On Tuesday, the Virginia Oil and Gas Board sided with a Tazewell County family in regard to their dispute over the ownership of coalbed methane gas below their property – a move that could possibly unfreeze escrow accounts that have previously been stuck in limbo for years, according to TriCities.com, a Lebanon-based news website.

The Newell Short heirs, who own approximately 55 acres in Buchanan County, sold the rights to the coal underneath their land a decade ago however, a dispute emerged as to who owned the rights to the ...