frequently asked questions
What area are you organizing?
We are organizing neighbors in the Town of Barker, NY who own land west of the Tioughnioga River, north of Dunham Hill Road, east of the Town of Nanticoke and south of the village of Whitney Point. We are the blue area in the lower left corner of the map.
Why should I join a particular coalition if my land is on a boundary?
We embrace a “fuzzy boundary” concept. That is, we are not trying to take members from neighboring coalitions or push away folks that want to join us. But we recognize that some folks have land on both sides of a boundary and want to deal with just one group. We also expect some folks to have friends and neighbors that just want to stick together.
The most important thing for you & your land is not to be isolated from others with leases. You’ll get a better deal and better protection if you are part of a contiguous group of parcels. There is strength in numbers.
What remediation does a natural gas company have to provide if they contaminate your water well or surface water?
Our understanding is, not much. You would have to work with state and Federal law and right now gas & oil exploration companies are generally exempt from Federal environmental law. And, according to the NY DEC’s presentations contamination is not a problem. They claim lots of well drilled without troubles.
However, the gas drillers are bound by whatever you write into your lease. We believe that right now the well written lease is your best protection.
