NORWICH – Seemingly non-stop natural gas exploration along highways in the northern towns of Chenango County have prompted lawmakers to begin developing a policy for seismic testing.
While there are no wells in the county that are producing at this time, Town of Preston Peter C. Flanagan told members of the Public Works Committee Thursday that gas companies have already purchased enough right-of-ways to build a transmission pipeline corridor.
Large quantities of natural gas are believed to lie in southcentral New York in and nearby the profitable Trenton/Black River reservoir. County and town highway departments have permitted 2D seismic testing along routes 18, 16, 26, 10, and 10A. The permits do not cover 3D testing, nor any study of land outside the right-of-ways, DPW Director Randy Gibbon said.
“We don’t have to be adversarial. This is just the beginning of what could be the greatest economic development boon for the county,” Flanagan said. “However, they are going to be boring under county roads. We, as a committee, need a standard policy for testing, and we need to bond for testing.”
Flanagan made a motion Thursday to charge county Attorney Richard Breslin with developing a written policy that addressed boring under right-of-ways, bonding or other insurance protections, and the protocols for alerting public officials when permits are granted.
Town of Smyrna Supervisor James Bays seconded Flanagan’s motion, but expressed concern that the local attorney would be qualified. He said most counties in the state were “behind” in addressing the legalities of testing. Only the nearby Town of Lebanon, where natural gas wells are producing, has bonding in place, he said.
“Hopefully, all of this will ultimately make landowners get an attorney to take a look at any lease before they sign it,” he said.
The committee discussed permitting right-of-ways to utilities versus corporations and individuals, exploration on state land within town boarders, bonding and other insurance measures, wear and tear on local infrastructure and the need for emergency personnel training.
Homer Smith, D-McDonough, told the committee that he recently had asked a representative of the DEC about leasing the state-owned Five Streams area to a natural gas company. “I asked him if our infrastructure is used to help the state with testing and drilling on the state land in our town, and how the town would benefit. He couldn’t answer that question,” Smith said.
Committee Chairman Harry W. Conley, who repeatedly attempted to reign in the discussion, said, “There are too many details on this that many of us don’t understand. We need to back up. We are getting too far down the road.”
Public Works Director Randy Gibbon suggested that towns write their own policies. He also said since seismic testing began more than a decade ago, his office had received no complaints from property owners.
“But we’ve never had anything of this magnitude,” Town of Otselic Supervisor David J. Messineo said. “What about the hazardous mitigation study? Are they considering if the gas line breaks under a county road? Doesn’t the utility have to do training on how to respond?”
Town of Norwich Supervisor David C. Law suggested that fire officials are already concerned about the $1.8 million natural gas compressor station being built on county Route 32 near the intersection of state Route 23. “We are faced with the same thing. We don’t know that the firemen will know what to do there if something happens,” he said.
Bays said there has been “a whole lot of activity in Smyrna” and the damage from testing “might be difficult to see.”
Messineo said some types of testing could crack well cases, and force the public in the surrounding neighborhoods to resort to bottled water.
“The highway committee needs to be up to speed on this,” Flanagan said.