NORWICH – The low drone from drilling rigs can still be heard through the hills and dales of Smyrna, landmen have begun to infiltrate further north into Madison County and rumors are flying about more lease deals coming to Broome County property owners.

All that activity should be enough to spur state lawmakers into completing the Marcellus Shale permitting process, a group of Chenango County supervisors say – not to mention the constant bombardment of communiqué over the Internet from local government officials, environmentalists, landowner coalitions and natural gas industry lobbyists.

The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation is supplementing its environmental regulations for hydrofraking permits in the natural gas rich Marcellus Shale. The update was to have been completed in March, but isn’t expected now until fall. Industry followers say many companies are lined up to drill once permits can be issued.

“Very simply, what else is in New York? This is an opportunity that is almost certain,” Chenango County Supervisor Peter C. Flanagan, D-Preston, and chair of the county’s special committee on natural gas, said Tuesday.

A rally scheduled for Aug. 23 in Bainbridge, sponsored by 23 Central New York coalitions, aims to provide a forum for landowners to ask their elected county and state officials, including Governor Paterson - who will all be invited - why the DEC’s Supplemental Generic Environmental Impact Statement is being held up.