Elect Pat Pryor

Natural Gas Drilling:  New methods of extraction are making our rural areas, which sit over the Marcellus shale deposits, attractive for drilling for natural gas.  However, this industrial land use will be imposed on areas with a mix of industrial, agricultural, and residential uses; areas which have not, historically, had to deal with the heavy road use and connecting infrastructure that will attend the drilling.  Nor have these areas had to deal with the issues resulting from the use of fracturing fluids, some of which the gas companies have so far been unwilling to disclose, that are used to release the gas from the shale.  Further, the process requires millions of gallons of water.  Where will the water come from?  What undisclosed contaminants will the water include after use in the fracturing process?  What if our wells are contaminated by the substances used in the process?  It appears that our local waste water treatment plants will be expected to handle the disposal of the waste water.  Will taxpayers have to foot the bill for the additional millions of gallons of water needing treatment?  It also appears that our local Health Department will be responsible for monitoring the safety of the disposal process.  How much will taxpayers have to pay for the added staff that will be necessary to take on this additional responsibility?  Will our rural roads hold up under regular use by very heavy trucks or will we be paying for the increased maintenance and repair that will be needed?  How will traffic be managed?  What are the cumulative effects on the watershed, its ecosystem, the economy, and the environment?  What about the individual homeowner of a nearby property whose well is impacted by the drilling?

All of these questions, and more, require that both local municipalities and the county be vigilant in seeking information and doing all they can to make sure that the process is carefully regulated and our local resources protected.  Individual property owners will earn big dollars in royalities by letting gas companies drill on their property.  How can localities balance the positive impacts of the money coming in to various individuals with the potential harm that can be done to the community as a whole from this relatively recent move of natural gas drilling into our area?

The Town of Lansing has re-established a gas drilling committee to investigate options, inform the public, and make recommendations to the Town Board on steps that can be taken to protect our natural resources and infrastructure from negative impacts of hydrofracking.  Many towns, for instance, have passed road protection legislation to assure that drilling companies take responsibility for excessive road damage from the drilling process.  Some municipalities have taken action to ban drilling entirely.  There is lobbying going on in both Albany and Washington, DC to convince authorities to bring the gas drilling process under the requirements of the Federal Clean Water Act, which it currently is not.

It is not clear to me at this point that there is any way to proceed with the deep drilling process known as “fracking” without compromising the availability and safety of our water supply.  Absent the safeguards that are needed to assure that our water supply is protected and that our local taxpayers are saved harmless from additional costs related to the gas drilling process, I cannot support the issuance of drilling permits  until these serious issues have been satisfactorily addressed.