ALBANY – Gov. Andrew Cuomo personally gave municipalities the upper hand in determining whether to permit natural gas companies from developing shale well sites within their jurisdictions, essentially supporting his own Department of Environmental Conservation’s earlier support of “home rule.”
Cuomo broadcast on a New York Public Radio show Monday that local sentiment would be used to determine whether the DEC will permit companies’ drilling applications or not.
“I think it’s inarguable that one should take into consideration home rule, and if you have communities that have an expressed desire to proceed, I think that should be taken into consideration if you decide to go down this road at all,” Cuomo said. “Obviously, if a community says that they oppose it, that should be taken into consideration.”
Permitting has been on hold since the DEC began reviewing high-volume hydraulic fracturing in 2008. Numerous environmental, health, and community groups are seeking a statewide ban on fracking, which frees gas from shale by injecting a well with millions of gallons of water mixed with sand, soap and chemicals at immense pressure. Opponents of drilling and fracking cite risks of water and air pollution.
On the contrary, landowner coalition groups have been pressuring town and county boards to signal their intention to allow hydraulic fracturing to proceed.
An unidentified DEC senior official told a reporter for The New York Times in June that the Governor was pushing a plan that would permit hydraulic fracturing in the deepest part of the gas-rich Marcellus Shale where municipalities are in favor of it. The permitting zone would include Chenango County.
So far, the Chenango County Natural Gas Advisory Committee has decided to hold off on making any decision on the county level until the DEC’s Supplemental Generic Environmental Impact Statement is issued later this summer. The advisory committee has also suggested that towns be prepared to signal their intentions, but to be wary of outright bans that might lead to costly litigation such as in the case of the legal battles underway in the New York towns of Middlefield and Dryden where drilling has been banned.
Chenango County Natural Gas Consultant Steven Palmatier told the Chenango County Planning and Economic Development Committee Tuesday that he was “baffled” by the Governor’s comment.
“How does a company proceed with development amidst a town board’s composition change ... and if its sentiments about drilling change ... or if a pipeline company wants to run pipeline within adjacent cities that have differing sentiments?” he asked.
“I feel sorry for you guys,” he said, referring to the 23 supervisors who represent the towns and the City of Norwich. “You are in the middle of two vocal groups that have radical fringe components and some who are in the middle on both sides.”
New Berlin Supervisor Ross P. Iannello, a member of the ad-hoc gas committee, advised fellow supervisors to prepare draft laws that will regulate gathering lines and road use if they don’t already have zoning ordinances in place.
“The key is zoning, or assuming your town wants to go foward, having a good working relationship with companies regarding transportation routes and use schedules,” he said.
As for when the contested bans against drilling in Dryden and Middlefield New York will be litigated, Palmatier suggested the battles could last long past his lifetime. While he said he believes the DEC and the energy industry are capable of safe, responsible drilling, he advocates that companies could employ so-called ‘green fracking fluids’ depending on a shale formation’s composition. Some shales can be fractured using propane jell, ozone or even water mixed with soap and guar gum, he said.