The board of directors of the UJA-Federation of New York voted unanimously Wednesday to allow the Hess Corporation to drill for natural gas on the property it owns in Wayne County, Pa.
The federation has two camps on the property, the Sam Field Y for children and the Associated Camps — Block and Hexter Vacation Center for older adults. It seems that the region where the camps lie has become a hotbed for drilling for natural gas.
Hess will pay the federation $1.6 million for drilling rights, then another $1.6 million once it actually starts drilling, plus a 20 percent royalty for any natural gas discovered, the federation’s president, John Shapiro, announced at the board meeting.
Shapiro assured the board that the drilling would be of no danger to camp attendees because drilling for natural gas is a much cleaner process than drilling for oil.
Though the federation will be taxed on the initial two payments of $1.6 million, it still will net $2 million, plus whatever royalties it collects, he said. Some of the money will be used for capital improvements at the camps, while the rest will go to help cover the federation’s budget in a tough year
JTA has documented Jewish history in real-time for over a century. Keep our journalism strong by joining us in supporting independent, award-winning reporting.
