May 23: Educational Public Forum in Candor

“Second Thoughts About Your Gas Lease?

What You Can Do”

Presentation in Candor May 23

What: Educational public forum on getting out of a gas lease

When: Wednesday, May 23, 7 p.m.

Where: Candor Fire Hall, 74 Owego Road (Rte. 96B), across from church and Town Hall

Who: Ellen Harrison, founder and director of Fleased, and attorney Joe Heath

When you signed the lease, you probably had no idea that it would be so vastly different from your grandpa’s gas lease, or your dad’s. That’s exactly what happened to Ellen Harrison.

“I had no idea about fracking,” recalls Harrison. “If I had known then what I know now about the dangers of this unconventional process, I never would have signed a lease.”

Like many others, Harrison felt that she had been duped by the landman. To learn more about how she could remedy the situation, Harrison formed the advocacy organization FLEASED. It brings together people who wish they hadn’t signed and who felt they’d been grossly misled by the gas fracking companies.

At this event she will share information that she and other Fleased members have learned during the last several years.

Also presenting will be environmental attorney Joe Heath, who is also general counsel for the Onondaga Nation. He will discuss lease termination and how to clear your title if your lease has terminated but the gas company has not yet filed papers with the county clerk clearing it.

“This is a great opportunity for those who feel trapped in an uncomfortable or frightening situation,” said Spencer resident Maura Stephens, a member of the sponsoring organizations, “to learn what options they might have to change their circumstances and protect their property and their future health and well-being.”

Cosponsored by RAFT and SAVE S-VE, the event is free and open to the public. Suggested donation for industry and regulators: $100. Contact Maura Stephens, maura@maurastephens.com, for more info.

Directions.

From Owego and points south: North on Rt .96, and  continue on 96B (now the 96 detour). Pass a cemetery on right. Candor Fire Hall is on the left across from a church and Town Hall.

From Ithaca, Danby, and points north: South on Rte. 96B past the Dandy Mart & HiWay Dairy Bar. Candor Fire Hall is on the right just past Pucky Huddle (Quilt Shop). If you get to the cemetery you’ve gone too far.

From Spencer-Van Etten and points west: East on 96. In Candor, take detour left over Mill St. to the stop sign. Right on Rt. 96 B. Pass the HiWay Dairy Bar on left. You’ll see the Pucky Huddle (Quilt Shop) on the right; Candor Fire Hall is just past it on the right. If you get to the cemetery you’ve gone too far.

 

Thursday May 17th – Gas Pipelines: What Municipalities Need to Know

Tompkins County Council Of Governments and Cornell Cooperative Extension Tompkins County present:

Gas Pipelines: What Municipalities Need to Know

WHEN: Thursday, May 17, from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m.

WHERE: Borg Warner Room, Tompkins County Library, 101 E. Green St., Ithaca, NY

COST: Free and open to the public

Twenty interstate natural gas pipeline systems crisscross the region from West Virginia to Maine. As gas drilling operations expand, thousands of miles of new pipelines will be needed to connect existing pipelines to gas wells.

For more information see http://ccetompkins.org/calendar/12/04/25/gas-pipeline-forum or contact Sharon Anderson, ska2@cornell.edu, (607) 272-2292.

Upcoming gas lease program in Newfield

Gas Leases: Legal and Financial Concerns

Friday, April 20, 2012

 7 – 9 p.m.

Newfield Fire Hall

77 Main St.  (just off Rt. 13)

Newfield, NY 14867

 
Free and open to the public!

Presenters:

“Problems with Gas Lease Termination” -  Joseph Heath, Esq. is General Council to the Onondaga Nation and an attorney since 1975.

“Gas Leases and Residential Mortgages” – Greg May is Vice-President of Residential Mortgage Lending at Tompkins Trust Company and has over 40 years experience in the mortgage field.

 ”Impacts of Gas Leases on Home-ownership and Mortgages” – Elisabeth N. Radow, Esq. is an attorney with more than 25 years of experience handling complex real estate development and real estate finance transactions.

After the presentations there will be ample time for questions and conversations with the speakers.

 

Presented by PAUSE–People Advocating the Use of Sustainable Energy

www.newfield-pause.org

newfield.pause@gmail.com

Video available from Gas Lease Workshop in Sidney, NY

Fleased was pleased to co-sponsor a gas lease workshop in Sidney, NY on March 18, 2012. You can watch video from the workshop here.

If you are interested in holding an informational workshop for leased landholders in your area, please get in touch with us (fleasedny@gmail.com | 607-539-7133). We’d be delighted to learn about what kinds of resources are needed in your area and how we might be of assistance.

Gas Lease Public Information Forum to be held March 8th

Assemblywoman Barbara Lifton will be hosting a public forum to answer landholders’ questions about their gas leases. Speakers will include Attorneys Joseph Heath and Guy Krogh. We hope to see you there!

Thursday, March 8th

7:00 – 9:00 PM

Borg Warner Meeting Room

Tompkins County Public Library

101 East Green Street  Ithaca, NY 14850

Landowners’ Rights Regarding Oil & Gas Leases To Be Addressed By NYS Assistant Attorney General

NYS Assistant Attorney General Mike Danaher will speak on Landowners’ Rights Regarding Oil & Gas Leases at Cornell Cooperative Extension of Tompkins County’s monthly Consumer Issues Program this month.  He will help consumers understand what the terms mean, how to evaluate offers and what negotiating rights the consumer has.  The program will be held on Thursday, February 9th at 11 AM.

Following the presentation consumers will have the opportunity to consult individually with Attorney Danaher regarding consumer issues they have been unsuccessful resolving locally.  This program, which is free and open to the public, will be held at the Cooperative Extension Office at 615 Willow Avenue, Ithaca, NY.

For more information about the program and what information a consumer needs to bring to a consultation call the Consumer HelpLine at 272-2292 weekdays.  No advance registration is required.

Parking information: The Cooperative Extension Office has a small lot in front of the building. If there are no spaces, street parking on Willow Avenue or West Lincoln Street is available.  Click here for a map: http://g.co/maps/yptvu

Video available from Nov 14th Compulsory Integration Information Session

Compulsory Integration Video Now Available Online

         Almost 150 people attended an information session at the Dryden Fire Hall on November 14th to hear a panel of experts discuss Compulsory Integration, a provision of New York State’s mining law that allows energy companies to remove natural gas from properties although the landowner has not signed a drilling lease.  That presentation and the question-and-answer period that followed were videotaped by Cris McConkey and now can be accessed online, along with handouts from the session and additional resources, at http://ccetompkins.org/gaslibrary.

Topics covered at the presentation include an explanation of Compulsory Integration (CI) and its legislative history; an overview of CI hearings and rights; impacts of CI on your land rights and how CI could affect your ability to obtain mortgages and loans.  Speakers included:  Barbara Lifton (NY State Assembly, 125th District); Kenneth Holden of Hancock Estabrook, a Syracuse attorney with natural gas leasing experience who has represented clients at CI hearings; Greg May, vice-president for Residential Mortgage Lending at Tompkins Trust Company; Carol Chock, TC Legislator and member of the TC Council of Governments Gas Drilling Taskforces Committee on Land Values/Assessment; and Nancy Larraine Hoffmann, farmer, spokesperson for Land Stewards of NY, and former NY State Senator.  The public information session was presented by Cornell Cooperative Extension of Tompkins County in cooperation with Fleased.

Fleased General Meeting

FLEASED GENERAL MEETING

Click here for meeting flier

PLEASE JOIN US!

December 4th, 2-4 PM
Dryden Fire Hall
26 North St, Dryden
Presenters
Ellen Harrison, Fleased Director
Joe Heath, General Counsel for the Onondaga Nation and environmental attorney
We will also be joined by
Michael Danaher and Dennis McCabe from the Office of the Attorney General

Bring your lease and get your questions answered!

Gas Drilling and Compulsory Integration: What are your rights?

November 14, 7:00-9:00
Dryden Fire Hall, 26 North Street, Dryden, NY

Energy companies may be able to remove natural gas from your property even if you haven’t signed a drilling lease due to the Compulsory Integration  provisions of the New York Oil, Gas and Solution Mining Law.

The public is invited to learn more about this topic and to ask questions at a free, educational forum on Monday, November 14 at the Dryden Fire Hall, 26 North Street in Dryden.   Doors will open at 6:30 and presentations begin at 7:00 p.m.  Presentations will be followed by question-and-answer period.

Topics to be covered include: an explanation of Compulsory Integration (CI) and its legislative history; an overview of compulsory integration hearings and your rights; impacts of CI on your land rights and how CI could affect your ability to obtain mortgages and loans.

Presenters include: NY State Assemblywoman Barbara Lifton (125th District); Kenneth Holden, Esquire with Hancock Estabrook in Syracuse, who has extensive experience in natural gas leasing and an attorney and who has represented clients at compulsory integration hearings; and Nancy Larraine Hoffmann, farmer, spokesperson for Land Stewards of NY and former NY State Senator; Carol Chock, Tompkins County legislator and Chair of the Assessment and Land Values Committee of the Tompkins County Council of Government Task Force on Gas Drilling.

This forum is sponsored by the Cornell Cooperative Extension of Tompkins County and Fleased. For more information contact Sharon Anderson, Cooperative Extension of Tompkins County at 607-272-2292 or Ellen Harrison at 607 539-7133 .

 

 

May 12 Force Majeure and Lease Termination Workshop

Gas Lease Workshop on Force Majeure and Lease Termination
May 12, 7-9 PM
Dryden Fire Hall
26 North Street


Two attorneys will cover issues of force  majeure and lease termination, for people who have signed gas drilling leases. Presenters will be Chris Denton, an Elmira attorney with extensive  experience in gas leasing issues, who works with clients who have received Force Majeure letters from gas companies. Denton is advising the Joint Landowner Coalition on a draft lease document protective of landowners.  Denton will talk about Force Majeure and what to do if you get such a letter from  the gas company claiming that the lease is extended.  The second presenter is attorney Joe Heath who  will talk about lease termination, and what to do to clear your title if your lease has terminated but the gas company has not filed papers  with the county clerk clearing your title. They will be joined by landowner Mike Bosetti who recently went through this process to clear his title.  Joe and Mike are members of GDACC.

Download and post a promotional flier at: http://ccetompkins.org/sites/all/files/63/force-majeure-flier-5-12.pdf

Contact fleasedny@gmail.com with any questions.
Co-sponsored by Fleased (http://fleased.org/)  and Cornell Cooperative Extension of Tompkins County

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