OtegoNY.com

This is a letter to the editor of the Oneonta Daily Star newspaper, which was published on Feb. 4, 2009

Real dangers in natural-gas drilling

The natural gas industry is a creeping disease that is slowly infecting Otsego County. It has weaseled its way into leases to drill from unsuspecting landowners.

The representatives from the natural gas industry have made outrageous promises of “found money” and “it’s like you’ve won the lottery.” Then they low-ball people into selling out their land rights, heritage, property-value, possibly their health and that of their neighbors, as well as the well-being and way of life of their communities. That includes you.

Some well-intentioned but misguided people have been convinced that “it’s a done deal, and we might as well get the best out of it.”

It only becomes a done deal when they con enough people to band together to try to sell at a higher price, while trusting that there are enough protections against disaster in place.

There are no adequate safety measures, no matter what the apologists for the predators tell you. The state Department of Environmental Conservation is woefully understaffed and has shown no ability to regulate effectively. Gov. Paterson has even proposed a large budget reduction for the DEC. Obviously regulation is not a priority.

The gas companies are not even bound by the Federal Clean Water Act. So who has the safety of your water at heart? The gas companies (one of which is Halliburton)?

Some would have you believe that the drilling that is planned for this area is safe, and the people who care about the danger are over-reacting. That sounds like when Rumsfeld mocked people who thought the Iraq war wouldn’t be a slam-dunk, by saying, “Oh my goodness gracious, isn’t that terrible, Henny Penny, the sky is going to fall.”

That’s not the lottery, that’s Russian roulette.

Tags: Gas drilling, Marcellus shale, natural gas drilling