NORWICH – A private landowner informed Chenango County officials in late July that he would start litigation against the county for conspiracy to allow trespass if companies are premitted to conduct seismic testing along right-of-ways adjacent to his land.

Bradd Vickers, of County Road 19 in Preston, told officials to immediately stop testing along the right-of-ways on both sides of county roads 10A, 19 and the Barnes Road because such practices are without his consent.

“The county’s practices of issuing these illegal ‘permits’ must cease and desist immediately and the private parties whom have been issued these permits must be immediately notified that their permission to access these private lands through seismic testing has been revoked,” states the July 22 letter. (The Evening Sun obtained a copy of the correspondence via the Freedom of Information Act.)

In order to determine the best place to drill, natural gas companies contract with seismic testing firms that collect data on faults in the substrata up to 12,000 feet below the surface. Nornew, Inc. and other natural gas companies have been actively pursuing the energy source in several layers of rock, in particular, that which lies within the highly-publicized and prized Marcellus Shale which lies approximately 4,000 feet down.