American Oil and Gas Reporter - July 2015 - 173

ted to the West Virginia Oil & Gas Commission, he says. The commission itself
also has been expanded from five to seven members, Hildreth notes.
A bill that Burd says fundamentally
changes and improves the West Virginia
tort system, HB 2002, was signed into law
by Governor Earl Ray Tomblin. Under the
new law, defendants in a tort, or negligence,
case are liable only for paying their share
of damages if a jury rules against them, instead of multiple defendants each being responsible for the total amount, he says.
SB 421, on awarding punitive damages,
was passed late in the session and signed
by Tomblin, Burd continues. The bill
modifies common law standards in West
Virginia, and limits punitive damage
awards to four times compensatory damages or $500,000, whichever is greater, he
reports.
The impetus for SB 421, he relates, was
a 1992 lawsuit, TXO Production v. Alliance Resources Corp, in which an oil and
gas royalty owner was awarded $19,000
in legal fees for prevailing on a slander of
title charge, and also was awarded $10 million in punitive damages, which was upheld on appeal by the West Virginia
Supreme Court, Burd relates.
IOGAWV also saw passage of SB 280,
which allows for the systematic transfer of
well work permits for a flat fee of $500
when one party acquires mineral rights
from another, Burd says. Previously, the
cost for a work permit for the first well on
a pad was $10,000, followed by a $5,000
charge for each permit on the pad thereafter, he says.
For IOGAWV members, fiscal 201516 will be the final year the state commits
$350 million to pay off a $3 billion unfunded liability for workers' compensation benefits, which means a 4.7 cent-an-Mcf
add-on severance tax dedicated to the payment is set to expire, Burd says. However, some lawmakers want to keep the tax
in place, he warns.
IOGAWV also supported passage of
SB 12, which amends the state Wage and
Payment Collection Act to give employers more time to pay departing employees,
Burd says. The bill reduces liquidated damages from three times to two times the
amount due, if an employer makes a mistake calculating departing pay. He says
bonuses owed departing workers may be
paid when remaining employees receive
them, he adds.
Next year, Hildreth says, IOGAWV
wants to push legislation to create an oil
and gas advisory council to educate lawmakers on the pros and cons of measures
impacting the industry. He says the council would represent a cross-section of
producer interests to avoid division.

Strategic Planning Session
IOGAWV continues to search for
ways to better serve members, Haney offers, and a strategic planning session in
February identified key areas for improvement. He says board members, staff,
legal counsel, and past IOGAWV presidents and industry leaders gathered to identify strengths and weaknesses, and to develop a plan to move forward.
"We actually found we were doing a
pretty good job of representing members,"
he reveals. "We affirmed a lot of our efforts
and developed some plans for improving
some communications with members."
IOGAWV has formed a Producer Issues Committee to gather support or opposition to arising issues, Haney says.
Hildreth, who will succeed Haney as
IOGAWV president at the summer meeting, adds that the committee will hold
meetings in various locations to educate
producer members on legislation, gas
marketing, and other issues.
In addition, Haney says, IOGAWV's
Communications Committee is being expanded to enhance the association's social
media presence.
IOGAWV also is installing a new
website that can be managed in-house, and
has hired an additional staff person to compile the association's newsletter, according to Burd.
Summer Meeting
IOGAWV's summer meeting is a time
for members to take advantage of networking opportunities, Hildreth says. Members
also will enjoy entertainment from the comedian Sinbad, he adds.

The summer meeting begins with a
welcome reception on Sunday, Aug. 2, including dinner and dancing.
Hildreth says the association has set
aside nontournament golf tee times both
Sunday and Monday, Aug. 3. The summer
meeting golf tournament will tee off on
The Greenbrier's Old White Course at 9
a.m. Tuesday, Aug. 4.
The summer meeting tennis tournament, featuring both men's and women's
doubles, and mixed doubles, is set for
Monday, Hildreth continues. And a trap
and skeet shooting tournament will be held
both Monday and Tuesday at The Greenbrier Gun Club atop Kate's Mountain.
There will be a special event on Tuesday for spouses and anyone not participating in IOGAWV's golf tournament, Hildreth mentions. "The Oakhurst Links
will be our destination for this amazing and
fun event, where you can experience the
origins of golf on the oldest course in the
United States, built in 1884," he reveals.
"You will play nine holes of golf using authentic hickory clubs-era clubs and replica gutta percha balls, and enjoy golf as it
was played more than a century ago."
He says dinner Monday evening is "on
your own" at any of The Greenbrier's five
restaurants, followed by a poolside reception at 8:30 p.m. Tuesday concludes with
an award reception and dinner, where Sinbad will entertain.
The summer meeting business session is Monday afternoon.
For information, contact IOGAWV
Meeting Planner Lori Miller at 304-3449867 or e-mail lmillersmith@iogawv.com.
❒

PAW Convention Offers A Mix
Of State And Federal Updates
CASPER, WY.-The wide-ranging list
of topics at the Petroleum Association of
Wyoming's annual meeting promises to
touch on new and familiar issues that are
important to members in the office and in
the field, PAW President Bruce Hinchey
promises.
The convention is scheduled for Aug.
25-26 at the Parkway Plaza Hotel & Convention Center in Casper. The comprehensive agenda includes updates on all things
regulatory and legislative.
"At the federal level," Hinchey says,
"the Endangered Species Act and its relationship to the sage grouse is a big topic.
We will talk about its potential designation as an endangered species, and the newly released regional management plans for

the Bureau of Land Management to protect the bird (see story page 167).
"The BLM's new hydraulic fracturing
regulations and the lawsuits challenging
them will be another important federal topic," Hinchey adds.
Wyoming's new Minerals Task Force
will be one of the main state issues of interest to association members, the president notes. "This task force is considering
combining ad valorem and severance taxes," Hinchey explains. "This would result
in one payment to the state.
"Whether an issue is state or federal,"
Hinchey continues, "it has a direct effect
on our members' ability to explore for
and produce oil and natural gas in
Wyoming."
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American Oil and Gas Reporter - July 2015

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