Press Release
March 06, 2015
Randy Simons | Dan Keefe
(518) 486-1868 | news@parks.ny.gov
State Parks to Host Public Meeting on Renewal of Gas Storage Lease
The New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation (State Parks) will hold a public information meeting on a lease renewal to continue natural gas storage operations in Allegany State Park with National Fuel Gas Supply Corporation on Monday, March 16 from 7:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m. at Salamanca Senior High School located at 50 Iroquois Drive in Salamanca.
State Parks will provide participants with the opportunity to meet with Parks staff as well as National Fuel Gas representatives, review maps and plans for the site. At 7:30 p.m. there will be a presentation on the proposed lease and opportunities for the public to ask questions and provide comments.
Under the terms of the proposed renewal, National Fuel will continue operating its existing subsurface natural gas storage facility within Allegany State Park, known as the Limestone Storage Field, for 15 years. The proposal would authorize National Fuel to maintain and operate existing storage wells, roads and pipelines associated with the storage field but would limit National Fuel's activities on the surface of Allegany State Park to the footprint of existing wells and facilities. The previous 50-year lease expired in June 2014. Parks and NFG entered into a one-year extension that runs through June 2015, to enable the parties to negotiate a long-term lease renewal.
The Limestone Storage Field has been operated in the park since 1964 under a lease, originally issued by New York State to the Felmont Oil Company and acquired by National Fuel in 1990. The storage field currently contains 14 storage wells which provide gas service to several Western New York counties.
The New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation oversees 180 state parks and 35 historic sites, which are visited by 62 million people annually. For more information on any of these areas, call 518-474-0456 or visit www.nysparks.com, connect on Facebook, or follow on Twitter.
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