Raleigh County Leads Methane Tax Distributions - Beckley, Bluefield & Lewisburg News, Weather, Sports

According to a release from the West Virginia State Treasurer's Office, Raleigh County is leading the way in severance tax collected on coal bed methane extraction.

Raleigh County economic development officials will receive nearly $544,000 from a severance tax on coal bed methane from extraction from fiscal year 2009 to 2011. Following Raleigh County is  Marshall County at $246,542 and Wetzel County at $42,465.

"We are happy to pass this revenue on to counties which have been waiting," State Treasurer John Perdue said. "Now these counties can count on receiving revenue each year. The methane-producing counties included in this disbursement should receive at least a temporary budget boost."

Twenty-six other counties received exactly $15,188.

"Counties outside this $1.2 million distribution have already received their share of tax revenue for those years," a release from the Treasurer's Office states. "Raleigh and other counties are now receiving their share because of a state code overhaul that dealt with economic development entities. SB 487 clarified that matter this past legislative session, creating a means by which the money could be distributed to the remaining counties."

Raleigh, Marshall and Wetzel counties were the only group included in this disbursement because others classified themselves as non-methane counties. This occurs because the county produced zero or little methane.

Methane is the primary ingredient in natural gas, and can be burned as residential fuel or for the production of chemicals. Interest in coalbed methane had declined somewhat as natural gas prices are currently at record lows and higher production can be acheived at sites that utilize horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing techniques.

In prior interviews with the State Journal, energy lawyers also indicated there was some doubt and cloudiness surrounding some sites. In West Virginia, they said, it's not always clear if coalbed methane is owned by coal rights holders or gas rights holders. 

Coal severance tax quarterly distributions for April 2012, totaled $9.4 million, including $2.4 million for non-coal producing counties. More than $6 million in oil and gas severance taxes were distributed in annual distributions in 2011.