* § 13.31 Oil and gas drilling in Allegany state park. 1. Legislative\nfindings and declaration. The legislature finds and declares that\nAllegany state park harbors unique and irreplaceable natural and scenic\nresources and provides an extensive variety of recreational and\neducational opportunities for New York residents and visitors. The park\nis located in a geologically distinct, unglaciated area with unique\nterrestrial, freshwater and old growth forest ecosystems that warrant\nspecial protection, and is home to numerous rare, threatened and\nendangered species of plants and wildlife. The park's sixty-five\nthousand acres are the largest tract of intact, unfragmented forest land\nin the western half of the state, including mature second-growth as well\nas extensive old-growth forests. These features are an invaluable and\nirreplaceable part of the state's natural heritage which the state is\nobligated to preserve for future generations.\n The legislature further finds and declares that a unique circumstance\nexists in Allegany state park whereby private entities control\nsubsurface oil and gas rights beneath portions of the park. Ownership of\nsuch subsurface oil and gas rights was severed and retained in private\nownership prior to the acquisition and creation of the park by the state\nof New York in the early twentieth century. It is the purpose of this\nsection to ensure that any exploration, drilling, or production\nassociated with privately-controlled oil and gas rights within Allegany\nstate park, including all activities necessary to obtain access to\nsubsurface oil and gas, be undertaken with the strictest possible\noversight to minimize adverse impacts on the park's natural, scenic, and\nrecreational resources and the public's access to them and enjoyment\nthereof. It is intended that the provisions of this section be liberally\nconstrued and applied in furtherance of this purpose.\n The legislature finds and declares that the provisions of this section\nhave been enacted pursuant to the statutorily-mandated duty of the\noffice to provide for the health, safety and welfare of the public using\nfacilities under its jurisdiction. The legislature finds that the\nprovisions of this section constitute reasonable restrictions upon the\nexercise of privately-controlled oil and gas rights in furtherance of\nthe state's sovereign power and duty to hold public parklands in trust\nfor the benefit of the people of the state.\n 2. Surface access permit. No drilling, road building, clearing of\nvegetation, or other activity in furtherance of the exploration or\nproduction of privately-controlled oil or gas rights beneath state owned\nland within Allegany state park shall be undertaken except pursuant to\nthe terms of a surface access permit issued by the office pursuant to\nthis section. An application for such permit shall be filed with the\noffice concurrent with the application to the department of\nenvironmental conservation for a permit to drill an oil or gas well and\nshall include at a minimum:\n (a) proof satisfactory to the office of the applicant's legal right to\nrecover oil or gas resources beneath state owned land, including copies\nof title reports and, where applicable, leases with title holders, and a\nboundary survey completed by a licensed surveyor of the affected area;\n (b) a map identifying the proposed location of each oil or gas well\nfor which an application for a drilling permit has been submitted to the\ndepartment of environmental conservation;\n (c) a general description of the proposed oil or gas exploration and\nproduction activities;\n (d) identification of the amount of water needed and its sources;\n (e) a detailed description of all surface disturbance associated with\nthe proposed exploration and production of oil or gas, including but not\nlimited to the location and specifications of all roads proposed to be\nconstructed, all proposed well drilling locations, and the location and\n
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