NORWICH – County Board Chairman Richard B. Decker took the opportunity during a meeting of the Agriculture, Buildings and Grounds Committee this week to explain why he signed a compulsory integration agreement with a natural gas company in January without the approval of town and City of Norwich supervisors.
The North Norwich supervisor said he made the decision after consulting with the county’s attorney due to the 21-day time period for responding as well as the small amount of county-owned property involved.
The Chenango County Board of Supervisors first learned last week that they had entered into a compulsory integration lease with Nornew, Inc. on 4.5 acres of county-owned land in Preston. Nornew drilled a well in April on private property located nearby county Road 18.
“We felt it was important that we made sure we were integrated. We felt it was necessary that the county got what they were supposed to get and we didn’t have time,” Decker said. “If the acreage had been larger, we would have called an emergency meeting of the board. ... And, if we had time to do it, we would have come to the committee.”
Compulsory integration in New York is governed by the Oil, Gas and Solution Mining Law based on a proposed well’s depth and the specific layer of rock or shale targeted. The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation contacts landowners within a specific spacing unit when a well is set to be drilled, giving the neighboring property owners three options to integrate. Decker said previously that the option he selected carried the least liability.
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