 By Alvin Engelke
alvinengelke@hotmail.com
There was an error in last week's Creston news. Thomas Grim(m) was not killed in the rock quarry at Creston. His brother Gail was the one killed. The quarry is on the hillside above the Germany section of Creston.
The local area had a few days of cooler weather and some lit their stoves.
Peggy Tenbarge noted that she wanted to publicly thank all those that pitched in on the benefit to help with her late husband's funeral expenses.
Back in earlier days one of the entertainments was going to court, watching the lawyers blow smoke from various orifices, etc. On September 8 at 2:30 in the afternoon there will be a hearing in Wirt Circuit Court concerning the various problems in Spring Valley & the naming of a receiver. Those who are not at work then are urged to go and listen to the proceedings.
On August 28 the EPA's new rules came into effect concerning the agency's control of WOTUS (Waters of the United States). All land in the flood plain, all streams, ditches, ephemeral drains, springs & any area within 4000' of such streams, etc. is now under their control and permits must be obtained to make any changes or "pollute". Pollution includes application of fertilizer, manure, herbicides, etc and penalties are $37,000/day for each violation. There is also a 5 year "clawback" for the agency to go back for "crimes created in the past". Presently one can continue present operations but if one changed "land use" a permit would be required. An example given was converting a cornfield into a fruit orchard. While a federal judge in North Dakota has ruled the EPA was "all wet" the EPA has taken the view that his ruling only applies to 13 states of which W. Va. is not one. This is at the same time that EPA's contractor buddy caused a major environmental disaster in Colorado with the spill of toxic minerals into the water. Since the incident and EPA's claim that 'environmental damage was minimal and the pollutants were diluted', details have emerged on what really happened. The jack booted thugs came to the owner and said if he didn't let them take over the site they would fine him $37,000/day. They then moved in their connected contractor who blocked off the drainage from the mine [there was piping to control the water] and put in a big fill. Then they started to dig in the fill and the rest is history. "I'm from the government & I'm here to help you!" It was also noted that NRCS is hiring several new people and some feel that they will be enforcers for the EPA. A study in Missouri determined that 0.3% of the state's land was not subject to the new EPA rule.
Hay making continues although it is generally agreed that hay will be scarce and expensive this winter as, in some placed the roll bales were washed away and in other sections little hay was made because of constant rain and wet ground. Cattle prices continue to fall reflecting the economic reality of the "fundamental transformation" of the nation.
EnLink, the oil hauling company that has a facility at Brooksville [the old Eureka station], had bad luck Thursday when the pipeline that transports oil from Brooksville to the Ohio River at Eureka broke &, according to reports, 1,200 bbl. of crude spilled on the ground and into a stream. Pennsylvania grade crude is paraffin based and is not really toxic as contrasted with the arsenic, lead and other heavy metals that the EPA put in the river in Colorado. The first oil pipeline from Brooksville was installed over a century ago. The world's first oil pipeline was placed in Burning Springs in the 1860s.
The new version of the big boy's forced pooling bill is now available and the next meeting of the "stakeholder group" is September 14 at 1 P. M. at the Lewis McManus conference room under the golden dome at the Mouth of the Elk. The new draft still defines royalty as 1/8th [this was set in code as the minimum with the passage of the flat rate gas well bill for new wells only in 1982] and it is heralded as a big thing. Some feel that it is unseemly that state elected officials go around and about telling the wonders of the forced pooling bill that, for practical purposes was written by and for the out of state interests that want to take the state's resources "on the cheap". Why should our legislators be concerned about the vast profits that are to go to Peking, Shanghai, Oslo, Paris, Riyadh, Denver, Oklahoma City, Houston, New York, etc?
If there is really a need for a forced pooling bill it should reflect the needs of the state's citizens. "Our leaders" should be disgraced to force taxpayers to "pool" leases that have old flat rate gas wells, outrageous gas storage payments that were obtained by coercion ["If you don't sign this agreement we'll take the property away from you because we have that right."] & other abominations. One can be sure that none of the big concerns are forced to operate under agreements that were signed prior to 1900 or for that matter a 'mere' sixty or so years ago. There is now no question that West Virginia is in the middle of the largest oil & gas field on the planet and royalties from the new production zones shouldn't be less than poorer pays elsewhere but should be higher. While the state and some mineral owners received gross royalties of 20% that is actually low and the minimum should be 25% as it is with the Barnett in Texas. There also needs to be transparency and accountability so one can know the actual price oil, gas, condensate and the components of the gas stream, ethane, propane, n-butane, iso-butane, the pentanes, etc. sell for. Put another way being business friendly isn't giving away the store, putting the shaft to the state's residents and allowing crooks to avoid paying their share of state and county taxes although there is Obama's friend Jimmy Justice who is famous for avoiding his taxes and other bills.
On Thursday one woman got a letter from EQT advising that they planned to sue her over a mineral tract she owned on which they had a well. This was her first inkling that the Pittsburgh based firm had any future interest in future development of the property and Antero, the lawsuit happy Denver based firm financed by Warburg Pincus, brought another suit for allotment a year after contacting a local resident about a tract that the firm said was held by a lease but would provide no details nor help in collecting any royalties due. It seems that their attitude is "We'll do as we dang well please as we hold W. Va. residents in abject contempt." One would hope that a responsible legislature would enact legislation to put an end to these harassment suits by fixing the alleged legal loophole in the present law although it seems that some Down at the Mouth of the Elk want to "buddy up" with these fine folks. At a recent meeting on forced pooling the WVU Law School expert on oil & gas law noted that the suits Antero & others were bringing were likely specious but the firm has the big bucks and the high dollar lawyers to put it to West Virginia residents.
In northern W. Va. many residents signed leases that they didn't read thoroughly only to discover after the wells were drilled that their leases were "net leases" which means that the company can deduct all sorts of expenses, including the cost of capital & the cost of building fractionation facilities, from the royalties. One recent check stub from one of the firms that the legislators are doing footsies with allows for 75% of the royalty to be taken in expenses. Now, according to how it is said the state law requires the owners to pay county tax on the gross amount that they should have received which means that it takes some months of net royalties to pay the taxes. So far the state tax department has taken the side of the out of state companies. This, of course, provides a nice tax break for the out of state [and nation] firms that operate the wells. The legislative interim committee meeting will address taxes, severance taxes and oil & gas at a hearing starting at 9 A. M. on September 14 in the legislative chambers under the golden dome. Those who own any interest in oil and gas anywhere in the state should show up for the hearing. This the same day as the forced pooling 'stakeholder' meeting.
George Soros, the shadowy fellow behind many now ruling down in the swamps of the Lower Potomac isn't the only one picking up coal properties although he has always 'pushed environmental issues'. Royal Energy run by Ron Phillips is now picking up coal properties and looking for natural gas properties that can be purchased at "distressed" prices.
Natural gas produced in the White Pine neighborhood of Calhoun County sold for less that 60 cents while local Pennsylvania grade crude rose to $44.22/bbl. Condensate fetched $20.22 while Marcellus & Utica light brought $38.22 and medium $44.22/bbl.
The views and opinions expressed herein are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Hur Herald.
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