New York’s 22nd District should be proud of their congressman, Maurice Hinchey. He’s got a clear handle on the issues, and has submitted a nice set of comments to the NY Department of Environmental Conservation on their evaluation of permitting needs for drilling in the Marcellus shale in NY.
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Otsego 2000, a non-for-profit environmental organization in operation in Otsego County for nearly three decades, recenlty issued a statement arguing strongly against the draft Supplemental Generic Environmental Impact Statement issued in late September by the DEC for horizontal natural gas extraction horizontal fracturing, or “fracking,’’ in the Marcellus Shale.
Elected officials taking a position on Marcellus Shale development are facing strident demands from stakeholders who could become rich, go broke or possibly abandon hope, depending on Albany’s response.
As a Dec. 31 public comment deadline approaches, the polarizing debate shows no sign of easing. Stakeholders continue to hold town hall meetings, sign petitions and write elected officials in an attempt to make or break the multibillion-dollar gas industry’s move to the Southern Tier.
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Why did we sign? Partly because natural gas is a relatively “clean” fuel, so obtaining it locally seemed reasonable. Partly because the way it was presented to us made it sound inevitable and benign. Partly because the money was appealing. The Music Man came to town, and I am astonished and ashamed that we succumbed to his tune.
We never would have signed if we had known then what we now know about the pollution potential and the possible transformation of peaceful residential and agricultural areas into industrial zones. I am sure that there are many other landowners who feel the same way. We have decided to use the money we received from the lease to try to stave off this potential disaster. A new organization called “(F)leased” is forming to represent people who signed leases and wish they hadn't.