NO FRACKING WAY!
By any measure, our January 25th rally and lobbying day was a great success. Despite the stormy weather, between four and five hundred hardy souls made their way to Albany to register their strong opposition to unconventional shale gas extraction. In the afternoon, we broke up into small groups and met with over seventy legislators and staff members.
Two main themes emerged from these meetings:
First, state budget woes and the continuing economic slump are now driving the rush to drill. Revenue from a gas severance tax has been included in Governor Paterson’s budget, and many of our lawmakers seem convinced that exploitation of the Marcellus Shale will be a boon to our regional economy. Catskill Citizens disagrees. We believe that unconventional drilling would be a costly mistake for New York State and a disaster for our local economy. We made this case in a letter we sent to State Senator John Bonacic.
Second, even at this late date, there are legislators and staff who have never heard of the Marcellus Shale and are clueless about the threat that high volume hydraulic fracturing (HVHF) poses to our health and environment. Educating our lawmakers, as well as the public, is still of paramount importance.
IT’S OK, JUST DON’T BREATHE THE AIR
The tiny town of DISH, Texas, in the heart of Barnett Shale gas fields, has eleven compressor stations, three metering stations and twenty pipelines within two square miles. And it has something else-an extraordinarily high rate of health complaints. Last summer Mayor Calvin Tillman and the DISH City Council were forced to spend almost fifteen percent of the town’s budget on an ambient air study which confirmed what many DISH residents long suspected-the natural gas infrastructure around their town was emitting high levels of toxic emissions and making them sick.
In response to the study, the gas industry took action-but it didn’t clean up its act, it retaliated against the town. In what many interpreted as an attempt to force the town to run up ruinous legal fees, the gas industry has reportedly threatened to sue to obtain the personal medical records of the residents who participated in the air quality study.
Not to be bullied, the DISH Town Council instituted a 90 day drilling permit moratorium on February 8th.
You can contribute to the Town of DISH Legal Defense Fund at http://baddish.blogspot.com/.
THE REAL DEAL, MAYOR CALVIN TILLMAN
DISH Mayor Calvin Tillman didn’t always oppose unconventional drilling; in fact he originally thought natural gas extraction could play an important role in his town’s economy. But now that he’s seen the effect that drilling has had on the health of town residents, he’s become an outspoken critic of an industry that seems indifferent to the devastation it leaves in its wake.
Next week Mayor Tillman will be coming to our area to tell us what we can expect if and when the drillers come to our town. He’ll kick off his visit with a live broadcast on WJFF’s program Connections. (Monday, February 15th at &:30 PM at 90.5 FM and streaming online.) See our home page for the full schedule of his public appearances in our area.
The Mayor refuses to accept compensation for his speaking engagements and he’s even refused to accept reimbursement for his travel expenses-that’s why we call Mayor Tillman the real deal.
EVERYBODY MUST GET STONED
You might remember Stone Energy-that’s the drilling outfit that began to sink a well in Wayne County in 2008 without bothering to get a water withdrawal permit from the Delaware River Basin Commission. Now Stone Energy is back-it wants to take 7000,000 gallons of water a day from a “high quality cold water fishery stream” in Wayne County. If this request is granted it will be the first time that a driller has been given permission to take water from the Upper Delaware Basin!
The public will have a chance to speak out a hearing scheduled for February 24th in Matamoras, PA. Please try to attend this important public meeting. (See our home page for details and to read Stone Energy’s water withdrawal request (which is called a ‘docket’).
MORE “LEARN MORE”
We’ve finally undertaken a long overdue revamping of the “Learn More” page of our website. We’ve already posted several dozen new items, and we’ll continue posting more material in the days to come. Please check it out and let us know how we can further improve this page.