By Steven Allen Adams | West Virginia Watchdog

CHARLESTON — Lawmakers on the Joint Select Committee on Marcellus Shale have received thousands of dollars in political donations from the oil and gas industry, with state senators receiving the bulk of donations.

According to a breakdown of donation data by the National Institute on Money in State Politics, the oil and gas industry donated $36,450 to the 10 members of the Marcellus Shale Committee between 2000 and 2011.

Of that amount, $30,100 went to the five state senators on the committee. The committee’s co-chairman, state Sen. Douglas Facemire (D-Braxton), received $13,500 from the oil and gas industry between 2000 and 2011, or 37 percent of all donations made to members of the committee during that time.

State Sen. Karen Facemyer (R-Jackson) came in second with $7,800 in donations, or 21.4 percent of all donations made to committee members. State Sen. Corey Palumbo (D-Kanawha) received $5,050, or 13.9 percent. Palumbo also received the most individual donations from the industry. State Sen. Herb Snyder (D-Jefferson) received $3,250 and state Sen. Orphy Klempa (D-Ohio) only received $500.

House committee members received considerably less from the industry. Del. Thomas Campbell (D-Greenbrier) received $2,950, or 8.1 percent. Del. Bill Anderson (D-Wood) received $1,550, committee co-chairman Del. Tim Manchin (D-Marion) received $1,100. Del. Barbara Fleischauer (D-Monongalia) received $550 and Del. Woody Ireland (R-Ritchie) received $200.

Committee members are adding amendments to a draft bill, using S.B. 424 – a Marcellus Shale regulation bill passed by the State Senate during the 2011 general session, but died in the House of Delegates – as a template. The committee meets today at 8 a.m. in the Senate Judiciary Room and again at 3 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 16, in the House Judiciary Room.

The committee will consider amendments regarding permit fees for wells, salaries and qualificiations for inspectors, and surface owners agreements.

Natural gas companies have been rushing to the state to tap the vast natural gas reserves trapped in the Marcellus Shale, stretching from New York to Tennessee, which holds pockets of natural gas. The shale is over 100-feet thick in Barbour, Monongalia, and Preston counties. Drilling companies use a combination of horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing – using a mixture of water, sand, and chemicals – to break natural gas out of the shale formations.

Environmental and citizen action groups have raised concerns over surface and mineral owner rights, water contamination, and lack of regulations. Gov.-elect Earl Ray Tomblin signed an executive order in July governing drilling in the state’s Marcellus Shale region and directed the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection to create emergency rules as needed until the Legislature comes up with regulations on their own.

The oil and gas industry donated over $1.2 million to state candidates for the executive, legislative, and judicial branches between 2000 and 2011.

Related articles

• WVLEG: House Marcellus Shale Committee Members to Hold Public Meetings, Leaves Off State Senate Members (westvirginia.watchdog.org)
• Marcellus committee passes amendments (westvirginia.watchdog.org)
• WVLEG: WV4MOM Rallies for Marcellus Shale Moratorium (with video) (westvirginia.watchdog.org)
• WVLEG: Legislature Holds Two Days of Meetings on Marcellus Shale (westvirginia.watchdog.org)
• WVLEG: Marcellus Shale Gets July Interim Focus (westvirginia.watchdog.org)
• TOMBLIN: Responsibly Embracing Opportunities for West Virginia (westvirginia.watchdog.org)
• WatchBlog: Dishonest journalism hurting Marcellus development (westvirginia.watchdog.org)