Rules suspended in Senate, drilling permit transfer bill approved

An energy company is waiting to get to work in West Virginia and hopes state lawmakers pass a bill to make it easier.

Senators approved a bill (SB 280) Friday that would allow for the transfer of well drilling permits from one company to another. The Senate suspended its rules, passed the bill, and sent it to the House of Delegates.

“This is an enormous investment that’s been made in West Virginia and it can’t proceed or put people to work until we address this issue,” Sen. Judiciary Chair Charles Trump (R-Morgan) told fellow senators Friday.

Trump was speaking of Southwestern Energy which paid Chesapeake Energy more than $5 billion last year for 413,000 acres in West Virginia and southwestern Pennsylvania. The property includes 256 operational natural gas drilling wells but a current legislative rule requires Southwestern go through the permitting process Chesapeake Energy originally did. Senate Bill 280 would allow for the transfer of the permits.

“We need to show these companies that we appreciate them coming into our state and making the investment,” Sen. Doug Facemire (D-Braxton) said. “We want them to do it right and we’ll make them do it right.”

A spokeswoman for Southwestern told the Charleston Daily Mail the company already hired 81 people in the past month and wants to involve 400 full-time workers by the end of March.

Sen. Facemire said the bill is not a partisan issue.

“Whenever we can work together, both bodies, not only is it the right thing to do but it’s our duty,” he said.

The current transfer prohibition was part of a DEP rule that governs how the state’s horizontal drilling law operates.