At a recent presentation in Penn Yan and Watkins Glen, NY, Tony Ingraffea, professor at Cornell University, and Peter Landre, director of Yates County Cornell Cooperative Extension, said Yates and Schuyler Counties (NY) are not “ideal” for drilling in the Marcellus Shale because the shale deposit in those counties is relatively shallow. Even so, energy companies have signed a number of leases:
There are currently 1,342 signed gas leases in Yates County, from 2005 to 2009. Colby Peterson, Yates County Soil and Water Conservation District technician, said the leases make up 20 percent, or 44,076 acres, of the acres in Yates County.
According to Lloyd Wetherbee, Schuyler County Soil and Water Conservation District technician, there are up to 50,000 acres leased in Schuyler, or 13 percent of the land in the county. Wetherbee said this equals between 1,600 to 1,700 leased parcels.*
*Dundee The Observer Review (Mar 23) – Marcellus Shale drilling: ‘Not ideal’ here