Lawmakers Discuss Marcellus Drilling

{Charleston, West Virginia}...The state Senate and House of Delegates were called into special session Sunday evening to work on regulations dealing with drilling for natural gas in the Marcellus shale. Lawmakers were already set to be in Charleston for monthly interim committee meetings that begin Monday morning. A special legislative committee finished work on a draft bill last month. Tomblin released the highlights of his bill Friday afternoon. Those highlights include accepting the interim committee's recommended permit fee structure of $10,000 for the first well and $5,000 for subsequent wells, requiring operators to obtain an agreement with the West Virginia Division of Highways to maintain and repair roads affected by drilling, standards designed to protect the state's water resources including private wells, streams, and wetland areas, dditional rights to surface owners where the drilling is expected to occur and wells to be located at least 625 feet from occupied dwellings.