Members Speak

From:     Steve Conlon
Sent:       Sunday, February 22, 2009 4:35 PM
To:         Senator Kessler
Subject:  Thoughts on Economic Dev.

Dear Senator Kessler,

     I appreciate and read your articles in the Wetzel Chronicle. Your mentioning of your participation on the Econ Dev Comm caught my eye. You said,"I will work to attract business to WV and make sure that those businesses are supported with the infrastructure necessary………….."  I live, work and employ on the edge of Chesapeake Energy's "sexiest play" (their words) in WV. I totally support the exploration, extraction and use of natural gas in WV. However,the rules of drilling in Marcellus have changed while the state's approach has remained unchanged. The number of trucks and the weight of those trucks have created both safety and maintenance issues. Numerous individuals have volunteered thousands of hours to make this situation workable. This is work that state agencies, in the permitting process, should have known would be required. WVDOH is basically at a loss as to how to maintain the roads. They say,"We have given the maintenance of several roads over to CHK."  CHK says,"we're not sure if we want that responsibility and liability."  WVDOH also gave snow removal and treatment of local roads to CHK.

    These wells are generating lots of money for the state . The state has been negligent in developing the mechanisms for dollars to flow (sometimes necessarily prematurely) into Marcellus situations that are debilitating to infrastructure in the footprint area. Other services are also impacted ,i.e. fire,sheriff, schoolbuses,water. We need the permitting agency to look more closely at the total impact as the # of permits increases for a given area. We also need to funnel dollars to roads knowing that those roads are moneymakers.

 We would appreciate your continuing attention to gas exploration in northern Wetzel and southern Marshall counties. We can make it work but it needs to be managed as if we are truly "open for business."