A day after nearly 100 demonstrators gathered at the West Virginia Capitol, state Senate President and acting Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin "announced state officials will write emergency rules to regulate Marcellus Shale gas drilling," Alison Knezevich of the Charleston Gazette reports.
"Most of the rules in place were designed for conventional gas wells, and do not consider the size or the hazards associated with hydraulic fracturing," Jim Kotcon, rally organizer, told Lawrence Messina of The Associated Press. "There's no regulation of air pollution emissions at all. There's no regulation of water withdrawals, none." (Read more)
Tomblin's proposal focuses on fracking and would require companies that withdraw more than 210,000 gallons of water monthly to disclose their additives and file a water management plan with the state's Department of Environmental Protection, Knezevich reports. Tomblin said the DEP rules would "ensure that the natural-gas industry continues to provide jobs in West Virginia" and "protect citizens and the environment." (Read more) For a West Virginia Public Broadcasting report, click here.
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