Chapter 22, Chapter 22

In addition to any compensation owed by the operator to the surface owner pursuant to the provisions of article six-b of this chapter, the operator shall pay the surface owner a one-time payment of $2,500 to compensate for payment of real property taxes for surface lands and surr…

(a) When a well penetrates one or more workable coal beds, the well operator shall run and cement a string of casing in the hole through the workable coal bed or beds in such a manner as will exclude all oil, gas or gas pressure from the coal bed or beds, except such oil, gas or …

(a) Nothing in this article affects in any way the rights of any person to enforce or protect, under applicable law, the person's interest in water resources affected by an oil or gas operation. (b) Unless rebutted by one of the defenses established in subsection (c) of this sect…

In the event that a well becomes productive of natural gas or petroleum, or is drilled for or converted for the introduction of pressure, whether liquid or gas, or for the introduction of liquid for the purposes provided for in section twenty-five of this article or for the dispo…

(a) Any person or persons, firm, partnership, partnership association or corporation who willfully violates any provision of this article or any rule or order promulgated under this article or any permit issued pursuant to this article is subject to a civil penalty not exceeding …

(a) The secretary shall have as his or her duty the supervision of the execution and enforcement of matters related to oil and gas set out in §22-6-1 et seq., §22-6A-1 et seq., §22-8-1 et seq., §22-9-1 et seq., §22-10-1 et seq., and §22-21-1 et seq. of this code. (b) The secretar…

(a) The Legislature finds that: (1) The advent and advancement of new and existing technologies and drilling practices have created the opportunity for the efficient development of natural gas contained in underground shales and other geologic formations; (2) These practices have…

In this article: (1) "Drilling operations" means the actual drilling or redrilling of a horizontal well commenced subsequent to the effective date of this article, and the related preparation of the drilling site and access road, which requires entry, upon the surface estate; (2)…

When a well is drilled through the horizon of a coalbed from which the coal has been removed, the hole shall be drilled at least thirty feet below the coalbed, of a size sufficient to permit the placing of a liner which shall start not less than twenty feet beneath the horizon of…

As part of the permit application for horizontal wells, the operator shall submit a letter of certification from the Division of Highways that the operator has, pursuant to the Division of Highways Oil and Gas Road Policy, entered into an agreement with the Division of Highways p…

When a permit has been issued for the drilling of an oil or gas well or both, each well operator shall run and permanently cement a string of casing in the hole through the fresh water bearing strata in such a manner and to the extent provided for in rules promulgated by the dire…

(a) No later than ninety days after the effective date of this article, the secretary shall establish resources on the department's public website which will list searchable information related to all horizontal well applications filed in this state, including information suffici…

(a) Within a reasonable time after the completion of the drilling of a shallow well or deep well, the well operator shall file with the secretary and with the state Geological and Economic Survey a completion report containing the following: (1) The character, depth, and thicknes…

The secretary shall, by July 1, 2013, report to the Legislature on the need, if any, for further regulation of air pollution occurring from well sites, including the possible health impacts, the need for air quality inspections during drilling, the need for inspections of compres…

All dry or abandoned wells or wells presumed to be abandoned under the provisions of section nineteen of this article shall be plugged and reclaimed in accordance with this section and the other provisions of this article and in accordance with the rules promulgated by the secret…

The secretary shall, by January 1, 2013, report to the Legislature on the safety of pits and impoundments utilized pursuant to section nine of this article including an evaluation of whether testing and special regulatory provision is needed for radioactivity or other toxins held…

Upon the abandonment or cessation of the operation of any well drilled for natural gas or petroleum, or drilled or converted for the introduction of pressure, whether liquid or gas, or for the introduction of liquid for the purposes provided for in §22-6-25 of this article or for…

(a) The operator may only drill through fresh groundwater zones in a manner that will minimize any disturbance of the zones. Further, the operator shall construct the well and conduct casing and cementing activities for all horizontal wells in a manner that will provide for contr…

The owner or operator of any well or wells which produce oil or gas may allow such well or wells to remain open for the purpose of introducing water or other liquid pressure into and upon the producing strata for the purpose of recovering the oil contained therein, and may drill …

(a) No permit shall be issued pursuant to this article unless a bond as described in subsection (d) of this section which is required for a particular activity by this article is or has been furnished as provided in this section. (b) A separate bond as described in subsection (d)…

Any person suffering personal injury or property damage due to any explosion caused by any permittee, shall have a cause of action against such permittee for three years after the explosion regardless of when the explosion occurred.

(a) The director shall exercise supervision over the drilling, casing, plugging, filling and reclamation of all wells and shall have such access to the plans, maps and other records and to the properties of the well operators as may be necessary or proper for this purpose, and, e…

(a) There is hereby continued within the Treasury of the State of West Virginia the special fund known as the Oil and Gas Operating Permit and Processing Fund, and the secretary shall deposit with the state Treasurer to the credit of such special fund all fees collected under the…

(a)(1) This section may be referred to as the Oil and Gas Abandoned Well Plugging Fund Act. There is established within the Treasury of the State of West Virginia the special use fund known as the Oil and Gas Abandoned Well Plugging Fund. (2) The Oil and Gas Abandoned Well Pluggi…

(a) No person is eligible for appointment as an oil and gas inspector or supervising inspector unless, at the time of probationary appointment, the person: (1) Is a citizen of West Virginia, in good health and of good character, reputation and temperate habits; (2) has had at lea…

(a) If an oil and gas inspector, upon making an inspection of a well or well site or any other oil or gas facility, finds that any provision of this article is being violated, the inspector shall also find whether or not an imminent danger to persons exists, or whether or not the…

(a) The oil and gas developer is obligated to pay the surface owner compensation for: (1) Lost income or expenses incurred as a result of being unable to dedicate land actually occupied by the driller's operation, or to which access is prevented by the drilling operation, to the …

Notwithstanding any other provision of this code to the contrary, the provisions of this article shall apply to any natural gas well, other than a coalbed methane well, drilled using a horizontal drilling method, and which disturbs three acres or more of surface, excluding pipeli…

The operator of a well shall reclaim the land surface within the area disturbed in siting, drilling, completing or producing the well in accordance with the following requirements: (a) Within six months after the completion of the drilling process, the operator shall fill all the…

Natural gas shall not be permitted to waste or escape from any well or pipeline, when it is reasonably possible to prevent such waste, after the owner or operator of such gas, or well, or pipeline, has had a reasonable length of time to shut in such gas in the well, or make the n…

If the owner or operator of any such well shall neglect or refuse to drill, case and equip, or plug and abandon, or shut in and conserve from waste the gas produced therefrom, as required to be done and performed by the preceding sections of this article, for a period of twenty d…

Aside from and in addition to the imposition of any penalties under this article, it shall be the duty of any circuit court in the exercise of its equity jurisdiction to hear and determine any action which may be filed to restrain the waste of natural gas in violation of this art…

(a) Any person or persons, firm, partnership, partnership association or corporation who willfully violates any provision of this article or any rule or order promulgated hereunder shall be subject to a civil penalty not exceeding $2,500. Each day a violation continues after noti…

In any action for contamination or deprivation of a fresh water source or supply within one thousand feet of the site of drilling for an oil or gas well, there shall be a rebuttable presumption that such drilling, and such oil or gas well, or either, was the proximate cause of th…

For purposes of notification under this article, any owner or lessee of coal seams shall file a declaration of the owner's or lessee's interest in such coal seams with the clerk of the county commission in the county where such coal seams are located. Said clerk shall file and in…

The rules promulgated and all orders and permits in effect upon the effective date of this article pursuant to the provisions of former article one, chapter twenty-two-b of this code shall remain in full force and effect as if such rules, orders and permits were adopted by the di…

This article shall not apply to or affect any well work permitted prior to the effective date of this article under former article one, chapter twenty-two-b of this code, unless such well is, after completion, whether such completion is prior to or subsequent to the effective dat…

(a) In addition to other remedies, and aside from various penalties provided by law, whenever it appears to the director that any person is violating or threatening to violate any provision of this article, any order or final decision of the director, or any lawful rule promulgat…

(a) Because drilling horizontal wells in naturally occurring karst terrain may require precautions not necessary in other parts of the state, the secretary may require additional safeguards to protect this geological formation. When drilling horizontal wells in naturally occurrin…

(a) Any well operator, complaining coal operator, owner or lessee, if any, aggrieved by findings or an order made by an oil or gas inspector pursuant to section three of this article, may within fifteen days apply to the director for annulment or revision of such order. Upon rece…

(a) All definitions set forth in article six of this chapter apply when those defined terms are used in this article, unless the context in which the term is used clearly requires a different meaning. (b) Unless the context in which the term used clearly requires a different mean…

(a) Nothing in section three or elsewhere in this article diminishes in any way the common law remedies, including damages, of a surface owner or any other person against the oil and gas developer for the unreasonable, negligent or otherwise wrongful exercise of the contractual r…

Any party to the proceeding under section fifteen of this article or section seven, article eight, chapter twenty-two-c of this code adversely affected by the issuance of a drilling permit or to the issuance of a fracturing permit or the refusal of the director to grant a drillin…

Any party to the proceedings under section sixteen of this article adversely affected by the order of issuance of a drilling permit or to the issuance of a fracturing permit or the refusal of the director to grant a drilling permit or fracturing permit is entitled to judicial rev…

(a) All findings and orders made pursuant to section three or four of this article, and all notices required to be given of the making of such findings and orders, shall be in writing. All such findings and orders shall be signed by the person making them, and all such notices sh…

(a) To the extent that horizontal wells governed by this article are similar to conventional oil and gas wells regulated under article six of this chapter, the following sections of article six of this chapter are hereby incorporated by reference in this article: (1) The provisio…

Any surface owner, to receive compensation under section three of this article, shall notify the oil and gas developer of the damages sustained by the person within two years after the date that the oil and gas developer files notice that final reclamation is commencing under sec…

(a) It is unlawful for any person to commence any well work, including site preparation work which involves any disturbance of land, without first securing from the director a well work permit. An application may propose and a permit may approve two or more activities defined as …

(a) The secretary is vested with jurisdiction over all aspects of this article, including, but not limited to, the following powers and duties: (1) All powers and duties conferred upon the secretary pursuant to article six, chapter twenty-two of this code; (2) To control and exer…

Unless the parties provide otherwise by written agreement, within sixty days after the oil and gas developer received the notification of claim specified in section five of this article, the oil and gas developer shall either make an offer of settlement to the surface owner seeki…