The Select Committee on Marcellus held their first public hearing in Wheeling last night. About 150-200 attended, and 34 people spoke. Attending were at least four House members of the Committee, as well as one State Senator. Also attending were about 4-5 other legislators from the northern panhandle region.

Industry reps got there early and were 9 of the first 12 speakers. Almost all spoke mostly about jobs and economic development, very few raised specific suggestions for legislation, or even stated they opposed regulation. ALL of the last 20 speakers supported stronger regulations, and had numerous suggestions for specific issues that need to be addressed. I mention this because the tv cameras left after the first half and probably did not convey that calls for regulations outnumbered industry people by over 2-to-1.

Two people (of the 34 who spoke) gave statements so convoluted and confusing that I could not figure out what side they were on, or what they wanted. So my count is 10 pro-industry, 22 pro-regulation, and two unclear.

The only substantive comment from industry was when Mike McCowan of IOGA said they "would SUPPORT reasonable INCREASES in fees". (Perhaps the key word there is "reasonable").

Lots of concerns were expressed about water and air pollution, several people objected to forced pooling, a couple raised safety issues, explosions, property rights issues, or concerns about foreign exports of gas.

Recommendations for future hearings next week.

1) Keep your points focused. The chair allowed only 2 minute per person, and everyone almost always ran out of time to say very much. I recommend writing out some key points and do a practice with a stop watch to make sure you get in the key statements. ( I hate it when I have a really powerful finish planned and never get to use it because I run out of time, it just leaves the whole presentation with a weak, dangling end.) If the Morgantown crowd is even bigger, the time allowed will likely be cut proportionately.

2) Show up early. I recommend at least one hour before the start if you want to speak early. We were there 40 minutes early, and there were already 18 speakers signed up ahead of me.

3) Coordinate who says what. With only 120 seconds to speak, it is important to avoid wasting valuable seconds repeating a point that has already been made a dozen times. Practice your statement with a stop watch.

4) Write out specific suggestions for rules, as this is more likely to get included into a bill than vague statements of support or opposition to drilling generally. Even if you don't have time to say everything, written comments are more easily incorporated into a bill by Committee staff.

5) Practice your statement with a stop watch.

Jim Kotcon