"Officials credit resolve in forcing gas firm out"

By Amanda Cregan, Intelligencer, October 22, 2010:

But some people in Nockamixon are not happy they may lose royalties after Arbor Resources withdrew its state permit to drill in the township.

David may have toppled Goliath, but the gas drilling beast might still get back up in Nockamixon.

Arbor Resources withdrew its state-issued permit to drill for natural gas in the Upper Bucks community this week, and township officials are celebrating their victory in a hard-fought battle.


"Obviously it's a wonderful day for Nockamixon Township," said Supervisor Chairwoman Nancy Janyszeski.

Since land men came knocking in 2004, Janyszeski has been leading the fight against the Michigan-based drilling company, which, she believes, sought to bypass local laws.

"We wanted respect. We wanted the drillers to come to the township and ask for a permit and open up dialogue, and do what's best for Nockamixon Township, and they chose to not do that - ever," she said.

Nockamixon officials and environmentalists may be toasting a victory over natural gas drilling, but not all residents are celebrating.

"I was disappointed," said resident Jim Diamond, who is one of 300 property owners in Nockamixon who signed gas leases with Arbor, with the hopes of royalty checks once the natural gas was tapped. "We are being deprived of economic development in our township."

Diamond, a retired dean of Delaware Valley College, signed a gas lease on his 40-acre farm along Tabor Road, which cuts through both Nockamixon and Tinicum.

Not only did Nockamixon cancel a deal to preserve his property as open space once officials got word that he had signed a gas lease, but now there is little hope of any income from selling his mineral rights to Arbor.

"With the increase in taxes and the rising cost of living - and I'm retired - I was hoping that this would be part of my retirement and now that's been pushed out," said Diamond.

Though Nockamixon does not sit atop the Marcellus Shale region, like much of Pennsylvania, it's believed that there is an untapped hot spot of natural gas in the rock thousands of feet below rural Upper Bucks.

And it might not be long until another drilling company would venture in to Nockamixon to explore if there is, in fact, a gold mine of the energy resource.

Reportedly, at least half of those signed gas leases have already been sold by Arbor to two other gas drilling companies, Hook 'Em Energy Partners and Pearl Energy Partners, said Janyszeski. Arbor Resources representatives did not return calls seeking comment Thursday.

Arbor's forfeit might not mean the final chapter for gas drilling in Upper Bucks.

"This is new to everybody as to how this is going to evolve," she said.

Although many other communities across Pennsylvania are welcoming gas drilling to invigorate their economies, Tracy Carluccio of the Delaware Riverkeeper Network, said Nockamixon's win over Arbor can be viewed as encouragement by others who are concerned about drilling for natural gas.

"The lesson to be learned here is that even if it seems like an uphill battle, because your opponent seems to be much larger than you and much more funded, it might not always be what it seems," said Carluccio. "It really speaks well of Nockamixon Township. I think it's an inspiring story."

Since the legal battle began with the drilling company, which argued that the state's Oil and Gas Act trumped all local laws, township officials have remained steadfast in protecting Nockamixon's rights and responsibilities, said Carluccio.

Local laws stipulate that natural gas drilling is bound to industrial zones within Nockamixon.

Township officials declined to speculate why Arbor unexpectedly gave up the fight to drill in Upper Bucks, but the drillers seemingly have backed out at the same time Nockamixon gunned for legal hearings before the judicial arms of the state Department of Environmental Protection and the Delaware River Basin Commission.

Nockamixon appealed the permit DEP had granted to Arbor, and was also protesting the DRBC's ruling that allowed the drilling company to be "grandfathered" under old regulations that had not been updated to include the "fracking" process.

"What we saw from the beginning indicated a hope on Arbor's part that they could do this without strict oversight, at least from the township and from the DRBC commission," said Nockamixon attorney Jordan Yeager.

"As the township pursued its appeal of the DEP permit and pursued the DRBC commission's review, it seems clear that Arbor understood that the township would hold them accountable, and that's when they backed out."