B2878 HFA Fleischauer and Miley 3-1 #1 revised

    Delegate Fleischauer moves to amend the bill on page 37, Section 8, line 4, following the period following the words “or impoundment” by striking out the remainder of the section contained on lines 4 through 11;

    And,

    On page 45, section 12, line 1, by striking out the section in its entirety, and inserting in lieu thereof, the following:

    “The studies directed by this section to be conducted by the secretary of the department of environmental protection may be conducted in house, by contract with a state university, other government agency or entity at the direction and by agreement entered into with the secretary.

    (a) The secretary shall, by September 31, 2011 report to the Legislature on any needed safety requirements associated with the drilling of horizontal shallow well, to assure that proper worker and resident safety protection standards are in place for these new drilling activities, to minimize risk of harm to workers at the drilling operation and to minimize risks of exposure to local residents and the environment from adverse impacts created by the newly developed drilling activities associated with horizontal shallow well drilling operation construction activities. The secretary shall report on whether other agencies need to establish these safety standards. If the secretary finds that specialized permit conditions are necessary, the Secretary shall promulgate legislative rules establishing these new requirements.

    (b) The secretary shall, by September 31, 2011, report to the Legislature on the safety of pits and impoundments utilized pursuant to section eight of this article. Upon a finding that greater monitoring, safety and design requirements or other specialized permit conditions are necessary, the Secretary shall promulgate legislative rules establishing these new requirements.     (c) The secretary shall, by September 31, 2011, report to the Legislature on the need for further regulation of air pollution occurring from well sites, including the possible health impacts, the need for air quality inspections during drilling, the need for inspections of compressors, pits and impoundments, and any other potential air quality impacts that could be generated from this type of drilling activity that could harm human health or the environment. If he or she finds that specialized permit conditions are necessary, the Secretary shall promulgate legislative rules establishing these new requirements.

    (d) The secretary shall by September 31, 2011, report to the legislature on whether special legislation or other regulatory action is needed to protect Karst formations in areas where horizontal shallow wells may be drilled, and if moratoriums or other actions, conditions or limitations are necessary to protect water quality surrounding these formations, and if he or she finds that specialized permit conditions are necessary, the Secretary shall promulgate legislative rules establishing these new requirements.

    (e) The secretary shall, by December 31 of each year through and including the year 2016, report to the joint committee on government and finance on the horizontal shallow well permitting and inspection activities of the division of oil and gas. Specifically, reports shall include, but are not limited to, the number of well inspections undertaken in the prior year, the number of inspections required by law to be undertaken in the prior year, an analysis of whether permitting fees for the horizontal shallow gas and oil wells are sufficient to fund the necessary wells permit writers and inspectors adequate to fulfill their statutory duties, including time-frames associated with issuing permits, and a recommendation to whether the permit fees should be increased or decreased to provide adequate funding to the office to meet its statutory duties regarding the permitting and inspection process associated with horizontal shallow gas and oil wells.”