Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by sally on February 13, 2015 at 3:15am

Apparently this bill has passed one approval level and will possibly be voted on tomorrow.  It is not on the agenda for today.  Please call if you have concerns about this bill.

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Permalink Reply by Todd on February 13, 2015 at 8:49am

WV Land and Mineral Owners,

To clarify, the House Bill 2688 (HB 2688) hasn’t passed in the House or Senate yet. It was just passed by the House Energy Committee yesterday so it will now go to the House floor for a vote, maybe as soon as next week. Then the Senate will vote on it.  So, there is still time for us to stop this bill!

Please send Dan's recommended letter to your local representatives.  Here is a link to easily find your representatives contact information:

http://www.legis.state.wv.us/Districts/maps.cfm

Here is an adapted draft of Dan's letter that I will be sending to my representatives to include opposition to HB 2688 specifically:

"As a land and mineral owner in                    County, WV, I am writing to inform you of my opposition to any legislation, more specifically HB 2688, that supports and advances the practice of seizure of private property in the form of 'unitization', 'lease integration', or 'forced pooling' of my privately held mineral rights.       

       

Legislation of this type is a violation of our constitutional rights regarding private property, and will strip landowners of their negotiation strength as well, should they be willing to lease their property."

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Permalink Reply by Dan Warner on February 13, 2015 at 2:19pm

Thanks, Todd.

Now that the bill has a 'name', your updates to my draft are appropriate.

I don't want to limit this strictly to owners, though. I, myself, am fighting on behalf of my elderly mother.

An unconstitutional expansion of government's reach such as this one is a threat to all citizens' right to hold private property.

That it is being done to benefit big business is particularly ominous for everyone.

Thanks, too, for updating us on the current phase of the bill.  We don't all have the time (or in my case, the savvy) to track this.  I depend on conversations like this one to help me stay current, as I'm sure others here do, as well.

This is just the sort of information that needs to be circulated in a grassroots effort like this one..

Please keep it up!

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Permalink Reply by Todd on February 14, 2015 at 8:06am

Dan,

Great point not to limit this to landowners only.  Your drafted letter is excellent and I am adding it to some WV county forums as well. 

Thank you for starting this discussion. 

Every West Virginian and anyone who owns property in West Virginia on this site especially should be contacting their local representatives to oppose this bill.  It is a bad bill.

http://www.legis.state.wv.us/Districts/maps.cfm

Scroll down on the link above and contact your House district representatives first and then your Senate district representative.

Todd

 

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Permalink Reply by D L T on February 17, 2015 at 5:08am

After reading the bill, i think it is a jumbled up mess for owners.  The purpose of this bill is to force people into giving the company their way. If they were treating owners fairly, they would not be pushing this bill to start with.  The legislature says they are looking at the energy options and want those developed in a fair way.  There is that word fair, that sums up the whole bill which, is anything but fair. The question i ask is, who are the ones that determine what fair is??  That sure won't be you, the owner of those minerals.  The percentage of 1/8 is already the minimum by law so, the bill is giving an owner what everyone is already entitled to. The company attorneys will have a field day with this bill...  I contacted my local reps voicing my opinion.

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Permalink Reply by Dan Warner on February 17, 2015 at 5:28am

Thanks D L T.

In addition to your local reps, you may also want to contact the sponsors of the bill:

George Ambler:

Capitol Phone: (304) 340-3129

george.ambler@wvhouse.gov

Bill Anderson:

Capitol Phone: (304) 340-3168

bill.anderson@wvhouse.gov

Tim Armstead:

Capitol Phone: (304) 340-3210

armstead@wvhouse.gov

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Permalink Reply by Dan Warner on February 17, 2015 at 5:54am

Here is a link to the list of the members and e-mail addresses of the WV House Judiciary Committee, where House Bill 2688 is pending:

House Judiciary Committee members

It might be worth the time to e-mail some or all of them to voice your opposition to the bill.

You will notice that the main sponsor, 'Woody' Ireland, is on this committee.

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Permalink Reply by Todd on February 17, 2015 at 8:47am

Here is the link to the stage of HB 2688:

http://www.legis.state.wv.us/Bill_Status/bills_history.cfm?INPUT=26...

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Permalink Reply by Benjamin Lester Harris on February 17, 2015 at 9:19am

Attention all members, made calls and e-mails.  Delegate Dave Pethel's office informed me that there will be a public meeting on 2-18-2015 in House Chambers for the public to voice their opinion. After reading bill, went over this with friend who is an attorney, she said landowners, and mineral owners are getting royally screwed!!  Probably Koch Industry monies behind proposed bill!! Meeting will be at 2:00 pm!!

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Permalink Reply by Dan Warner on February 18, 2015 at 5:09am

Thanks BJH.

It looks like the Koch's may even be able to control the weather.

This freakish February weather will not only serve as an excuse to inflate gas and oil prices; attendance at today's hearing will certainly be negatively affected as well.

Despite the weather, I would gladly make the trek to Charleston, except that I am no candidate for public speaking.  I am more a keyboard warrior.

Your attorney is correct that the bill favors the gasholes 100%.

As Nancy Mosley points out, the bill is extremely vague as to the source of some of the governor-appointed 'commission' members, including the member who would, in theory, represent mineral owners.

I feel that the "major trade association" to be sourced for these nominees should be specified in the language of the bill.

Another addition to the old law, (quietly tucked away in the old language):

§22C-9-4.

 (f) Without limiting the commission’s general authority, the commission shall have has specific authority to:

            (1) Regulate the spacing of deep wells other than horizontal wells;

This exception is an issue that the WV Surface Owner's Group (WVSORO) has championed, until now, it seems.

This short addition to the old code renders the commission powerless to limit, in any manner, the distances between wells, including their laterals, leaving the industry to drill where they please, potentially reincarnating the 'Spindletop' era.

I am uncertain as to why the WVSORO seems to be silent here, after making it a central issue of the 204 session.  Or for that matter, though I'm not a member, why their website seems to be generally out-of-date.

Watch for this organization to be designated the ..."major trade association representing mineral royalty owners in this state".

The new bill also leaves in place this pre-existing, obnoxious piece of code:

§22C-9-4(e)

"In the event of a conflict between the duty to prevent waste and the duty to protect correlative rights, the commission’s duty to prevent waste shall be is paramount."

If that's not Fascism, I'll eat my hat.

§22C-9-4. (f)(1)

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Permalink Reply by D L T on February 18, 2015 at 5:57am

This legislature session is now in republican control and bills are flying through before people can get a grasp on what they are all about.  The minority leader stated the voters will be feeling buyers remorse before this is all done.  The state is mad about coal and Obama did not carry one county the last election.  So many good delegates and senators were voted out because of party affiliation.  Cross your fingers.

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Permalink Reply by Todd on February 18, 2015 at 7:25am

The bill is now off of the agenda for the House Judiciary Committee this week thanks in large part to the efforts of Delegate Pat McGeehan.  Please take the time to thank Pat.  He told the House Speaker that he is prepared to speak for hours on the landowners behalf to stop the bill.  But make no mistake, the fight is not over as there are plenty of votes to pass the bill if we the public don't speak up and make it clear that we will not have our property rights compromised.

Pat McGeehan    (R - Hancock, 01)

CONTACT

pat.mcgeehan@wvhouse.gov
Capitol Office: Room 226E, Building 1 State Capitol Complex Charleston, WV 25305 Capitol Phone: (304) 340-3397
Home: 616 Florida Avenue #5 Chester, WV, 26034 Home Phone: (304) 374-7018 Business Phone: (304) 374-7018

On the other hand, these two members of the Senate (Craig Blair and Mitch Carmichael) need to hear from those of us that oppose the bill as they have indicated that they don't mind the bill as it helps the Oil and Gas industry.  But at what cost -- the cost of the rights of private landowners and their negotiating power.

Craig Blair    (R - Berkeley, 15)

CONTACT

craig@craigblair.com
Capitol Office: Room 217W, Building 1 State Capitol Complex Charleston, WV 25305 Capitol Phone: (304) 357-7867
Home: 47 Wasser Drive Martinsburg, WV, 25403 Home Phone: (304) 754-5040 Business Phone: (304) 754-9031

Mitch Carmichael    (R - Jackson, 04)

Majority Leader

CONTACT

Mitch.Carmichael@wvsenate.gov
Capitol Office: Room 227M, Building 1 State Capitol Complex Charleston, WV 25305 Capitol Phone: (304) 357-7855
Home: 18 Colonial Drive Ripley, WV, 25271 Home Phone: (304) 372-4667 Business Phone: (304) 372-4667

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