NEW BERLIN _ About 700 people interested in exploring for natural gas more than filled the auditorium at Unadilla Valley Central School on Thursday night.
At a meeting that began at 7 p.m. and was still going strong three hours later, they listened to presentations by three state officials and Elmira lawyer Chris Denton, who represents the Central New York Landowners' Coalition.
Denton spoke last, and before he started, he asked all people connected with the gas exploration industry to leave the room.
After the companies' employees departed, Denton asked for a show of hands of landowners who had been asked recently to lease their land. Hundreds of hands went up, confirming what Richard Nyahay, collection manager at the state museum, had said earlier.
Chenango County, as well as its neighbors, appears to be very rich in gas trapped in shale, and large companies are eager to try to tap it.
Nyahay said that on a scale where 1.00 is an ideal prospect, Chenango County rates .98 or .99, ``although the only way to know for sure is to drill.''
Denton's message was essentially that landowners should not sign a lease drawn up by gas companies and their attorneys.
``These contain comfort clauses for the companies and they're designed to help them in every way possible and to make your life miserable,'' he said. ``Now can you see why I asked them to leave?''
A gas lease ``is a complex business transaction masquerading as a lottery ticket,'' he said.
Denton said that before landowners enter into agreements to allow exploration, they need to ask themselves why they own the land. If gas-drilling conflicts with their goals, they should not go forward, he said.
But if they do want to proceed, they should work with their neighbors and present a united front to the companies, he advised.
In just the last few months, the companies have begun to offer more and money for leases as landowners become more aware of what they may be sitting on.
Denton warned that gas exploration is not always pretty.
To extract gas, companies will be injecting water into the ground under high pressure.
``And it's not just water,'' he said. Toluene, biocides to kill underground bacteria, and diesel fuel are often added to the brew pumped underground to fracture rocks and release gas, he said.
And if the chemicals contaminate properties, the landowners may be sued, he noted.
Denton also noted, with DEC officials present, that the 2005 federal Energy Policy Act exempts drillers from complying with federal environmental laws, leaving local landowner to rely for protection on state officials and the wording of their own agreements with the firms.
Reactions to the four speakers varied, but many people stayed late to ask more detailed questions.
Valerie Jackson of Butternuts, who is starting an organic farm, said she wanted know more about the environmental consequences of drilling on resources.
``I don't think there's been much mention of that,'' she said.
Bob Casse of Norwich said he hoped to lease land ``if it will make my retirement a little sweeter, but I need practical information before I do anything.''
Realtor Sue Nogaret of Pittsfield, who has criticized some of the firms' proposed leases, said, ``I think this evening has been very informative.''
Denton said that for more information, landowners should consult the website of the Chenango County Farm Bureau or join the coalition.
``You people need to be sharing information,'' he said, adding that like a bank of small computers, they will find power in numbers.
