Who is Drilling in Endicott, Vestal, Endwell and West Corners?

Some western Broome County residents and government officials have been wondering about drilling activity they've seen in their neighborhoods.

People in the Union District of Endicott observed a work crew taking soil samples at Mercereau Park just north of the Susquehanna River.

Two men who were working for Empire Exploration based in western New York were in the village-owned park for a couple of days.

The workers told a reporter they were taking soil samples from several sites in the area. While they were provided with locations for the project, they didn't know who commissioned the work.

The crew in recent days was reported at spots along Pumphouse Road and Route 434 in Vestal, Davis Avenue in Endwell and near Route 26 in West Corners.

Endicott Mayor Nick Burlingame said village officials had observed the crew drilling at "multiple locations" but they didn't know the reason for the work. He said his office had received "a handful of calls" inquiring about the activity.

It appears the work is being done for NYSEG. According to the state Department of Environmental Conservation, the agency issued the utility a flood control land use permit to conduct "vertical soil borings on DEC flood control lands."

The work is being done "as part of a future natural gas main replacement project."

Four of the planned borings are located on flood control lands or required access through such property.

The boring locations were chosen "to minimize any disturbance to the levees using at least 50 feet offset." The borings will be backfilled with a grout mixture to "minimize any seepage pathways." The work is scheduled to end this week.

A NYSEG representative could not be reached to discuss the planned natural gas main replacement project.

Contact WNBF News reporter Bob Joseph: bob@wnbf.com. For breaking news and updates on developing stories, follow @BinghamtonNow on Twitter.