07/15/24 - 152 New Stories - REAL Environmental & Conservation Leadership In PA: http://tinyurl.com/45529742
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Senate Bill Proposes Arbitration For Gas Well Site Disputes
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Sen. Don White (R-Indiana) recently introduced Senate Bill 1108 to provide an expeditious and less costly way for property owners and drillers to settle disputes over well locations rather than taking the issue to court. Under the bill, those disputes could be considered by a special review board set up to arbitrate coal bed methane well location disputes between land owners and gas companies.
“My bill extends the purview of the Coal Bed Methane Review Board to include natural gas wells,” Sen. White said. “Under the bill, both parties would retain the right to appeal the board’s decision to their county court of common pleas. As Marcellus Shale activity grows, I believe such a review process would be a beneficial and less costly option for landowners with natural gas development on their properties.”
Act 4 of 2010 authorized the creation of the three-member Coal Bed Methane Review Board to consider objections by property owners and reach agreements with gas companies on issues such as the location of coal bed methane wells and/or access roads. Previously, disputes between surface land owners and the holders of mineral rights for those properties were often unresolved as landowners had very little recourse if they did not approve of the location of a well.
“Just as with Act 4, Senate Bill 1108 does not change the ownership of property or rights, but creates a timely, less expensive process for property owners to clear up disputes that arise over the location of natural gas well sites without going to court,” Sen. White said.
Sen. White sent a copy of Senate Bill 1108 to Lt. Governor Jim Cawley, Chairman of the Governor’s Marcellus Shale Advisory Commission, and requested that it be considered as part of that panel’s recommendations.
“As Chairman of the Marcellus Shale Advisory Commission, I would appreciate your sharing this legislation with the other members of the commission and consider it as part of its overall initiative,” Sen. White wrote in a letter to the Lieutenant Governor. “Thank you for your consideration of Senate Bill 1108 as a way to address the needs of both the natural gas industry as well as those who own the property where the resources are located.”
Sen. White authored Senate Bill 275 during last session, which set the framework for the review board. The key provisions of Senate Bill 275 were amended into House Bill 1847 by the Senate and subsequently enacted as Act 4.
The Coal Bed Methane Review Board is made up of a member appointed by the Pennsylvania Farm Bureau, a member appointed jointly by the PA Oil and Gas Association, the Independent Oil and Gas Association and the Pennsylvania Coal Association, and a member appointed jointly by the deans of the College of Agricultural Sciences and the College of Earth and Mineral Sciences of Penn State University. The board is required to make a decision within 10 days from the time a hearing is held on a well location dispute.
Senate Bill 1108 is now before the Senate Environmental Resources and Energy Committee for consideration.
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6/20/2011 |
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