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Gas Pooling Rule Grows Industry in West Virginia

It took many years before industry and mineral owner advocacy groups could agree on unitization regulations for natural gas development. You may have heard this referred to as forced pooling. In the 2022 West Virginia legislative session, a compromised bill was passed in Senate Bill 694. The legislation changed WV Code Chapter 22C, Article 9 related to Oil and Gas Conservation, and became effective June 7, 2022. The West Virginia Oil and Gas Conservation Commission regulates the drilling of deep wells in the state. The OGCC approves drilling permits and conducts hearings on matters ...

Time for Congress To Act on Reducing the Nation’s Crushing Debt

While many Americans were celebrating the holidays with their loved ones, our country reached a milestone that is nothing to celebrate: The United States national debt now exceeds $34 trillion. In just 10 years, the national debt has more than doubled. Not only is this level of debt unsustainable, but it is growing at the largest rate seen in the history of this country. $34 trillion is a staggering amount of money. To put this in context, the national debt has now exceeded $100,000 for every person in the United States. Given the imminent nature of this crisis, continuing to turn a ...

Marshall Memo: Bluegrass; Extension Service; and a Visit from Friends

A Bluegrass Extravaganza will be held at the Strand Theatre at 7 p.m. Feb. 17. The event will feature performances by Crandal Creel and David Mayfield. Advanced ticket prices are $25 or $30 if purchased at the door. Tickets for kids ages 6 to 12 will be $10 and children five and under will be admitted for free. --- I spoke with Bob Koch on Thursday and he informed me several local individuals had contacted him with information about Bob O’Brien. Koch was looking for contact information for O’Brien as the Ohio Valley Athletic Conference are looking to honor the former basketball ...

Why Close Doors on GOP Primary in West Virginia?

Independent and unaffiliated voters were saved by the snow last week after the West Virginia Republican Executive Committee postponed its winter meeting where they were to take up a resolution to close the May GOP primary to non-Republicans. That meeting was postponed until this Saturday, so the state Republican Executive Committee is set to consider the resolution again, with the possibility of amending it to postpone closing the primary until 2026. Limiting the Republican primary to just registered Republican voters has been discussed before. State Code gives political parties ...

King’s Legacy Remains Strong in Our Ohio Valley

This past week we celebrated what would have been Dr. Martin L. King Jr.’s 95th birthday. Over the past few years, the Dr. Martin L. King holiday was normally the third weekend of the month; this year it came early and caught some off guard on the second weekend of the month. The good news is many in the Ohio Valley did get to participate even with the very cold weather. The majority of the programs went on in the bitter cold with great success. Successful programs took place in Steubenville, Weirton, Wheeling and several other places. Programs took place all over the nation, honoring ...

Marshall Memo: Handing Out Taxpayer Funds; Budgets; and Books

The Marshall County Commission is accepting Community Development Funds now through Feb. 23. This is a grant opportunity offered by county taxpayer funds. The funding level for this year will be $75,000. Once the deadline is over, the requests will be reviewed by a committee. Questions can be directed to the commission office at 304-845-0482. CDF requests should be sent to Attn: Administration Assistant Missy Tscahppat at P.O. Drawer B Moundville, WV 26041. --- Moundsville City Manager Rick Healy outlined several issues at Tuesday’s council meeting. A budget meeting with ...