NEW BERLIN – A newly established advisory committee in the Town of New Berlin is working to improve connections between the community and town officials when it comes to the contested issue of hydraulic fracturing in the area.
The new bipartisian committee was formed independently from the New Berlin Town Board as the result of concerns over fracking, road use, and the township having a moratorium against fracking. The intent, according to New Berlin Supervisor Bob Starr, is to present town officials with information on the issue of in a balanced manner.
Although the committee will not officially operate under the auspices of the Town of New Berlin, a member of the Town Board has been appointed to serve as a liaison between the two entities. The town is additionally supporting efforts of the committee by providing a venue for meetings and informational gatherings for the public.
Like many municipalities throughout the region, the issue of natural gas development has the New Berlin community split. Starr said hopes are that the new committee will be a positive step forward in helping to weigh the pros and cons before future action is taken.
“Rather than the town handling the fracking issue, the better idea would be to move forward with a committee made up of town people,” Starr added. “The objective was that this committee would be formed by townspeople who are interested in the fracking issue and who represent both sides of the debate.”
Though not a member of the committee, New Berlin resident Kim Felter Canarelli, an opponent of high volume hydraulic fracturing, believes the committee will have a huge impact on the spread of information on either side of the issue.
“I’m encouraged by the positive response by the Board to be willing to accept information from the committee, and hope board members themselves attend the meetings,” Canarelli said. “I have offered to help the committee in any way I can.”
Canarelli also added that the onus of each Town Board member is to research the issue independently before making decisions.
As it stands, local governments have authority to control land use through home rule. The decision which was upheld by the New York State Court of Appeals in June rules that local municipalities have the final say on whether or not to allow any method of drilling, including conventional drilling and the controversial process of hydraulic fracturing to extract natural gas in their towns.
Starr and Canarelli agree the intent of the committee is to be proactive before the state makes any further decisions on drilling.
Said Canarelli, I encourage all New Berlin residents to participate in this committee ... Residents in this area matter and hopefully they will see that (this committee is) putting forth every effort to get unbiased information to them.”