NORWICH – Those monitoring the natural gas industry in Chenango County have found a discrepancy between how New York regulates leasing state land and how the county’s attorney has ruled on Cook Park in Greene, a parcel that a gas company could desire for either a pipeline easement or exploration.
A case in point, they say, is a Nornew, Inc. well in the Town of Plymouth. When the NYS Department of Environmental Conservation’s unitization of the well site was permitted, it included a 26-acre parcel of state land. Because Chenango County Attorney Richard Breslin had previously advised a special committee on gas exploration that Cook Park couldn’t be leased - only compulsorily integrated - the gas committee began to monitor how the state would treat their opportunity.
As it turned out, the group was surprised with what they learned: The state doesn’t have to compulsory integrate nor does it have to lease unless the well is found to be successful. An interview with DEC spokesman Yancey Roy confirmed their findings. “State law permits the state to lease the land (instead of following compulsory integration procedures) and the royalty terms are to be determined if the well is successful,” he said.
The action may cause the county’s attorney to take another look at bonus and royalty opportunities for taxpayers, including the ruling on park land and future integration opportunities. A strip of county land in Preston was integrated into a spacing unit this summer.
“Why not have a no bid lease on Cook Park like the state?” Committee Chairman Peter C. Flanagan, D-Preston, said. “New York has given Nornew a no bid lease. How can the state do that when everybody else has to pick from three choices (on compulsory integration applications) and do so within 21 business days?”
Members of the committee said they expected the state would receive a significant bonus, however Chenango County Planner Rena Doing said, “Nothing is definite. The DEC appears to have no time to talk about anything but the Marcellus.”
The DEC is currently undergoing an extensive review of its regulatory process for permitting fraking into the Marcellus Shale, a drilling technique that requires large quantities of water and could result in environmental contamination. Drilling into the Marcellus has been halted, however drilling into other formations, such as the Herkimer, have continued.
Doing told members of the committee that it has been difficult to monitor the industry because overseeing agencies such as the DEC, the Public Service Commission, the Susquehanna River Basin Commission and others “don’t talk to each other.”
“The problem is we’ve not been able to get a definitive answer as to which regulatory agency oversees this entire process,” said committee member and Preston well owner Steven Palmatier.
“This is just another wrinkle in how we thought we understood the process,” Flanagan said.

Pipeline easements
While drilling wells on state land has happened, there’s no formal legislation that creates a mechanism for pipeline easements. The latter is something that has challenged Nornew’s pipeline development through Chenango County. With a transmission line and gathering lines from Plymouth north already in place, and wells either drilled or permitted south toward Coventry - and, later, the Millennium Pipeline - Nornew has a narrow pathway between state land and municipalities like Oxford heading south.
Granting easements for pipeline on state land and county land hasn’t happened yet, but many following the industry say it is likely. The Town of Coventry is currently considering an offer to grant an easement to Nornew for the construction of a gas pipeline along the edge of property owned by the town. The company has offered a one time fee of $76,000 for the roughly 3,800 foot linear right-of-way.
Moreover, the Department of Highways permitted boring under county Rt. 16 in Plymouth last year and individuals have permitted easements on private land. The problem is, according to the committee, that the transmission and gathering lines aren’t marked.
“The county and the towns should be submitted plans for where these lines are,” said City of Norwich Public Works Superintendent Director Carl Ivarson.
The committee agreed to request from the county an updated process for permitting easements, one that would include depth, maximum pressure, type of line and GPS coordinates. The line should be marked so maintenance and emergency management personnel can avoid digging into them by accident.
The committee is also requesting uniform boring procedures that could be passed along to towns.
“I’m worried that there is limited oversight on Nornew’s lines and others that may come in,” said Farm Bureau President Bradd Vickers. “In about 10 to 20 years, Chenango County could have a lot of pipelines. Multiple gas companies with their own, proprietary lines. How many pipeline companies are we going to have?”