Showing pictures of huge natural gas well fields and a patch of forest left dead from well wastewater, an environmental advocate asked state lawmakers to support increased regulations on drilling in the Marcellus shale.

Beth Little of the West Virginia Sierra Club told members of the state Joint Legislative Oversight Commission on State Water Resources that state law has little to prevent some of the worst environmental consequences of gas drilling using a process known as hydrofracking.

“They need millions of gallons of water, and there are no restrictions on water withdrawal in West Virginia except you are not supposed to take so much water it kills the stream,” she said.

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Trans Energy, Inc. (OTC Bulletin Board: TENG) announced today that it has begun drilling the Whipkey #1H well in Marshall County, West Virginia. The Whipkey #1H will be drilled and completed horizontally in the Marcellus shale.

The Company plans to drill the vertical portion of the Whipkey #1H well to a depth above the kick-off point of approximately 6,500 feet. A second, larger rig will follow-on immediately to drill the horizontal portion.

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West Virginia-based Trans Energy Inc. (TENG.OB) is an oil and gas exploration and development company focusing on the Appalachian Basin. It has drilled four vertical Marcellus shale wells. The Anderson-7H well, located near Jacksonburg in Wetzel County, West Virginia is its first horizontal one.

In October, 2008 the company announced it was in the process of drilling a second horizontal well in Wetzel County named Hart #28H also near Jacksonburg.

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West Virginia-based Trans Energy Inc. (TENG.OB) is an oil and gas exploration and development company focusing on the Appalachian Basin. It has drilled four vertical Marcellus shale wells. The Anderson-7H well, located near Jacksonburg in Wetzel County, West Virginia is its first horizontal one.

In October, 2008 the company announced it was in the process of drilling a second horizontal well in Wetzel County named Hart #28H also near Jacksonburg.

Dead fish float in a once-pristine stream. Algae thrives. Lovers of the outdoors are heartsick, and everyone wants to know what happened.

The scenario is playing itself out this autumn on the Pennsylvania-West Virginia border, and a Harrisburg-based agency wants to be ready in case the same scenario unfolds in its jurisdiction.
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A salt-loving alga that killed tens of millions of fish in Texas has struck for the first time in an Appalachian stream that flows along the border of Pennsylvania and West Virginia. Prymnesium parvum or “golden algae” caused the sudden death of thousands of fish, mussels, and salamanders in early September along some 30 miles of Dunkard Creek. University and government scientists fear the disaster could presage further kills in the region. Streams at risk due to high concentrations of total dissolved solids (TDS) include portions of the northern branch of the Potomac River and 20 other streams in West Virginia, according to state scientists. Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia, and Kentucky also have many vulnerable rivers and streams, according to U.S. EPA scientists.

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