Nov. 24--In seeking to clarify a legal issue, the Earth Conservancy hopes to be prepared in the event anyone wants to lease its land for natural gas drilling or similar purposes.

The nonprofit organization filed, in federal court, a request for declaratory judgment in the ownership of assets, including mineral, coal, and oil and gas rights.

The matter wasn't made clear in the original bankruptcy decree for Blue Coal Corp. and Glen Nan Coal Co. Inc., as it was supposed to be, Earth Conservancy Executive Director Mike Dziak said.

"We're asking for clarification from the court on the distribution of assets," he said. "We certainly want to do our homework and make sure there isn't any outstanding ambiguity."

Blue Coal Corp. ceased operations when bankruptcy was declared in December 1976. Newport Township-based Glen Nan, the last large-scale deep mine in Luzerne County, closed in 1974 after it was inundated by water. The company filed for bankruptcy on July 13, 1978. The two bankruptcy cases were subsequently consolidated by the courts.

Earth Conservancy was created in 1993 by U.S. Rep. Paul E. Kanjorski, D-Nanticoke, to purchase the companies' assets, including approximately 16,000 acres of former coal mining land. The organization has since reclaimed hundreds of acres for uses such as industrial parks, greenspace and recreation. In addition to Luzerne County, Earth Conservancy has assets in Susquehanna, Wayne and Lackawanna counties, Dziak said.

The sale agreement included all rights to the land, its structures and buildings, and "all mineral rights, coal rights and oil and gas rights � and all mining drilling and production rights," the court filing states.

The Blue Coal bankruptcy case dragged on until July 12, 2000, when it was officially closed, according to the court filing. It also states that Earth Conservancy's position is that the case remains closed, and the bankruptcy court no longer has jurisdiction.

"Based upon the clear and unambiguous language of the agreement of sale, EC is the sole and absolute owner of the oil, gas and mineral rights," the document states.

In order to resolve the controversy, Earth Conservancy is asking the court to declare it the sole owner and also to enable a representative of the bankrupt companies to "transfer and convey any and all rights, title and interest that the Bankrupts may have in and to the oil, gas and mineral rights" and other rights to the Earth Conservancy.

The document states, "This case and controversy (are) ripe for determination, as EC has been and continues to be harmed by claims that it is not the owner of the oil, gas and mineral rights and the non-exhibit assets."

The court filing references a letter of interest by the Thomas Co. to purchase oil and gas rights. The letter was addressed to the bankruptcy court instead of the Earth Conservancy.

However, Earth Conservancy isn't negotiating with anybody for natural gas or other rights at present, Dziak said. The organization wants the situation clarified in case there is future interest.

"It is certainly for that, but it's even more than that," Dziak said, regarding potential natural gas leases. "You don't know what might come up in the future. There's a wide world of ideas out there."

eskrapits@citizensvoice.com, 570-821-2072

-----

To see more of The Citizens' Voice or to subscribe to the newspaper, visit http://www.citizensvoice.com/.

Copyright (c) 2009, The Citizens' Voice, Wilkes-Barre, Pa.

Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.

For reprints, email tmsreprints@permissionsgroup.com, call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA.

A service of YellowBrix, Inc.