WV Drillers Say Permits Take Too Long to Get Approved

West Virginia drillers were not happy last year that it was taking three, sometimes four months to get a new Marcellus or Utica Shale drilling permit approved by the state Dept. of Environmental Protection (DEP). DEP Secretary Randy Huffman pledged to trim that number to 60 days. However, he now says 75 days is a more realistic target for drilling approvals given the complexities of horizontal drilling. More than two months to approve a permit is still not good enough, according to Corky DeMarco, executive director of the WV Oil & Natural Gas Association...

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