Supreme Court Urging Appeals Change

{Charleston, West Virginia}…The West Virginia Supreme Court is urging lawmakers to reconsider whether surface landowners in the state should have the right to appeal when oil and gas drilling permits are issued for their land. Current state law does not give appeal rights to surface property owners who don't also hold title to oil and gas reserves buried underground. Justice Margaret Workman, writing for a unanimous court, noted that current laws on drilling permit appeals were written prior to the extensive development of the Marcellus Shale in the state.