Towns work to address hydrofracking

Oct 07, 2014 at 11:12 pm by Observer-Review


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Towns work to address hydrofracking

YATES COUNTY--The Committee of Towns at their recent meeting in September featured a discussion of homeowner rights relative to hydrofrack drilling and its related activities. Committee Co-Chair Joseph Hoff said 17 towns were represented at the meeting which included supervisors and board members. He said it was the group's second meeting, adding they will continue on with meetings to learn more about the issue and discuss what can be done as municipalities to avoid negative impacts.

"The towns comprising the Committee of Towns (municipalities) to date include Avon, Bristol, Barrington, Benton, Conesus, Dryden, Dundee, Geneva, Hammondsport, Italy, Jerusalem, Middlefield, Middlesex, Milo, Perinton, Penn Yan, Potter, Prattsburgh, Pulteney, Rushville, Torrey, Urbana, Starkey, Wayne and Watkins Glen," Hoff said. "As the meetings are open and designed to support communities that wish to protect the health, welfare and safety of their residents through the prohibition of [high volume hydraulic fracturing] drilling and its appurtenant activity, we are seeing interest from an increasing circle of towns and villages."
Hoff said at the September meeting, attorneys Rachel Treichler and Rob Louden discussed the legal implications of "trespass" and "nuisance" concepts that pertain to existing New York State statute and local ordinance. Hoff said Louden reviewed his first-hand experience and legal perspective as a former resident of Pennsylvania where "wide open drilling practices...have devastated the lands, waters and way of life" in the keystone state.
"If you have one municipality that falls, then it is going to have an impact on all of us," Hoff said. "What is needed is a strong statement from a committee of towns around the area that says essentially 'We do not want any of this to occur," because it's injurious to not just the way of life, but to life itself. That's been the focus of our group and that is what we are working hard to achieve."
Hoff said Louden talked about his experience and journey in Pennsylvania and how fracking companies do not always honor the contracts they entered into.
Hoff said a discussion followed the presentation, which included the representatives of the 17 towns of the committee.
All meetings of the Committee of Towns are open to the public. The next meeting will be from 7 to 9:15 p.m. Nov. 6 at the Yates County office building in the downstairs auditorium. The evening's informative topic will be on the topic of the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation's approved practice of sanctioning the use of drilling wastewater on roads for dust, ice and snow control. That practice and its impact on agriculture and aquifer pollution will be reviewed.
Hoff said an upcoming meeting will feature the economic impact of fracking on agritourism where more than 40,000 jobs are currently located in the Finger Lakes region.
The committee is co-chaired by Hoff and Peter Gamba and has been established to support local municipalities who are extending their responsibilities to protect the health, safety and welfare of their residents and visitors by restricting HVHF drilling, transport and storage.

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