Anadarko And Southwestern Energy Negotiating With DCNR To Drill In Loyalsock State Park
NPR reports that two producers and the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR) are negotiating the right to access sub-surface gas deposits in the Loyalsock State Forest. The Loyalsock State Forest consists of about 100,000 acres and stretches across Bradford, Lycoming, and Sullivan counties and sits above deposits of the Marcellus Shale. Anadarko and Southwestern Energy Company own the sub-surface mineral rights under about 18,000 acres where the DCNR owns the surface. There is an additional 7,000 acres in the Loyalsock State Park where the producers appear to own both the surface and sub-surface rights. The ongoing negotiations between the producers and the DCNR have riled environmentalists seeking the preservation of the special plants, endangered birds and animals that reside in the area. With heightened pressure on DCNR to respond, a public meeting on the drilling in Loyalsock will be scheduled for June.