WV Horizontal Drilling Studies Led to Discussion of Increased Wellpad Setbacks
The third and final study on horizontal drilling mandated by the West Virginia Legislature suggested that no new legislation was necessary to address the health impacts of drilling on West Virginia residents. However, as noted in a July 10th article in the State Journal, the cover letter to the third study recommended that the Legislature consider changing the reference point for the horizontal well minimum setback to the well pad’s Limit of Disturbance rather than the center of the well pad. The State Journal discussed the well setback proposal with Delegate Tim Manchin, who indicated that a hard-and-fast increase of the setback distance “would be difficult,” but that a greater setback distance, with some flexibility if operators commit to abatement measures, may be achievable. The State Journal also discussed well setback changes with WVU professor Michael McCawley, who oversaw the air quality study. Professor McCawley indicated that a health-based proposal for wellpad setbacks would require three years of data from wellpads in a wide variety of settings.