To the Editor:
(Chenango County, NY – Feb. 2013) Many landowners in our county leased their properties for gas drilling five to 10 years ago when there was scant, hard evidence of the risks and dangers of unconventional, horizontal, high-volume, hydraulic fracturing.
Every month now there is a new study issued on the negative impacts of shale gas development on public health, water safety and long-term climate health. People who participated in the recent DEC public-comment process know just how flawed and flagrantly unprotective the proposed regulations are.
Even if a leased landowner is unconcerned about the risks, the prospect of lucrative royalties has evaporated with natural gas prices at an all-time low. The argument for energy independence is also moot if our finite supply of shale gas is harvested, liquefied and exported overseas.
The more time that passes, the more reasons there are for anyone to come to the conclusion that high-volume, horizontal, hydraulic fracturing is simply a bad idea. More and more landowners are having lessor’s regret.
Gas companies have tried to use the state’s de facto moratorium as just cause to extend gas leases beyond their primary term. In a victory for landowners, the recent force majeure decision in Binghamton shot that down. But generally it is still up to landowners to officially terminate their gas leases and clear the land records at the end of the primary term.
Even landowners who are not in an active gas lease are realizing that they need to check their deed papers to verify if there was ever a gas lease on their property. If a gas lease – even decades-old – is not properly released by the gas company and filed as such at the County Clerk’s office, it remains a liability to the current landowner.
How many of us purchased our properties with assurances from our lawyers that a filed affidavit – from the previous landowner stating that the gas lease expired on its own terms – would suffice? These affidavits have no legal effect.
Many of us in Chenango County are in this situation and are unaware of the steps necessary to obtain an official surrender from the gas company, pursuant to state General Obligations Law, Section 15-304.
To help landowners understand their rights, geologist Ellen Harrison and attorney Joseph Heath of Fleased.org will present an informational forum on gas lease issues for Chenango County landowners. Fleased Forum/Chenango County will take place Thursday, March 14, 6:30 p.m., at United Church of Christ, 11 W. Main St., Norwich.
It is free and open to the public.
Mina Takahashi