Chesapeake won't pursue wastewater well

Feb 17, 2010 at 03:27 pm by Observer-Review


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Chesapeake won't pursue wastewater well

PULTENEY—Chesapeake Energy has withdrawn its application from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for a wastewater injection well in Pulteney.
Sen. George Winner (R-C-I Elmira) announced the latest development, Tuesday morning, Feb. 16. He said he had direct contact with Chesapeake, and that they are withdrawing the application as of Tuesday. This follows an e-mail, Feb. 12, from Matt Sheppard, Chesapeake’s senior director of corporate development saying Chesapeake Energy has “no intention of pursuing the injecting well in Pulteney.” He explained the company is not pursuing the proposal because of their “enhanced water re-use techniques.”
The Pulteney town board agreed, Wednesday, Feb. 10, to ask Chesapeake Energy to withdraw the permit application allowing the gas drilling company to inject wastewater into a Pulteney well.
Pulteney town Supervisor Bill Weber added that the town board approved to start the process to get a moratorium in place.  Weber added the Pulteney planning board was going to try to get lead agency status of the State Environmental Quality Review (SEQR) from the Department of Environmental Conservation.
Weber said another thing the board wants to work on is establishing better communication between the town and Chesapeake.  He said the only correspondence the two have had was when he approved the DEC to be lead agency.  That was a decision Weber said was a mistake at the Feb. 10 meeting.
Also present at the board meeting were residents and organizers, Jeff and Jodi Andrysick.  The two started two different petitions shortly after the January Pulteney meeting where the proposal came to light, and brought the signatures they had to the meeting.
Jeff Andrysick said there are 406 signatures, and counting, for the petition by Pulteney residents seeking a moratorium.  The other petition was for people living on Keuka Lake opposed to Marcellus Shale drilling in New York state.  Andrysick said at the meeting, that petition had 711 signatures, and they are still getting more in the mail.
Andrysick said in the three weeks he and his wife have been seeking signatures, he only knew of one person who was in favor of Chesapeake injecting wastewater into the well.
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