Storage Facilities Story Archives - West Virginia Public Broadcasting

Capito Vows To Repeal EPA Methane Fee For Oil, Gas Industry

West Virginia is one of the country’s leading gas producers and home to a large network of wells, pipelines and storage facilities.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency released a new rule to cut methane from oil and gas extraction.

The EPA calls methane a “super-polluter.” It’s many times more potent at trapping heat in the atmosphere than carbon dioxide.

West Virginia is one of the country’s leading gas producers and home to a large network of wells, pipelines and storage facilities.

The oil and gas sector is a big emitter of methane, and the new EPA rule aims to cut 1.2 million metric tons of it by 2035 – the equivalent of the emissions of 8 million gasoline-powered cars.

The EPA will impose a waste emissions charge to encourage the capture of methane and avoid the release. Producers can avoid the fee over time by complying with the standards set by Congress in the Inflation Reduction Act.

However, a new president and a new Congress will take office in January and could try to overturn the new methane rule.

Republican U.S. Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, who’s in line to become chair of the Environment and Public Works Committee, said the election would have consequences.

“This natural gas tax will inflate prices for consumers and reduce domestic energy production, which will empower our adversaries abroad,” she said. “I look forward to working with my colleagues and President (Elect) Trump to repeal this misguided tax early in the next Congress.”

Delegates Want Special Session Focusing On Water, House Speaker & Judiciary Chair Disagree

Delegate Meshea Poore has asked Governor Earl Ray Tomblin to call a special session to focus solely on legislation to protect the state’s water supply. She’s received bipartisan support in her request from more than 20 delegates, including many from the nine counties directly affected by the water crisis.

However, House Speaker Tim Miley and Judiciary Chair Tim Manchin disagree and say that deliberations on Senate Bill 373 will continue.

“If, in fact, we proceed with ‘business as usual,’ we will miss a golden opportunity to produce legislation that will instill a renewed sense of confidence in the administrative and legislative branches of West Virginia’s governance structure,” Poore stated in the letter.

“Placing (the water bill) on the call will provide ample and appropriate vetting opportunities by the respective committees; thus resulting in sound public policy,” she added.

The House Judiciary Committee continues to discuss a proposed amendment to the bill.

Among those who have signed Poore’s letter is Delegate Mike Manypenny of Taylor County, Co-Chairman of the Joint Committee on Water Resources, and House Minority Leader Tim Armstead of Kanawha County.

But Judiciary Chair Tim Miley disagrees with Poore and her fellow delegates’ request.

“Between the House Health and Judiciary Committees, members have probably spent more than 20 hours in hearings, debating and listening to numerous experts about Senate Bill 373,” Manchin said.

Manchin noted there is over a week left in the regular session and the House Judiciary Committee will continue working on the bill.

“I anticipate we will spend many more hours on this in the coming days,” Manchin said in a release Thursday.

“We have been very thorough and plan to give this important piece of legislation careful consideration.

Speaker Tim Miley echoed Manchin’s sentiments on the matter.

“The discussion of the need of a special session is unnecessary as the bill is moving though our committee process in a timely manner,” Miley said.

“I regret that these members want to give up on passing a bill during the regular session when we still have plenty of time to perfect it.”

State Senate Majority Leader: Governor's Bill Shields Chemical Industry

A West Virginia Senate leader thinks the governor’s proposal to prevent chemical spills caters to industry interests.

Senate Majority Leader John Unger says Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin’s bill doesn’t do enough to register and inspect above-ground storage tanks.

     Tomblin’s measure responds to Freedom Industries’ Jan. 9 spill, which contaminated the water supply for 300,000 people.

     Unger took issue with Tomblin’s bill on Tuesday because it regulates just above-ground tanks deemed too close to a water supply. It also would only regulate sites holding chemicals above a certain risk level.

     Unger is proposing regulation of all above-ground tanks.

     Unger says all of the state’s water needs to be protected. He says sites far from public water systems need to be regulated, since people in rural areas rely on wells using groundwater.