The New Power Brokers

Fracking Companies Lost on Trespassing, but a Court Just Gave Them a Different Win

A week after the West Virginia Supreme Court unanimously upheld the property rights of landowners battling one natural gas giant, the same court tossed out a challenge filed by another group of landowners against a different natural gas company. In the latest case, decided Monday, the court upheld a lower court ruling […]

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Residents Say Natural Gas Production Is Marring West Virginia. And the Legislature Isn’t Doing Anything About It.

Though studies recommended additional protections years ago, lawmakers have not taken action to put them in place. But when residents sued, a Supreme Court justice said it was the Legislature’s job. This article was produced in partnership with the Charleston Gazette-Mail, which is a member of the ProPublica Local Reporting […]

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Powerless: What It Looks and Sounds Like When a Gas Driller Overruns Your Land

This article was produced in partnership with the Charleston Gazette-Mail, which is a member of the ProPublica Local Reporting Network. Lee Martin loved her 104-acre farm in Wetzel County, West Virginia. The family raised chickens there and rode horses. The kids played in mud puddles. They all took walks in the woods. […]

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He is West Virginia’s Speaker of the House — and a Lawyer for Natural Gas Companies

State ethics rules seldom prevent lawmakers from proposing or voting on legislation that affects industries they work for. This article was produced in partnership with the Charleston Gazette-Mail, which is a member of the ProPublica Local Reporting Network. Toward the end of this year’s legislative session, a little-noticed bill was moving through the West […]

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LindaStimmell

Century-Old West Virginia Leases Yield Paltry Gas Royalties. A Suit Could Cut Others’ Payouts to a Trickle, Too.

This article was produced in partnership with the Charleston Gazette-Mail, which is a member of the ProPublica Local Reporting Network. Linda Stimmell gets upset every time EQT Corp.’s checks arrive in the mail. The energy giant extracts natural gas from beneath the Stimmell family’s old farm in Doddridge County, West Virginia, under […]

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‘Jobs Alliance’ Backed by Coal Giant Loses Bid to Stop West Virginia Natural Gas Plant

A group backed by Murray Energy has tried to block gas plants in West Virginia. The state Supreme Court rejected arguments against one plant, saying it will help the local economy. A group funded by coal giant Murray Energy has lost its latest court battle to block construction of new […]

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