Seen At 11

Natural Gas Goldmine Sitting Under Sullivan County

Many Residents Are Looking At An Economic Windfall If They Agree To Sell, Whether Land Is Drilled Or Not

HIGHLAND, N.Y. (CBS) ― What would you do if you found out you were living over a buried treasure worth millions? That's the question facing residents in a town in Sullivan County. Some say they are sitting atop a wellspring of natural gas.

With all the talk about overseas drilling and energy, almost everyone seems to have overlooked what's below our feet here in New York.

A buried treasure, not of diamonds and gold. This one is full of hot hair and that's a good thing.

With the price at the pump soaring and the price to power a home increasing, many are finding themselves between a rock and a hard place. Even more so in troubled upstate communities.

But it's between that rock and hard place that an economic windfall may emerge.

"You're talking about overnight millionaires in this county, yes," resident Bill Hofaker said.

Below the surface of Sullivan County is what's considered a potential super gas field -- natural gas found below thousands of acres land. Power companies have offered Hofaker and others big checks.

"There is an awful lot of money. The preliminary right now, it started at $250 an acre. It's now $2,500 an acre that's for whether they drill or not," Hofaker said.

What energy companies want is a type of black shale. It's rock. It has tremendous gas reserves, but the fine grain of the rock makes it hard to tap.

Not so fast says one town in this county. Highland council members voted to stop any drilling for six months.

"Just so that we can make sure we have the proper environmental controls in place so that everything develops properly," Frederick Bosch said.

For them, a boom would be a bust if drilling meant negative effects on ground stability and the water supply. Yet, with the potential of increasing national gas reserves by upwards of 20 percent through this area alone, environmentalists are weighing the options.

"It's proximity to NYC and the amlint of gas we use to heat our homes makes this an irresistible economic opportunity," said Marc Brownstein of the Environmental Defense Fund.

The drilling is not a guaranteed success. It was tried three decades ago. Now, new technology using a well with a horizontal drill and bust through the Marcellus shale. For a number of these landowners, many of them farmers, it's like hitting the lottery without ever playing.

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