Lawmakers May Change Hiring Process for Gas Inspectors
Charleston Gazette
5 August 2011
By Alison Knezevich
CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- State lawmakers might change the way West Virginia
hires oil and natural gas inspectors, after complaints that the current
system favors industry and creates red tape.
On Thursday, members of a legislative committee focused on Marcellus
Shale drilling regulations discussed abolishing the West Virginia Oil
and Gas Inspectors' Examining Board, which administers tests and keeps
a roster of inspectors.
The legislative committee, which is working to craft a House-Senate
compromise on Marcellus regulations, has been making changes to a
measure passed by the Senate earlier this year (SB424).
Members met for about two hours Thursday, but did not vote on an
amendment to abolish the board.
The state Department of Environmental Protection and advocates for
surface owners want to get rid of the board. DEP says it's too
bureaucratic, while the advocates say it gives the industry too much
sway in who inspects well sites.
The board is supposed to be made up of five members, including the
chiefs of DEP's oil and gas office and its water resources office. The
governor appoints the other members: two industry representatives and
one citizen to represent surface owners and environmental organizations.
The slot representing surface owners and environmentalists has been
vacant for about five years. Both DEP and the West Virginia Surface
Owners' Rights Organization submitted names to former Gov. Joe Manchin,
but he never appointed anyone to the citizen post.
Lawmakers on Thursday heard from the two industry representatives, Bob
Radabaugh and Stan Masoner. They disagreed with the argument that they
have too much power on the board, saying they only help with the
testing and do not have a say in who gets hired. That decision is made
by DEP.
"Our job is testing only," Radabaugh said.
"We don't actually do the selection and hiring," Masoner said later.
After the meeting, Dave McMahon of the surface owners group said his
organization still believes the industry has too much influence on the
board.
"Yes, the DEP gets to pick which people on the list they can hire, but
the industry gets to say who gets on the list," McMahon said.
The board also has some involvement in firing inspectors, McMahon added.
Legislative audits since the late 1990s have recommended abolishing the
board, DEP General Counsel Kristin Boggs told the committee.