A34—Lancaster Farming, Saturday, May 9,1981
Oil, gas leases
(Continued from Page Al)
agree to join together to gain the
economic advantage to obtain
better financial terms and lease
protections from the leasing
companies.
“Agents will tell you,” Mazza
said, “that lawyers are only going
to line their own pockets by
working with you to get a better
lease, but that is not so. The agents
themselves are paid according to
the number of leases or acres they
can sign up ”
“Farmers are too trusting. If
they were to lease their own land
or home, they would write the
lease themselves, but when a
landman comes in the door with a
lease written in the favor of the oil
company, the farmers sign without
question!”
Reportedly in Bradford County
several thousands of acres have
been leased recently by C.E. Beck
and Associates from Oil City, Pa.
“Farmers were not hesitant to
sign because they have signed
leases in years past,” Mazza said.
“They think that because no
drilling has been done in the past
they might as well take what is
offered. But times have changed
since last summer or fall when
modern computer technology
discovered that the substrata
similar to that found in the western
overthrust has been found from
Alabama to New York state. Since
then, gas and oil leasing com
panies have rushed in to sign up
land.”
The oil and gas lease, which
sometimes also includes mineral
rights in the fine print, being
signed by some land holders in
Bradford County offers $2 per acre
bonus payment on signing, $1 an
acre yearly for ten years, and 1/8
royalty.
“The $1 per acre is practically
invisible in the oil company budget
since a good well will yield several
million dollars,” Mazza said.
In one county in which Mazza
recently worked he reported that
the leasing company’s first bonus
payment offer was $5 an acre, and
the final offer obtained after
negotiating as a group was $l5 an
acre. The yearly rental was raised
from the initial $1 to $5; free gas
per property was raised from
200,000 cubic feet to 400,000 cubic
feet; the oil company agreed to
install the gas service line, the
royalty was raised from 1/8 to
3/16; and finally the oil company
who won the winning bid paid all
the legal fees incurred by the
negotiating!
“The idea of energy groups has
made an impact on leasing com
panies,” Mazza said.
“Weaver Oil and Gas Company
has already added two pages of
typewritten paragraphs to then
standard lease.”
Many questions about the fine
points of the lease were discussed
such as what happens to the lease
if Uie farm is sold; clearing the
deed title after toe lease ends;
indemnity clauses to protect the
land owner against law suits, the
right to agree to locations for
drilling; the rights-of-way
protection of buildings and
agriculture use.
“Some of these lease terms are
only implied in the standard
lease,” Mazza warned. “They are
not spelled out as they should be.”
When asked if landowners who
had already signed leases could
terminate the lease, Mazza replied
that possibly after their lease has
expired they could get in with an
energy group and gain a better
NIA»
LANCASTER FARMING
FOR COMPLETE
AND UP-TO-DATE
MARKET REPORTS
lease next time.
Mazza concluded his talk by
saying the success of negotiations
for more money and better terms
depends on the size of the energy
groups, and the leasing companies
involved. He expressed the ob-
S. Paul Mazza, attorney for the Pennsylvania Farmers
Association Legal Service, urges farmers in Bradford and
Sullivan counties to form energy groups in lease dealings with
oil and gas companies.
RCWP funds
(Continued from Page Al)
ducted to prepare the 208 funding
application identified 400 farms in
the project area (bounded by Rt
322 from Ephrata to Hinkletown,
and north) that had critical con
servation needs out of a total of
1250 farms. Farms with critical
needs were defined as:
adjacent to' the Conestoga
River or Cocalico Creek;
adjacent to smaller
tributaries;
having a higher livestock
stocking rate than 1.5 animal units
per acre; and/or
using high rates of com
mercial nutrients and pesticides.
Brubaker stated the 208 con
servation project is designed to
assist approximately 300 of the 400
farmers with problems. He
stressed the decision of which
farmers would receive funding
would be decided by the local
County ASC committee.
The 206 program is planned to be
carried out over a 10-year period,
Brubaker explained. A farmer
would be able to receive a
maximum of $50,000 in con
servation assistance until 1991, if
the program was implemented this
year.
Lancaster County Conservation
District Administrator Tom
Johnston stated the ty 8S of
conservation practices being
considered under the clean water
program are manure storages,
terraces, waterways, and diver
sions, for the most part.
“This program is different from
the regular conservation program
because it’s designed to control
water pollution through non-point
sources,” he said. The Rural Clean
Water Program will hopefully
improve the quality of our water
supplies.
“The Conestoga River supplies
servation that the group m
Towanda was the most interested
and affirmative group he had
encountered.
It is anticipated by officials of
the Bradford-Sullivan County
Fanners Association that town
ship groups or smaller groups of
adjacent farms of more than SOO
acres will be formed in the near
future in Bradford County-
half the water for the City' of
Lancaster’s population of 100,000.
And, Ephrata gets a portion of its
water from the Cocalico, a
tributary of the Conestoga.
“There are eight water
authorities altogether in the
project area the work is critical
for Lancaster County’s water
supplies.”
If the Lancaster application is
approved, Johnston explained the
remainder of 1981 would be spent
in planning the needed con
servation with those farmers
wishing to participate. Then,
starting in the Spring of 1982,
construction work would be con
tracted and practices installed.
The cost of technical assistance
provided by the Soil Conservation
Service staff in applying the 208
conservation work has been
estimated at $473,000. This amount
would be taken out of the $1.9
million, along with an additional
$lO,OOO for information and
education assistance provided by
Extension Service. That would
leave about $1.4 million to be used
for actual practice installation
expenses, Brubaker explained. \
Hopefully there will be good
news coming out of Washington
within the next month for Lan
caster County farmers, but the
competition for funding is keen
according to a state ASCS
spokesman.
He pointed out there are only $2O
million allocated for the Rural
Clean Water Program nationwide
for 1981, whereas in 1980 there was
$5O million.
Last year, 208 projects were
approved in neighboring states of
Delaware and Maryland.
However, Pennsylvania’s ap
plication was tied up in red tape
with the Governor’s delay in
signing the state water quality
plan.
See your nearest
SPER3Y=y=NEW hollaing
Dealer for Dependable
Equipment and Dependable
Service:
Alexandi
Clapper Farm
Equipment
Star Route
814-669-4465
Annville. PA
B H.M Farm
Equipment, Inc
R.D 1
717-867-2211
Beavertown,
B&R Farm
Equipment, Inc
RDI, 80x217A
717-658-7024
imvil
Stanley A. Klopp, Inc
Bernville, PA
215-488-1510
Carlisle. PA
PaulShovers, Inc.
35 East Willow Street
717-243-2686
Catawissa. PA
AbraczmsKas Farm
Equipment, Inc
RD 1
717-356-2323
Chambersburg, PA
Clugston
Implement, Inc
RD 1
717-263-4103
Pavidsburg. PA
George N Gross, Inc
R D, 2, Dover, PA
717-292-1673
Messick Farm
Equipment, Inc
Rt 283-Rheem’s Exit
717-367-1319
Gettysburg. PA
Ymglmg Implements
R.D.9
717-359-4848
Greencastle. PA
Meyers
Implement’s Inc.
400 N Antrim Way
PO. Box 97
717-597-2176
Halifax. PA
Sweigard Bros
R D 3, Box 13
717-896-3414
Honey Brook. PA
Dependable Motor Co.
East Mam Street
215-273-3131
215-273-3737
H
lonev Grove. PA
' Norman 0. Clark
Honey Grove, PA
717-734-3682 -
Hughesville. PA
Farnsworth Farm
Supplies, Inc
103 Cemetery Street
717-584-2106
Lancaster. PA
L H Brubaker, life
350 Strasburg Pike
717-397-5179
ibanon. PA
Evergreen
Tractor Co, Inc
30 Evergreen Road
717-272-4641
Utifa. PA
Roy A Brubaker
700 Woodcrest Av
717-626-7766
Loysville, PA
Paul Shovers, Inc
Loysville, PA
717-789-3117
Lvnnport, PA
Kermit K Kistler, Inc
Lynnport, PA
215-298-2011
Martins bur«. Pi
Forshey's, Inc
HOForsheySt
814-793-3791
Mill Hall. PA
-Paul A Dotterer
RD 1
717-726-3471
Nazareth. PA
Edwards Farm
Equipment
291 West
Moorestown Rd
215-759-0240
ABC Groff, Inc
110 South Railroad
717-354-4191
New Park. PA
M&R Equipment Inc
P 0 Box 16
717-993-2511
QI^P.A
CJ Wonsidler Bros
RD 2
215-987-6257
Palm.PA
Wentz Farm
Supplies, Inc
Rt 29
215-679-7164
Pitman. PA
Marlin W Schreffler
Pitman, PA
717-648-1120
Pleasant Gap. PA
Brooks Ford Tractor
W. College Ave
814-359-2751
OuarrwiHe. PA-,
C.E. Wiley & Son, Inc
Street
101 South Lime
717-786-2895
Rc«toi|ic..PA
Big Valley Sales
& Service,
Inc
P 0.80x548
717-667-3944
town.
Rmgtown Farm
Equipment
Rmgtown, PA
717-889-3184
Shippensburg, PA
R B Miller, Inc
N. Seneca St.
717-532-4178
Silverdale. PA
i.G Sales
Box 149
215-257-5135
Tamaoua. PA
Charles S. Snyder, Inc
RD 3
717-386-5945
ir. PA
M.S Yearsley&Son
114-116 E?st
Market Street
215-696-2990
West Grove. PA
SG Lewis & Son, Inc
RD 2,80x66
215-869-2214
Walter G. Coale, Inc
2849-53
Churchviile Rd
301-734-7722
Rising Sun, MD
Ag Ind
Equipment Co, Inc
1207 Telegraph Rd
301-398-6132
301-658-5568
215 869-3542
Bridgeton. NJ
Leslie G Fogg, Inc
Canton &
Stow Creek
Landing Rds
RD 3
609-451-2727
Frank Rymon & Sons
814-793-3791
Woodstown. NJ
Owen Supply Co
Broad Street S
East Avenue
609-769-0308