Introduced Version
House Bill 2711 History
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Key: Green = existing Code. Red = new code to be enacted
H. B. 4711
(By Delegates Staton, Amores, Pino, Kominar, Coleman,
L. White and Faircloth)
(Originating in the Committee on the Judiciary)
[March 5, l998]
A BILL
to amend and reenact section two, article twenty-one,
chapter twenty-two of the code of West Virginia, one thousand
nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, relating generally to
modifying the definition of "coalbed methane well."
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That section two, article twenty-one, chapter twenty-two of
the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as
amended, be amended and reenacted to read as follows:
§22-21-2. Definitions.
Unless the context in which used clearly requires a different
meaning, as used in this article:
(a) "Review board" means the West Virginia coalbed methane
review board which shall be comprised of the members of the West
Virginia shallow gas well review board provided for in article
eight, chapter twenty-two-c of this code, the state geologist, a
representative of the United Mine Workers of America, an employee of the gas industry, and the director of the office of miners'
health, safety and training, and the chairman of the review board
shall be the chairman of the West Virginia shallow gas review
board;
(b) "Coalbed" or "coal seam" means a seam of coal, whether
workable or unworkable, and the noncoal roof and floor of said seam
of coal;
(c) "Coalbed methane" means gas which can be produced from a
coal seam, the rock or other strata in communication with a coal
seam, a mined-out area or a gob well;
(d) "Coalbed methane owner" means any owner of coalbed
methane;
(e) "Coalbed methane well" means any hole or well sunk,
drilled, bored or dug into the earth for the production of coalbed
methane for consumption or sale, including a gob well. The term
"well" shall mean a coalbed methane well unless the context
indicates otherwise. The term "coalbed methane well" does not
include any shaft, hole or well sunk, drilled, bored or dug into
the earth for core drilling, production of coal or water, venting
gas from a mine area, or degasification of a coal seam;, or any
coalbed methane well extending from the surface into, but not
below, a coal seam being mined after such well or its horizonal
extension has been plugged in accordance with section twenty-three
of this article;
(f) "Coalbed methane well operator" or "well operator" means
any person who has the right to operate or does operate a coalbed
methane well;
(g) "Coal operator" means any person who proposes to or does
operate a coal mine;
(h) "Coal owner" means any person who owns or leases a coal
seam;
(i) "Chief" means the chief of the office of oil and gas of
the division of environmental protection provided for in section
eight, article one of this chapter;
(j) "Director" means the director of the division of
environmental protection;
(k) "Division" means the division of environmental protection;
(l) "Gob well" means a well drilled or vent hole converted to
a well pursuant to this article which produces or is capable of
producing coalbed methane or other natural gas from a distressed
zone created above and below a mined-out coal seam by any prior
full seam extraction of the coal;
(m) "Mine" or "mine areas," including the sub-definitions
under "mine areas," shall have the same definitions as are provided
in section two, article one, chapter twenty-two-a of this code;
(n) "Office" means office of oil and gas provided for in
section seven, article one of this chapter;
(o) "Person" means any natural person, corporation, firm, partnership, partnership association, venture, receiver, trustee,
executor, administrator, guardian, fiduciary, other representative
of any kind, any recognized legal entity, or political subdivision
or agency thereof;
(p) "Stimulate" means any action taken to increase the natural
flow of coalbed methane or the inherent productivity of a coalbed
methane well, including, but not limited to, fracturing, shooting,
acidizing or water flooding, but excluding cleaning out, bailing or
workover operations;
(q) "Waste" means: (i) Physical waste as the term is generally
understood in the gas industry and as provided for in article six
of this chapter, but giving special consideration to coal mining
operations and the safe recovery of coal; (ii) the locating,
drilling, equipping, operating, producing or transporting coalbed
methane in a manner that causes or tends to cause a substantial
reduction in the quantity of coalbed methane recoverable from a
pool under prudent and proper operations, or that causes or tends
to cause a substantial or unnecessary or excessive surface loss of
coalbed methane; (iii) the drilling of more wells than are
reasonably required to recover efficiently and economically the
maximum amount of coalbed methane from a pool; or (iv)
substantially inefficient, excessive or improper use, or the
substantially unnecessary dissipation of reservoir pressure. Waste
does not include coalbed methane vented or released from any mine area, the degasification of a coal seam for the purpose of mining
coal, the plugging of coalbed methane wells for the purpose of
mining coal, or the conversion of coalbed methane wells to vent
holes for the purpose of mining coal;
(r) "Workable coalbed" or "workable coal seam" means any seam
of coal twenty inches or more in thickness, or any seam of less
thickness which is being commercially mined or can be shown to be
capable of being commercially mined.
Note: The purpose of this bill is to exclude coalbed methane wells
that have been plugged from the definition of coalbed methane well.