Dateline: 28 February 2012
It’s about time that I wrapped up this series of reports on the February 20th Town Board meeting....
One of the things discussed at the meeting was the price of natural gas. It happens that natural gas prices are way down because of a market glut. And our town attorney brought along a newspaper article that indicated that the New York state DEC would not be issuing drilling permits for several months. And according to Jack Showers, PR man for Talisman Energy, the gas companies aren’t much interested in gas around Sempronius because it’s a “dry gas” and they are focusing their efforts on more valuable “wet gas” in western N.Y. and Ohio. According to Jack Showers, it will probably be years before any gas drilling is done in Sempronius.
The point being this town has lots of time to consider the issue of hydrofracking and, that being the case, there is no need for a moratorium.
Our town Supervisor then stated that he would like to have a citizen committee look into the impact that hydrofracking would have on our community and report to the board. The committee would consist of five or seven people who have an interest in this issue and who have an open mind about it, as well as the time to put into researching the matter.
That said, if you have the time and are interested in serving on a citizen committee to study the impact that hydrofracking would have on our town, please contact the Sempronius Town Clerk or the Town Supervisor.
The matter of a moratorium on hydrofracking was not discussed at the board meeting. I think it needs to be discussed and I believe it is important that the board pass a moratorium.
The fact remains that when the State of N.Y. does begin to issue gas well permits again (and no one knows exactly when that will be) the town will then not be able to enact an effective moratorium. If we have a moratorium in place before the state starts issuing permits again, no gas company or landowner has much of a chance of winning a lawsuit based on what is known as “takings.” Without a moratorium in place the town is in no position to protect itself against any gas company activity.
So a moratorium is a prudent step for any town with concerns about hydrofracking to take because once the State issues permits, gas companies will begin to “stake their claims,” so to speak.
I have a hard time believing that the gas industry is not interested in natural gas under Sempronius. Prices go up and they go down. The long-term trend is up. There is a great deal of land in this town leased to the gas companies. They are renewing leases.
I have heard of several people in Sempronius who leased their land to a gas company years ago and who have tried to get out of the lease, but they can't. They did not know anything about hydrofracking when they leased their land. Now they don’t want hydrofracking done on their land or in their town. They are concerned about the safety of hydrofracking and the impact it will have on themselves and their families.
But then there are others, like the two landowners at the town board meeting who said they would be the first to sue their town if we passed a ban. So Sempronius is still faced with two competing interests: People who are more concerned about safety, and people who are more concerned with their economic self interests.
If the gas industry had a track record of safe and responsible drilling, none of this would be an issue. But that does not appear to be the case. And that is the whole problem here.
I see no downside to a moratorium. Nobody has legitimate grounds to sue a town for enacting a moratorium to better investigate hydrofracking and the impact it will have on our town.
Just this month the town board of Moravia passed a one-year moratorium on hydrofracking. The board voted unanimously for the moratorium. The town of Niles has a moratorium in effect. I believe the vote was also unanimous there.
The Town of Moravia’s attorney worked with attorneys from the Community Environmental Defense Council (CEDC) to draft the law. The CEDC has helped draft moratoriums for many towns in New York, and there is no cost to the town.
Sempronius has nothing to lose by enacting a moratorium and a great deal to protect. I think it’s better to be safe than sorry, and an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.