By Pat C. and Henry W.
After years of controversy between pro and con natural gas drilling groups, the issue of drilling has not lost its intensity. However, it has gone underground as the gas companies and the opposing groups lobby the DEC on the question of permits for drilling in Upstate New York.
Both groups are awaiting the release of new regulations from the Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) referring to the ingredients of the fracing used for drilling, whether or not the DEC will grant Chesapeake Energy the six permits to drill natural gas wells that are located in and around the Hancock area.
Noel van Swol of the Sullivan-Delaware County Property Owners Association (SDCPOA) said, “Once the permits are issued, it is going to be a gold mine around the Hancock area…we’re just waiting for the businessmen to get off of their butts and do something.”
Gas companies are paying landholders up to $3000 per acre plus royalties for the right to drill on their land. Twelve to fifteen percent of the landholders in Upstate New York have signed leases with Chesapeake Energy since the gas issue began.
Some of these signed leases are near the aqueduct that New York City’s drinking water travels through. Michael Bernhardt of the Chenango Delaware Oswego Gas Drilling Opposition (CDOG) said, “Individuals won’t be able to reverse the leases.” Many New York City Community Boards such as the Manhattan Board #2 are against natural gas drilling in the Hancock area due to their fear of contaminating the city’s drinking water.
Kathy Klopchin of CDOG said, “New York City is very concerned about the possibility of fracturing or damaging the infrastructure of the aqueduct; this means that New York City would not receive any drinking water.”
Many groups such as CDOG and the Damascus Citizens for Sustainability (DCS) are working alongside New York City in hopes of preventing gas drilling in Upstate New York.
Although there is a standstill in the drilling debate right now, gas drilling is creeping closer and closer. There are many groups for and against drilling in this area of New York, which keeps the intensity of the issue alive, but only time will tell when and if natural gas drilling will occur.
