delegates Barbara Fleischauer, D-Monongalia; Tom Campbell, D-Greenbrier; Woody Ireland, R-Ritchie; and Bill Anderson, R-Wood. The West Virginia Legislature created the “Select Committee” to attempt to do what the Legislature failed to do during the 2011 Regular Session – pass a bill regulating the drilling of Marcellus Shale natural gas wells. The Select Committee on Marcellus consists of ten members, five from the House of Delegates and five from the Senate, appointed by the Speaker of the House and the Acting Senate President, respectively. Acting Governor Earl Ray Tomblin has said publicly that he would call a Special Session to deal with a Marcellus bill if the House and Senate could reach agreement on a bill. Here are just a few of the essential elements WVEC believes are needed in a Marcellus regulatory bill. We are sure you can think of others.
Here is the list of Select Committee members, and their contact information, if you want to contact them individually: SENATORS: Doug Facemire, D-Braxton, Co-Chair douglas.facemire@wvsenate.gov Karen Facemeyer R-Jackson karen.facemyer@wvsenate.gov Corey Palumbo D-Kanawha corey.palumbo@wvsenate.gov Herb Snyder D-Jefferson herb.snyder@wvsenate.gov Orphy Klempa D-Ohio orphy.klempa@wvsenate.gov DELEGATES: Tim Manchin, D-Marion, Co-Chair tmanchin@manchin-aloi.com Barbara Fleischauer D-Monongalia barbaraf@wvhouse.gov Tom Campbell, D-Greenbrier tcampbell@grcs.com Woody Ireland, R-Ritchie woody.ireland@wvhouse.gov Bill Anderson, R-Wood bill.anderson@wvhouse.gov
You can also call legislator’s Capitol offices Toll Free, at 1-877-565-3447 Don Garvin |