The Joint Landowners Coalition of NY (JLC) recently sent a letter to Senator James Seward explaining in detail why his proposed bill to provide home rule authority to local governments to ban fracking is wrong and will hurt upstate landowners. The letter describes the problems in New York regulating the oil and gas industry in the 1970s when municipalities began their own initiatives. These included safety problems due to untrained local staff, significant costs related to hiring proper professional staff, inconsistent local regulations, conflicts between municipalities and more. That is why in 1981 the New York Oil, Gas and Solution Mining Law was amended to include a provision that the state’s environmental law (ECL Article 23-0301) would supersede all local laws or ordinances relating to the regulation of the oil, gas and solution mining industries. The intent of this provision was to extinguish the rights of municipalities to regulate any aspect of oil and gas development including the right to zone oil and gas wells in favor of a single state-wide system. The law also declares that it is in the state’s public interest to regulate the development, production and utilization of natural resources of oil and gas in New York.

Sen. Seward’s proposed home rule legislation has enormous unintended consequences for landowners and the oil and gas industry in New York State. As discussed in the JLC letter, local legislators with little or no understanding of the science of drilling are making decisions about bans and zoning. Drilling bans have already passed across the state and will be decided in the courts. Further, it is possible that a boards’ decision could be reversed with an election change over. No energy companies will drill in New York with that level of uncertainty.

The petroleum engineers and geologists at the DEC are best equipped to write and implement drilling regulations. They understand the science of drilling better than most ordinary citizens, movie stars, or local and state leaders. They have protected New York’s lakes, rivers and mountains through decades of oil and gas development and will continue to do so when horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing are approved in our state.

Click here to read the JLC letter to Senator Seward re Home Rule and Natural Gas Development.

In a letter to the editor of the Ithaca Journal, Rayola Dougher, senior economic advisor for the American Petroleum Institute, touted the job-creating potential of exploring the Marcellus Shale in New York:

“By quibbling over job terminology, Art Pierce ignores the important economic aspects of natural gas activity in the Marcellus Shale (”Job figures for Pa. gas drilling are overinflated,” Jan. 5).

Every new natural gas job created in Pennsylvania (which pays, on average, $76,036, compared to $46,222 for all industries) leads to the creation of three to four additional jobs. They include jobs in industries providing goods and services to the gas industry and jobs resulting from spending of household income earned from the natural gas industry’s spending.

The person getting the new natural gas industry job is not the only one benefiting. This new job opening provides opportunities for new hires in other sectors. To use Pierce’s example: The gravel worker who took a maintenance job vacated by someone who went to work in a gas-drilling operation likely did so because he would earn more. Likewise, the maintenance worker also is probably earning more.”

To read more click here.

An article by Steve Reilly of Gannett News chronicles the ongoing debate between two groups of Cornell scientists over the environmental impact of methane released by shale gas drilling. Reilly writes:

“…Howarth and his co-authors wrote, the greenhouse gas footprint of shale gas is ‘perhaps more than twice as great as coal’ when you compare the two energy sources over a 20-year time frame and ‘comparable’ to coal over a 100-year time frame.

But a rival group of Cornell scientists, led by professor Larry Cathles, sought to rebuke the original study with a commentary published in this month’s issue of the academic journal Climatic Change. Cathles and his co-authors claimed that the greenhouse gas impact of shale gas is ‘half, and perhaps a third, that of coal.’

Now, that response is getting a response of its own.”

To read more click here.

A piece in yesterday’s New York Times (1/10/12) speaks of the divide in the environmentalist community regarding their opposition to horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing in New York State. It seems that some more enlightened environmentalists understand that drilling is inevitable and they advocate for strengthened regulations. The more radical arm of the movement won’t be satisfied until drilling is banned in the state and it appears to be causing dissention in the ranks. These energy hypocrites want to ban all fossil fuels and rely on highly subsidized renewables such as solar and wind which only supply a fraction of the energy needed to meet power demands.

The opposite is true for drilling supporters. In November, members of the business community and landowners came together to form Clean Growth Now to advocate for safe responsible development of Marcellus gas in New York. Members include the Business Council of NYS, the Joint Landowner Coalition of New York, National Federation of Independent Businesses, builders’ associations, chambers of commerce and more. Under a united front, they hope to educate leaders and the public that safe drilling will lead to job creation and economic development that is so desperately needed in upstate communities. It was recently reported that Chemung County is experiencing a significant economic uplift from drilling activities just across the southern border in Pennsylvania. Imagine the economic impact if drilling were permitted in our own state.

The environmental opposition is loud and sometimes overshadows the hardworking business owners and landowners in this state who advocate for the opportunity to develop their natural resources, grow their businesses and create jobs. Comments on the DEC’s sGEIS are due today and now begins another round of waiting during which time we can expect a flurry of opposition bills limiting/banning fracking and/or imposing unreasonable drilling restrictions essentially making drilling economically unfeasible for drillers. They may not share precisely the same goal but the splintered opposition hopes to implement a death to Marcellus drilling by a thousand cuts.

The march toward Marcellus development has been long and hard. Drilling supporters must continue to stand united. We have only one message: Allow us to safely develop New York’s natural gas resources under strong DEC regulations. We encourage DEC Commissioner Martens and Governor Cuomo to finalize the regulations as soon as possible. Environmentally safe and responsible Marcellus drilling will revitalize the upstate economy while providing cheap New York natural gas to our citizens.

Mireya Navarro of The New York Times posted a number of comments provided by both pro and anti Marcellus shale development.

As if the recent series of hearings and the invitation for written comments from the public were not enough, contingents from both sides of the fracking issue in New York State organized rallies and press conferences this week in anticipation of the close of the comment period on the state’s proposed gas drilling regulations on Wednesday.

On Tuesday, gas industry representatives and supporters of the extraction process known as horizontal hydraulic fracturing hand-delivered thousands of letters to state officials in Albany arguing for the economic benefits of horizontal hydraulic fracturing. The drilling method involves injecting chemically treated water into shale formations underground under high pressure to release natural gas.

“Capitalizing on the tremendous opportunity offered by Marcellus Shale development will help reduce our dependence on foreign oil, produce private-sector jobs and attract investment”, said Heather Briccetti, the president of the Business Council of New York State, which is part of a pro-fracking coalition that calls itself Clean Growth Now.

To read more click here.

Rick Karlin writes on the Times Union website - “The fight over whether New York will allow hydraulic fracturing for natural gas, or hydrofracking, came down to a Battle of the Boxes on Tuesday as both opponents and proponents of the practice scrambled to deliver boxes filled with thousands of letters, or comments, to the Department of Environmental Conservation by Wednesday’s deadline.

Once delivered, the DEC will review the comments as part of their effort to decide if New York should allow fracking, as it is commonly termed…

Here at the Capitol, gas industry insiders as well as pipe fitters and even organic farmers spoke in favor of fracking, since it would create jobs and generate money to hard-pressed farmers who could lease their lands to drillers…

Later in the day, a group of landowners, led by GOP Sen. Tom Libous, shown above, displayed letters in support of drilling say they will probably submit about 12,000.

“We’ve got the information. I think we can answer the questions,” Libous said, adding he doesn’t believe the comment period should be extended.

To read more click here.

Today, Clean Growth Now—a coalition comprised of New York’s labor, business, landowners, and agricultural communities—urged the Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) to finalize its draft regulations for natural gas development as its public comment period comes to a close this week.

Collectively representing over 227,000 New Yorkers, the members of Clean Growth Now hand-delivered thousands of comment letters to state officials today, which expressed strong support in New York’s ability to safely develop its resources and, in turn, attract new jobs and investment to our communities.

“This is about moving forward,” Joint Landowner Coalition President Dan Fitzsimmons said. “A diverse array of groups, from landowners to labor, has weighed in with substantive comments to help guide the DEC in finalizing sound regulations.”

Business Council of New York State President Heather Briccetti said, “Capitalizing on the tremendous opportunity offered by Marcellus shale development will help reduce our dependence on foreign oil, produce private-sector jobs, and attract investment. We’re confident development can be done safely and must be done in a timely manner.”

Broome County Legislator Steve Herz added, “Our communities want to secure the promise of a better future, by protecting our environment and bolstering our economy. We want to move forward.”

Scott Colton, Carpenters Local 277 President and Northeast Regional Council of Carpenters Representative, continued, “We’ve come to the table to find a solution that protects the environment while also generating new jobs and investment.”

National Federation of Independent Business New York Director Mike Durant said, “New York stands on the precipice of economic revitalization. By implementing the necessary safeguards, shale gas development will create new jobs and, in turn, boost small businesses and create new ones in communities long-needing them. How many other potential economic development plans can accomplish all of that?”

Developing the natural gas resources in the Marcellus Shale has become an incredibly contentious issue in New York over the past 3 ½ years.  Initially gas companies were caught unaware.  They assumed that development in New York would be embraced as it has been in other parts of the country.  The economic benefits to rural upstate communities would surely make up for the temporary disruption and inconvenience.  Thousands of jobs would be createdand landowners would receive royalties for years to come.   Instead, energy companies have been opposed by a well funded, national opposition determined to stop gas development in New York.  Natural gas companies needed to be out in front of the message years ago but that opportunity has  since passed.  They have made many concessions but it is clear now that the opposition does not want to agree to anything.  Three and a half years of study and delay has yielded a set of regulations that are the strictest in the nation but the opposition is still not satisfied.   It is obvious that their goal is to ban development in the state entirely.

So, who really suffers if development is banned in New York’s Marcellus Shale or the regulations are so cumbersome that they make it economically unfeasible for companies to proceed?  The energy companies will move on to shale plays in other parts of the country and the environmentalists will beat their drum for the next great environmental “threat”.

It is the landowners in Central New York and the Southern Tier who will suffer.  They are the silent majority of hard working citizens desperate for the opportunity to develop their natural resources.  They are the most vulnerable stakeholders in this debate.

Landowners in the Southern Tier are facing a critical time.  Even before Hurricane Irene devastated communities the recession had taken a heavy toll.  Central New York and the Southern Tier had been steadily losing jobs over the past years.  During the last decade the Southern Tier has seen IBM, Maple Vale Books and many other businesses big and small shut down or leave the area.  Drive through the small towns and witness the boarded-up businesses and empty strip malls.  Their children, faced with this blight and lack of opportunity, are deciding to leave New York for brighter opportunities.  Now landowners must deal with Hurricane Irene’s devastation on top of an already bad economy and they are close to the breaking point.

The excruciatingly long SGEIS review process has taken an emotional toll on landowners as well.  The contentious debate over the past 3 ½ years has left landowners feeling demonized for supporting the right to develop their land and it has divided communities.  It is time to move forward with safe, regulated drilling and allow the resulting job creation, cheap gas and economic progress to uplift and heal these communities.

This is a turning point for the region.  The landowners in Central New York and the Southern Tier have been patient but this process must come to an end now.  The livelihoods of over 70,000 New York landowners depend on Marcellus development.  And the economic uplift to the region will benefit all Southern Tier residents in the form of new jobs, tax revenues and abundant natural gas.  If New York passes on the Marcellus Shale opportunity, it will inconvenience the gas companies but they will survive and move elsewhere.  The opposition will chalk up another “victory” for the environment and move on to save the salamanders somewhere.  But the landowners will remain and try to scrape together an existence.  They will see their sons and daughters leave the area and they will likely follow; maybe over the border to Pennsylvania where they can find work and dream about what could have been in New York.

Clean Growth Now

Invites working press to a press event in anticipation of the Department of Environmental Conservation closing its comment period on proposed rules for natural gas development in the state.

Featuring

Sen. Thomas Libous

New York State Senator

&

Dan Fitzsimmons

President, Joint Landowners Coalition of New York

&

Heather Briccetti

President, Business Council of New York State

&

Scott Colton

President, Carpenters Local 277

&

Mike Durant

State Director, National Federation of Independent Business

Tuesday, January 10th
1:00 PM

Room 429, State Capitol Building

Please RSVP to media@cleangrowthnow.org.

Maggie Moree of The Business Council joined Fran k Mauro of the Fiscal Policy Institute in a special edition of WAMC’s Vox Pop to talk about Governor Andrew Cuomo’s second State of the State address.

To hear the program click here.