JACKSON TWP — The supervisors Thursday evening approved a nondrilling natural gas lease with Rex Energy for the two remaining township-owned properties that had not been locked up by the company.

Those properties are on Magill Road and a remaining lot in the Porter’s Cove area. The properties were leased for a total of $4,400 or for $1,500 per acre. The township will receive 15 percent in gas royalties.

The Marcellus Shale natural gas lease doesn’t allow drilling on the township properties, but allows the drilling companies to take the natural gas from under the township properties using wells that have been drilled elsewhere.

The nondrilling lease is similar to the other leased properties including the township’s former property on Tollgate Road, which it sold to the new formed community development corporation, but still maintains the gas and mineral rights.

That lease was for $1,750 per acre and 15 percent royalties.

Township manager Chris Rearick said these two properties weren’t included in the original lease with Rex Energy because the company wasn’t originally interested in the Magill Road property, while the Porter’s Cove property wasn’t offered to it in the original lease signing.

Supervisors Chairman Jay Grinnell said these are the remaining township-owned properties that were available for potential natural gas leases.