Fracking - A Hot Topic!

Hydraulic Fracturing (a process of drilling for natural gas) is a huge issue across the country, in NY State and in the Finger Lakes Region. The process utilizes large amounts of chemically treated water that is then extracted as contaminated waste water, etc., etc. - so you see the potential problems that present themselves.

Last night I attended a Town Hall meeting in Penn Yan, NY hosted by State Senator Tom O'Mara and Assemblyman Phil Palmesano. Both men represent the geographical area surrounding the Village of Penn Yan which includes Yates County, the Finger Lakes and the Southern Tier of NY. Obviously, people in the Finger Lakes region that is known for its beautiful and bountiful lakes, wineries, tourism and agriculture, are concerned about gas drilling and the hydro fracking process.

I know both Sen. O'Mara and Assemblyman Palmesano. They're both what I would call good men - honest, concerned and trying to represent the interests of the areas they represent. As always, there are competing interests when it comes to issues around resource development, the environment, jobs, lifestyles and economic development. Sen. O'Mara has proposed and Palmesano supports a 4000' buffer zone from hydro fracking around the Finger Lakes. Many in the audience argued that gas companies can drill 4000' horizontally and therefore they propose that the buffer be 4000' from the watershed.  That kind of sets the stage for last nights meeting.

Well the representatives from Albany got an earful and then some from a crowd of 75 to 100 people. As with many meetings of this nature there was a lot of emotion, shouting out of opinions, facts and feelings. The meeting wasn't organized or led very well. O'Mara tried to make sure everyone had a chance to weigh in but some people dominated the discussion. Both men made it clear that they aren't experts in the area of engineering or chemical processing and so, they're waiting for the NYS Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) to gather comments from the public, the industry and outside experts and to issue regulations on the process. The audience wasn't satisfied with that response. They wanted more. I don't know if it was the way the question was asked or if it was the way it was attempted to be answered but no one seemed satisfied at the end of the session.

The question really boils down to this: Let's assume the DEC report is in and it doesn't have appropriate protections built in to protect the watershed and the environment of the Finger Lakes - what will you, as a legislator, do to ensure those protections? That's it basically. People understand the regulatory review process aspect of all of this. What they want to know is at the end of the regulatory review process, what are you as legislators willing and prepared to do to protect the environment around the Finger Lakes? It was hard to get to that point last night and I don't know why.

I'm not an expert either, but I do know that this watershed is critically important to hundreds of thousands  of people in this and other regions of the state and I do know that gas companies have not been forthright about their operations in the past. I know that the trade off between an energy solution and a natural resource like water is very serious business.

The opponents of hydro fracking have done a good job of making their opinions known. They are having an impact on elected officials. But the bottom line is that what DEC and Gov. Andrew Cuomo do after the comment period will be critical and frankly, O'Mara's and Palmesano's steps at that point will be easier to measure.