Environmental groups consolidate opposition to gas drilling
AFTON – Local grassroots organizations from across New York State met with all the major national and regional environmental groups in Binghamton on Saturday, April 4. Their common concern is that unlike traditional gas drilling in porous rocks, the natural gas now sought is trapped too tightly within various types of stone layers to be extracted safely.
According to a press release from the Chenango Delaware Otsego Gas Group (CDOG), differences emerged among the 25 groups represented over how to respond to the government/industry partnership that they fear will result in permanent environmental damage and social dislocation. Representatives of some organizations favor a strategy to: (1) Pass into law a bill that would ban drilling in the area that provides water to New York City, and (2) Seek whatever regulations for the rest of New York State that government/industry will allow. They argue that if the watershed of New York City can be protected first, it would be easier to protect the watersheds of other less powerful areas of the state later.
“New York City, with its inordinate amount of political power within New York State, has a moral responsibility to use that power to protect the water of everyone in this state,” said CDOG spokesperson Dave Baker.
Chenango County representative Mike Bernhard of Afton argued that “any process to extract gas that is considered too hazardous to be used in one particular watershed (New York City’s) is too hazardous to be used in any other watershed.”
A majority of the attendees at the day-long conference agreed with the CDOG position, as stated in the release: “We oppose any Albany legislation or agency regulation that effectively provides separate and unequal environmental protection for people, counties or watersheds in New York State.”
There was also discussion over the strategy of pursuing regulatory protections. The recent rash of gaswell fires, toxic spills, and pollution of private water wells in New York and Pennsylvania have convinced many of the grassroots groups attending the conference that “the Halliburton-developed hydrofracturing process cannot be made environmentally safe, no matter who does it, where they do it, or how they do it - and no matter who watches them while they do it.”
Marcellus Jack, a moderator of the website Un-NaturalGas.org., stated that the “only politically just and environmentally sensible thing for New York State’s government to do is to absolutely ban stone gas drilling everywhere in this state.”
Melissa deCordova
According to a press release from the Chenango Delaware Otsego Gas Group (CDOG), differences emerged among the 25 groups represented over how to respond to the government/industry partnership that they fear will result in permanent environmental damage and social dislocation. Representatives of some organizations favor a strategy to: (1) Pass into law a bill that would ban drilling in the area that provides water to New York City, and (2) Seek whatever regulations for the rest of New York State that government/industry will allow. They argue that if the watershed of New York City can be protected first, it would be easier to protect the watersheds of other less powerful areas of the state later.
“New York City, with its inordinate amount of political power within New York State, has a moral responsibility to use that power to protect the water of everyone in this state,” said CDOG spokesperson Dave Baker.
Chenango County representative Mike Bernhard of Afton argued that “any process to extract gas that is considered too hazardous to be used in one particular watershed (New York City’s) is too hazardous to be used in any other watershed.”
A majority of the attendees at the day-long conference agreed with the CDOG position, as stated in the release: “We oppose any Albany legislation or agency regulation that effectively provides separate and unequal environmental protection for people, counties or watersheds in New York State.”
There was also discussion over the strategy of pursuing regulatory protections. The recent rash of gaswell fires, toxic spills, and pollution of private water wells in New York and Pennsylvania have convinced many of the grassroots groups attending the conference that “the Halliburton-developed hydrofracturing process cannot be made environmentally safe, no matter who does it, where they do it, or how they do it - and no matter who watches them while they do it.”
Marcellus Jack, a moderator of the website Un-NaturalGas.org., stated that the “only politically just and environmentally sensible thing for New York State’s government to do is to absolutely ban stone gas drilling everywhere in this state.”
Melissa deCordova
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