N.Y. Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation Law § 13.31*2: Oil and gas drilling in Allegany state park

* § 13.31 Oil and gas drilling in Allegany state park. 1. Legislative

findings and declaration. The legislature finds and declares that

Allegany state park harbors unique and irreplaceable natural and scenic

resources and provides an extensive variety of recreational and

educational opportunities for New York residents and visitors. The park

is located in a geologically distinct, unglaciated area with unique

terrestrial, freshwater and old growth forest ecosystems that warrant

special protection, and is home to numerous rare, threatened and

endangered species of plants and wildlife. The park's sixty-five

thousand acres are the largest tract of intact, unfragmented forest land

in the western half of the state, including mature second-growth as well

as extensive old-growth forests. These features are an invaluable and

irreplaceable part of the state's natural heritage which the state is

obligated to preserve for future generations.

The legislature further finds and declares that a unique circumstance

exists in Allegany state park whereby private entities control

subsurface oil and gas rights beneath portions of the park. Ownership of

such subsurface oil and gas rights was severed and retained in private

ownership prior to the acquisition and creation of the park by the state

of New York in the early twentieth century. It is the purpose of this

section to ensure that any exploration, drilling, or production

associated with privately-controlled oil and gas rights within Allegany

state park, including all activities necessary to obtain access to

subsurface oil and gas, be undertaken with the strictest possible

oversight to minimize adverse impacts on the park's natural, scenic, and

recreational resources and the public's access to them and enjoyment

thereof. It is intended that the provisions of this section be liberally

construed and applied in furtherance of this purpose.

The legislature finds and declares that the provisions of this section

have been enacted pursuant to the statutorily-mandated duty of the

office to provide for the health, safety and welfare of the public using

facilities under its jurisdiction. The legislature finds that the

provisions of this section constitute reasonable restrictions upon the

exercise of privately-controlled oil and gas rights in furtherance of

the state's sovereign power and duty to hold public parklands in trust

for the benefit of the people of the state.

2. Surface access permit. No drilling, road building, clearing of

vegetation, or other activity in furtherance of the exploration or

production of privately-controlled oil or gas rights beneath state owned

land within Allegany state park shall be undertaken except pursuant to

the terms of a surface access permit issued by the office pursuant to

this section. An application for such permit shall be filed with the

office concurrent with the application to the department of

environmental conservation for a permit to drill an oil or gas well and

shall include at a minimum:

(a) proof satisfactory to the office of the applicant's legal right to

recover oil or gas resources beneath state owned land, including copies

of title reports and, where applicable, leases with title holders, and a

boundary survey completed by a licensed surveyor of the affected area;

(b) a map identifying the proposed location of each oil or gas well

for which an application for a drilling permit has been submitted to the

department of environmental conservation;

(c) a general description of the proposed oil or gas exploration and

production activities;

(d) identification of the amount of water needed and its sources;

(e) a detailed description of all surface disturbance associated with

the proposed exploration and production of oil or gas, including but not

limited to the location and specifications of all roads proposed to be

constructed, all proposed well drilling locations, and the location and

amount of proposed tree and vegetation removal, and the methods to be

used in such activities;

(f) a description of how produced oil or gas will be transported out

of the park, including a detailed description of the construction and

location of all proposed transmission lines;

(g) an estimate of the amount of waste products by type expected to

result from construction, exploration and production and a description

of how such waste will be handled and disposed of;

(h) a description of the methods to be used to control stormwater flow

and erosion;

(i) distances from streams of proposed work, identification of

affected streams and methods of stream crossings, if any;

(j) estimated number, species and diameter of trees to be removed and

method of removal;

(k) a detailed description and timeline of steps that will be taken to

reclaim the affected surface area and restore it to its previous natural

condition once drilling and production activities have ceased. Such

description shall describe interim restoration activities that shall

occur immediately after each well has been drilled and any associated

transmission lines have been installed, as well as final restoration

activities that shall occur after production has ceased;

(l) a comprehensive inventory of plant and animal species, ecological

communities, wetlands, and surface streams within the area, as

determined by the office, that may be affected by proposed drilling

locations, road construction, transmission lines, and any other

activities associated with proposed exploration and production

activities, and an analysis of the potential adverse impacts on such

species, ecological communities, wetlands, and surface streams; and

(m) a description of historic, archeological and cultural resources

potentially affected by proposed exploration, production, road building,

and transmission lines.

3. Surface access permit conditions. Any surface access permit granted

by the office pursuant to this section shall include the following terms

and conditions:

(a) The office may limit the number of well sites, the location of

well sites, and the amount of cleared area associated with each well

site in order to mitigate adverse impacts to natural, ecological,

scenic, and recreational resources.

(b) No liquid or solid wastes shall be collected or stored in open

pits nor disposed of or released within the park.

(c) The office may limit the construction and the location of access

roads in order to mitigate adverse impacts to natural, ecological,

scenic, and recreational resources. All new roads shall be designed to

the minimum possible width and shall be constructed to avoid or minimize

the potential for erosion and other adverse impacts. All trees cut or

removed as part of road construction and well site clearing activities

shall remain the property of the office.

(d) In order to protect the health and safety of park visitors and

employees and to minimize adverse impacts on public recreational uses of

the park, the office may restrict the seasons that the permittee may

undertake road construction, well drilling, and associated activities on

state owned lands. The office may also designate the park roads the

permittee shall use for vehicle access into and through the park, and

may restrict seasons or times that the permittee may exercise vehicle

access on park roads open to the public.

(e) The permit shall include such conditions on the management of

forest resources, and construction and maintenance of access roads, well

sites and transmission lines, as the office deems necessary to protect

park resources.

(f) The permittee shall be required to establish and maintain a fund

sufficient to reimburse the office for the costs of an on-site monitor,

who shall be hired by and report to the office, who shall be physically

present during all land clearing, road construction, well drilling,

installation and maintenance of transmission lines, well maintenance,

well closure, and restoration activities undertaken by the permittee to

assure compliance with all required permits and applicable state and

federal laws and regulations.

(g) The permittee shall be required to establish and maintain a fund

sufficient to reimburse the office for the costs of consultants retained

by the office to conduct:

(1) sampling of groundwater, surface water, wetlands, and soil;

(2) monitoring to detect any adverse impacts to sensitive species of

plants and animals and ecological communities; and

(3) inspections to detect any non-native invasive plant or animal

species that are introduced into the park as a result of the permittee's

activities.

The office shall determine the areas to be subject to such sampling,

monitoring, and inspections, which shall be undertaken annually, or more

frequently if determined appropriate by the office, until the permittee

has concluded oil and gas exploration and production activities and

completed the restoration requirements established in paragraph (i) of

this subdivision.

(h) The permittee shall be required at its expense to take corrective

actions to eliminate any adverse impacts resulting from the permitted

activity to the park's roads, facilities and infrastructure, or to the

park's groundwater, surface water, wetlands, soil, natural resources,

plant and animal species and ecological communities.

(i) The permittee shall be required to obtain financial security in an

amount sufficient to restore to their previous natural condition all

areas affected by the permittee's ground disturbance, clearing,

drilling, road construction, and installation of transmission lines,

after oil and gas exploration, drilling, and production activities have

concluded. Restoration shall include but not be limited to a requirement

that the permittee remove and reforest all roads and cleared areas.

(j) The permit shall include requirements for the amount and type or

types of insurance to be procured and maintained by the permittee.

(k) The office shall include any additional permit conditions it deems

necessary to avoid or minimize impacts on the park's recreational,

scenic and natural resources and to protect the health and safety of

park visitors and employees.

4. Other requirements. The requirements of this section shall be in

addition to, and shall not replace or affect, any other requirements for

the exercise of oil and gas drilling rights, including but not limited

to requirements set forth in article twenty-three of the environmental

conservation law or other applicable state or federal laws, permits,

orders, or regulations. Nothing in this section shall affect or

supersede the application of article seven of the public service law to

the siting of a major utility transmission facility as defined therein.

5. Environmental review. The office will serve as lead agency for

review pursuant to article eight of the environmental conservation law

for all actions involving exploration and production of

privately-controlled oil and gas resources beneath state owned lands

within Allegany state park, including applications for a permit pursuant

to this section. In conducting such review, the office shall evaluate

all potential impacts of proposed well drilling, road construction,

clearing of vegetation, and other related activities in terms of

consistency with the agency's mission as set forth in section 3.02 of

this chapter.

6. Enforcement. Any violation of a term or condition of a surface

access permit granted pursuant to this section shall be grounds for

revocation thereof. In addition, any party acting in violation of such a

permit, and any party engaging in oil or gas exploration, drilling, or

production activity without having obtained a permit as required by this

section, shall be subject to injunction and liable for a civil penalty

of not more than ten thousand dollars for each day of such violation,

obtainable in an action brought by the attorney general upon referral by

the commissioner or on his or her own initiative.

7. Compensation of lost revenue. In the event that any spill or

release of oil, gas, or other substance produced or transported in

Allegany state park by, or on behalf of, any person receiving a permit

under this section results in the temporary closing of all or part of

Allegany state park, such person shall be liable to compensate the

office for any lost revenue or park user fees resulting from the

closure. Such compensation of lost revenue shall be in addition to any

other costs or penalties imposed under applicable laws, regulations, or

permit conditions.

8. Rules and regulations. The commissioner is authorized to adopt

rules and regulations necessary or desirable to effectuate the

provisions of this section.

* NB There are 2 § 13.31's