Gas pressure

Leasing, easements and community perception

By SANDY LONG

MILANVILLE, PA — Two Milanville residents and Narrowsburg, NY business owners are learning that there is more than one meaning to the term “gas pressure.” Grady Avant and Will Geisler, who own properties in Milanville andNarrowsburg and operate businesses on Main Street in Narrowsburg, are now finding themselves in a difficult position and finding themselves scrutinized.

The latest trigger occurred when Avant was contacted by Newfield Exploration Company for an easement on a corner of the property he owns at the intersection of Calkins Road and High Bridge Road in Milanville, near a site where Newfield is preparing the exploratory Crum well pad site. Widening the existing intersection there would enable the large trucks to make a cleaner turn at the sharp corner.

“They want to negotiate for the corner of our land and it’s causing a huge problem,” said Avant. “People think we have the ability to stop them from coming down the road. An email went around to a group of people recently suggesting that we single handedly have the power to stop this. That’s untrue. The fact is, the gas company is already here. They want to bring their big trucks around the corner, and it will either be a seven-point turn, or providing an easement to widen the corner to help alleviate the potential congestion and noise.

“If we were to say no, I’m told that the township could exercise their right of eminent domain. The work that they’ve been doing on the road is positioned as a township project funded by Newfield, so it therefore falls under the township’s right of way and they can widen the road as an improvement project for the town. If they wanted to, they could take the corner of our land with very minimal compensation.”

Avant and Geisler have also learned that the property is surrounded by thousands of acres of land under lease for gas extraction. “Leasing is not something we want to do,” said Avant. “Now we’re faced with the fact that they’re drilling right behind our house. We have to look at our options, but just exploring them has created so many rifts between friends and people we work with. Even people I don’t know. Some have stopped coming in to the coffee shop [Geisler owns Narrowsburg Roasters], or they’ve called saying, ‘what have you done?’ The truth is, we haven’t done anything and hope to fight or prolong the issue as long as we can.”

While the pair has been gathering what Avant terms “practical information,” they have received little in the way of understanding. “Very few people have said, ‘I feel really bad for you. How are you doing?’ It’s been, ‘I can’t believe you’re even talking to these people.’ I feel like the unluckiest person to have had this happen. It not only affects our community and our property value—we’ve heavily invested here both financially and emotionally. To have it threatened is one thing, but to have it threaten the reason you’re here, which is the community, is a whole other facet. I would have thought people would be more helpful, but we now feel alienated.”

Newfield would like to bring Avant’s 56 acres into the collection of surrounding leases. And although Avant would prefer that it never came to this, he’s decided that it’s crucial to keep communicating. “I can’t not deal with Newfield,” said Avant. “They’re my new neighbor. We want what’s best for us and our businesses and our community. At the same time, there’s the reality that these people are now part of our community and we’ve got to learn how to deal with them.

“Some of us are going to be put in a really difficult position where we have to decide what to do. Everybody should know what their options are. If you haven’t researched it and exhausted your options, you won’t have any.

“Can I prevent this? I can’t by myself. I now feel isolated. Instead of getting support and having friends say, ‘What can we do? Let’s do this together,’ people look at me funny on the streets. All we have tried to do is educate ourselves, and simply by doing so it has negatively impacted our life. I can’t even explore my options without being criticized, without being under a microscope.

“I want to have a positive influence on this area, but at the same time, we’re being forced into this difficult situation. Instead of being met with some kind of compassion, there’s very little understanding and a lot of judgment. I’m here because I love my friends; I love the town; this is where I’d like to spend the rest of my life. But if I’m going to be judged forever, the things I’ve been working toward building and preserving are gone.”

Ultimately, Avant stressed that communication and support are key issues in surviving as a community. “It’s not one person that can change this. It’s everyone as a community. So those comments about me being the gatekeeper of the road, they’re just not true. We’re all gatekeepers of this community, this township, this state, this country and this planet. I’m asking for help. I’m seeking answers.”