Provides for the lapse of oil and gas and interests located within Allegany state park if unused for 20 years prior to effective date of act unless a statement of claim is filed by the owner prior to the end of the 20 year period or within 2 years of the effective date of the act, whichever is later; provides upon such lapse ownership shall revert to New York state; procedures and definitions.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
2779
2011-2012 Regular Sessions
IN SENATE
February 1, 2011
___________
Introduced by Sen. YOUNG -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
printed to be committed to the Committee on Judiciary
AN ACT to amend the real property law, in relation to lapse of oil and
gas interests in Allegany state park
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Legislative declaration. The legislature finds and declares
2 that there exists within Allegany state park a unique situation whereby
3 rights to oil and gas resources beneath the surface were severed at or
4 prior to the time of acquisition of lands of the park by the state of
5 New York, and that currently such rights may remain in private ownership
6 under significant areas of the park. Many of these rights are of ancient
7 origin and uncertain ownership and have never been exercised since such
8 acquisition, yet they complicate the state's ownership rights in the
9 park, and create the potential for future interference with the public's
10 right to full enjoyment of the park's unique and substantial natural
11 beauty and resources. The legislature finds that where oil and gas
12 rights have not been used for twenty years, they may properly be viewed
13 as dormant, and it is reasonable and appropriate to lapse such rights
14 unless their owners assert their claims to them within a reasonable
15 period of two years. The provisions of this act provide ample notice to
16 the unknown owners of the potential lapse of their rights as well as
17 ample opportunity to assert their claims. Thus, this act provides
18 reasonable protection of such rights while furthering the important
19 public policy of promoting the public's use and enjoyment of parklands
20 free from potential interference by dormant subsurface rights.
21 § 2. The real property law is amended by adding a new section 329-a to
22 read as follows:
23 § 329-a. Lapse of oil and gas interest within Allegany state park. The
24 provisions of this section shall apply to oil and gas interests that
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD01154-01-1
S. 2779 2
1 were previously severed from interests in lands that are currently owned
2 by the state within Allegany state park.
3 1. Any interest in oil and gas shall, if unused for a period of twenty
4 years immediately prior to the effective date of this section, be extin-
5 guished, and the ownership thereof shall revert to the state, unless a
6 statement of claim is filed within two years after the effective date of
7 this section, in accordance with subdivision five of this section.
8 2. Such oil and gas interest shall mean the interest which is created
9 by an instrument transferring, either by grant, assignment, or reserva-
10 tion or otherwise, an interest of any kind, in oil and gas located on or
11 beneath lands owned by the state within Allegany state park; provided,
12 however, that such interest shall not include a lease for a fixed term.
13 3. Such oil and gas interest shall be deemed to be used when: (a) oil
14 and gas is produced; (b) operations are being conducted for injection,
15 withdrawal, storage or disposal of water, gas or other fluid substances;
16 (c) rentals or royalties are being paid by the owner thereof for the
17 purpose of delaying or enjoying the use or exercise of such rights; (d)
18 any such use is being carried out on any tract with which such oil and
19 gas interest is being unitized or pooled for production purposes; or (e)
20 taxes are paid on such oil and gas interest by the owner thereof. Any
21 use pursuant to or authorized by the instrument creating such oil and
22 gas interest shall be effective to continue in force all rights granted
23 by such instrument.
24 4. Within thirty days after the effective date of this section, the
25 office of parks, recreation and historic preservation shall cause to be
26 published in three successive issues of three newspapers of general
27 circulation published in the county of Cattaraugus, a notice announcing
28 the enactment of the provisions of this section, including a summary
29 thereof in plain English.
30 5. The statement of claim provided in subdivision one of this section
31 shall be filed by the owner of such oil and gas interest within two
32 years immediately following the effective date of this section and shall
33 contain the name and address of the owner of such interest and
34 description of the land on or under which such oil and gas interest is
35 located. Such statement of claim shall be accompanied by a copy of the
36 instrument creating or reserving such interest and shall be filed in the
37 office of the clerk of the county of Cattaraugus. Where such an interest
38 is co-owned by more than one party, any one owner may file the statement
39 of claim on behalf of all owners.
40 6. Failure to file a statement of claim within the time provided in
41 subdivision five of this section shall not cause an oil and gas interest
42 to be extinguished if the owner of such oil and gas interest:
43 (a) made diligent effort to preserve all of such interests as were not
44 being used, and did within the period provided in subdivision five of
45 this section preserve other oil and gas interests, in said county, by
46 the filing of statements of claim as required by this section; and
47 (b) failed to preserve such interest through inadvertence; and
48 (c) filed the statement of claim required by this section within sixty
49 days after publication of notice as provided in subdivision seven of
50 this section or, if no such notice is published, within sixty days after
51 receiving actual knowledge that such oil and gas interest had been
52 extinguished.
53 7. At any time following the expiration of the period provided in
54 subdivision five of this section, the office of parks, recreation and
55 historic preservation may give notice of the lapse of any such oil and
56 gas interest by publishing the same in a newspaper of general circu-
S. 2779 3
1 lation in the county of Cattaraugus, and, if the address of such oil and
2 gas interest owner is shown of record or can be determined upon reason-
3 able inquiry, by mailing within ten days after such publication a copy
4 of such notice to the owner of such oil and gas interest. The notice
5 shall state the name of the owner of such oil and gas interest as shown
6 of record and a description of the land. If a copy of such notice,
7 together with an affidavit of service thereof, shall be promptly filed
8 in the office of the clerk in the county wherein such land is located,
9 the record thereof shall be prima facie evidence in any legal
10 proceedings that such notice was given.
11 8. Upon the filing of the statement of claim provided for in subdivi-
12 sion five of this section or the proof of service of notice as provided
13 in subdivision seven of this section in the clerk's office for the coun-
14 ty of Cattaraugus, the clerk shall record the same in a book to be kept
15 for that purpose, which shall be known as the "dormant oil and gas
16 interest record," and shall indicate by marginal notation on the instru-
17 ment creating the original oil and gas interest the filing of the state-
18 ment of claim or affidavit of publication and service of notice.
19 9. The filing of the statement of claim provided in this section shall
20 not be evidence of title to or ownership of the interest claimed therein
21 for any purpose other than that provided in this section.
22 § 3. This act shall take effect immediately.
