The Auburn city council can decide today whether the city and county should team up in an effort to tap local natural gas resources.

The agenda for the council's weekly business meeting includes a resolution that would authorize the city to request proposals for natural gas exploration on city-owned properties.

The Cayuga County Legislature is also seeking similar proposals for county-owned properties, according to the proposal.

Both governmental entities have discussed during municipal meetings the potential in the area for natural gas mines. Members of the Auburn Municipal Power Agency have specifically cited the city landfill as a possible location for exploration.

Natural gas has become a hot topic in several central New York communities ever since it was found that a large, productive shale formation runs underneath the region.

Known as the Marcellus Shale, the formation runs from New York through Pennsylvania and beyond.

Advancements in drilling have led to a new technique known as horizontal drilling, which has been shown to yield higher volumes of gas than conventional drilling.

However, citizens and environmental groups have raised concerns over the technique because it uses multiple chemicals as part of the drilling process.