Hydrofracking is the greatest environmental threat to New York - in history.

Picture
Picture

     Resist - can keep our water pure...           or 80,000 shale-gas wells will wreck it!
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

List of the Harmed keeps growing in Pennsylvania - now over 1600


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

list-of-the-harmed48.pdf
File Size: 476 kb
File Type: pdf
Download File

                              Hydro Relief Web - now in Phase II
HRW members ran the most successful county-level, town-by-town campaign in New York State. We had the highest percentage of participating towns enacting moratoria. During the summer we manifested our discontent with state government's unwillingness to protect our communities against fracking with three  demonstrations: two in Utica, and one, with other groups, in Albany. We also ran two full-page ads in the OD.  The Concerned Citizens of Madison County, after asking for our help - got it - from a small number of most dedicated activist. In addition, our campaign coordinator, Bonnie Jones-Reynolds was successful in turning The Flowback into the anti-fracking flagship publication of the state.

Now it's time to take our campaign higher.
Our work continues.  Towns that installed moratoria are approaching, or have reached the limits of this temporary hold. We must encourage and assist them in going for the true goal - hydrofracking prohibitions and bans. In the Calendar section of our website you'll see where and when we have to make our presence felt. Let's be active citizens this fall - join us in these town board meetings so that our elected officials can see for themselves how important an issue this is. Future generations of Central New Yorkers are depending on us. 

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

New Report on Hydrofracking and Radioactivity

by HRW Advisory Board Member Prof. James Ring.

Go to the document HERE
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
monkey_business.pdf
File Size: 982 kb
File Type: pdf
Download File

This report exposes the un-scientific  use of shale-gas industry documents by the DEC

The DEC is not protecting us from the poisons of Hydrofracking. The DEC favors the scale-gas industry and it needs to be re-oriented.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
.
desmog-fracking-the-future.pdf
File Size: 6433 kb
File Type: pdf
Download File

     Fracking the Future

Falsehood of "clean" shale-gas - Polluted shale-gas politics - Dangers of shale-gas drilling:  are some of the topics covered in this report.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Picture
Picture

Utica Demonstration - Gov. Cuomo & Sens. Griffo & Valesky get a message:
"Ban Hydrofrack - No Sacrifice Zones"

  State Office Building, Utica   *   Wednesday, June 20, 2012
Sponsored by Kirkland Committee to Prohibit Hydrofracking  in partnership with Hydro Relief Web

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Governor Cuomo has "sacrifice zones" planned for the Southern Tier
   CALL AND TELL HIM NO SACRIFICE ZONES IN NEW YORK
1-866-584-6799  or  1-866-961-3208

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Featured Video - Un-Earthed. A documentary from a South African investigative team.


Town of Lincoln passes One Year Moratorium - 1st in Madison County

The Concerned Citizens of Madison County - led by Cheryl Cary and Toshia Hance, with support from HRW has its first victory in the effort to stop shale gas extraction in the county. In a standing room only public hearing a supportive group of residents numbering  about seventy encouraged and thanked the Town Board members for taking this measure to protect their constituents.  Residents of Madison are asked to join in on this historic effort to save our clean air and water.  Use the "Contact" form under the "More" link and we will connect you with the organizers of the Madison Co. campaign.


Madison County Town Meeting dates:  (times may vary)

Brookfield: 2nd Monday - Cazenovia: 2nd Monday - Deruyter: 2nd Thursday - Eaton: 2nd Thursday - Fenner: 2nd Wednesday  - Georgetown 2nd Tuesday - Hamilton: 3rd Tuesday - Lebenon: 2nd Monday - Lenox - 2nd Monday - Lincoln: 2nd Wednesday - Madison 2nd Thursday - Nelson: 2nd Thursday - Smithfield: 2nd Tuesday - Stockbridge: 1st Monday - Sullivan: 4th Wednesday

The HRW Model of working with the public and Town Boards is getting State-wide Recognition: contact us if you'd like to join-in on the efforts.

___________________________________________________________

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

See our document database - go HERE.

DRYDEN & MIDDLEFIELD WIN!  Town-level struggle holds-up in court

This means more real momentum - let's continue the struggle until fracking is prohibited state-wide!  NYT article HERE &  HERE


Deborah Rogers' - Gas Economics

Deborah is an economist who has worked for the Dallas Federal Reserve.  She has analyzed shale-gas economics and has uncovered some astonishing information.  The reality is very different from what the industry claims.  Her presentation HERE.


About 600 attend presentation by Dr. Anthony Ingraffea in Clinton at HRW sponsored event.

Dr. Ingraffea is one of the small group of pioneers in the field of  hydrofracking process by which methane is extracted from shale formations deep under the surface of the earth.  He speaks with a scientific and engineering authority that few possess. His talk on November 28th in Clinton, exposed the dis-information of gas companies and revealed the real risks to the environment and human health that the large-scale roll-out of these industrializing processes would involve.

Picture


CPNY Videos

(February 9, 2012)
Trenton Board voted unanimously for a one year moratorium

Thank you Board Members!  And on behalf of Oneida County citizens - we appreciate you taking your PUBLIC TRUST seriously by protecting our common air and water.

You can't drink shale gas

Excellent new  article from the "Forth Worth Weekly" on the EPA proven pollution of well water in Pavillion WY.  See INFO - Pavillion

_Bulgaria Bans Hydrofracking

By Elizabeth Konstantinova and Joe Carroll

Jan. 18 (Bloomberg) -- Bulgarian lawmakers banned hydraulic fracturing and established a 100 million-lev ($65 million) fine for offenders, thwarting Chevron Corp.’s plans to explore for natural-gas deposits in the Balkan country.
     Lawmakers voted 166-6 to prohibit the drilling technique known as fracking. That makes Bulgaria the second country in the European Union after France to ban the process, which uses a mixture of water, sand and chemicals to open fissures in shale rocks and release gas and oil.


NYS Bar Association warns how shale gas extraction could effect home bank loans. see "info" link for full report

NEW - Town-by-town update.
See "Campaigns" link above.


Keuka Citizens offer their Congratz

_ Kudos go to colleagues in Oneida County in New York State for the powerful grassroots action that has resulted in citizens in all but 5 of 28 municipalities being under the protective umbrella of a ban, prohibition or moratorium against high volume slick water hydrofracking.  Action is pending in 4 towns in the county. 

A new tally approximates that over 27% of the population of central and western New York are protected.

Once again it has become crystal clear that the ability to protect  citizens’ health, welfare and safety resides in home rule and local leadership.  This message is reaffirmed after the President stated his ill-advised position on gas drilling that he proclaimed just this week in his state of the union address.  “Safe drilling” as measured by vetted scientific research and actual experience by legions of our neighbors who have lived through the nightmare of fracking counters articulately the argument of the chief executive and his industry-tainted advisers.

As totals rise in increasing numbers of concerned and action-oriented communities, our resolve remains strong.

Best regards, Joe Hoff, Chairman


Joe Wilson on the Dryden Ban Challenge

 1. How do you feel about the energy company, Anschutz, suing Dryden? Angry—this is Goliath pushing David around

A super majority of Dryden residents want fracking banned from Dryden; so this is a Multi millionaire Ancshutz and multinational energy company trying to tell citizens of Dryden what to do and trying to make us forfeit our rights as U.S citizens

2 . Why do you think Dryden was sued?

Has to do with our Town Board election. A majority of the seats on the Town Board are up for election this November, and there is clear line between them. The Democrats, Mary Ann Sumner, Joe Solomon, and Linda Lavine are for the ban while the Republicans want fracking.

There is also an election in nearby Caroline which has the same issue; Most people are afraid of law suits of any kind, so Anschutz and the energy companies are trying to scare the voters...

3 . Why do you think Anschutz sued now when neither the SGEIS nor drilling regulations are in place?

Sure, the SGEIS says that energy companies will have to certify to the State that fracking is consistent with a Town’s Zoning Law; so if they were to be in place, it seems to me Anschutz would either have to lie or admit that fracking wasn’t permitted and not even try for a permit in Dryden.

4 . Do you think there is a connection to November's Town Election?

Again, I think it is about trying to bully voters into voting for people who favor fracking. Luckily in Dryden, neither the current Town Board nor the Democratic candidates are frightened. They know the majority of the citizens of Dryden don’t want fracking in our Town, and they will stand up for the ban.

5 . Is fracking a partisan issue in Dryden?

It wasn’t until the Republicans came out for fracking. When we gathered petitions in the Town asking the Town Board to pass a ban on fracking, independents, Republicans, and Democrats signed it. When the Board voted, the Republican member and the Independent member both voted along with the Democrats to make it unanimous.

6 . The fracking industry says that fracking will bring jobs and tax revenue to Upstate New York Towns like Dryden. Do you agree?

That’s what the energy companies’ advertising says, but the history of fracking in PA and out west demonstrates that the high paying jobs go to out of staters who travel around the country dong the drilling or who sit in Houston or overseas and do the layering and the money investing. The short-­‐term and low paying jobs go to locals—usually they are hired away from local agriculture, tourism, or from local businesses.

As to generating tax revenue, New York is one of only two states in the US—PA is the other one—which has no tax on companies who take gas, oil, or other minerals out of the ground. So, the only taxes we locals might get are from property tax and that comes only two or three years after the fracking has started and then at a big discount compared to regular property taxes.

These taxes should in no way compensate for the damage to roads, the reduction in residential property values, the increased demand for health, emergency, police, fire, court, jail, school, and social services, and the environmental destruction all of which have occurred in PA. It is we local taxpayers who pay for that.

Shale-gas plays are "ponzi" like

_What "...a retired geologist from a major oil and gas company" says about other companies invested in shale gas: "They want to bend light to hide the truth."
Read report here!


Colorado Study:  Fracking health impact underestimated

GARFIELD, CO.  -  A large-scale study done in Garfield County investigating the potential health and environmental impacts of a proposed fracking facility near a residential development is raising eyebrows around Colorado.

Some regional environment and conservation advocates say the Health Impacts Assessment study conducted by the University of Colorado School of Public Health may hold answers to questions La Plata County residents have been facing for decades.

“Any study that’s this comprehensive is extremely informational for policymakers and citizens,” said Mike Meschke, environmental health director for the San Juan Basin Health Department. “It gives us a good example of the kinds of things we should be reviewing, what we should be sensitive to and what our discourse should revolve around.”

The study was designed to help address possible health impacts of an impending Antero Resources proposal that would put 200 wells within 500 feet of Battlement Mesa. Among its many findings, the draft report indicates that residents who live within a half mile of a well pad are more likely to experience health effects than residents farther away, with air-pollution impacts being an important concern. The researchers recommended 78 possible actions to reduce the identified impacts.

After reportedly spending about $250,000, Garfield county officials opted to end the research project on the second draft, saying they have enough information already to make decisions on the project.

Bruce Baizel, an oil and gas accountability attorney for Earthworks, said in addition to identifying several “significant public health issues related to natural-gas development,” the study revealed the lack of data available to assess impacts.

Josh Joswick, an energy issues organizer for the San Juan Citizens Alliance, said, “There’s no doubt in my mind there are health concerns for people who live near oil and gas wells.”

Like some Garfield County community members, Joswick expressed disappointment that commissioners there didn’t extend the research contract to get it finished.

“It just shows how much influence the industry has,” Joswick said.

Baizel concurred, saying the industry not only worked to undermine the study, but some state agencies refused to participate in its development and then later criticized it.

The debate rages at the national and international levels, though, he said.

“The disconnect between the refusal to address the impacts and the increasing number of people simply calling for a ban on further natural-gas development seems to have escaped most decision-makers here in Colorado,” Baizel said.

Antero Resources has questioned the report’s findings in letters to Garfield County officials saying its problems are “extensive.” The company also voiced concerns to state officials, whom some news outlets have indicated might be eyeing the report as a potential model for evaluating drilling impacts.

Local industry representatives also discount the potential implications.

Christie Zeller, executive director of the La Plata Energy Council, said it “doesn’t have a lot of weight” in addressing local impacts because of the differences in geology and gas development between here and Garfield County. She said state regulations are rigorous enough, and “it’s probably time to quit spending money on studies and just ensure the enforcement of good regulations,” which she said can be the most effective way to reassure the public.

But for Joswick and other like-minded residents, studies such as this confirm health risks they suspected all along. And with La Plata County commissioners aiming to push future gas and oil well development into areas where well pads and other gas and oil infrastructure already exists, some worry their health risks will grow.

County officials said the goal is to cut down the number of new well sites in the future to prevent further surface and resident disturbances.

Baizel said further “downspacing” of wells will mean more wells near homes and schools, and it will increase the need for large-scale assessments similar to the one in Garfield County.

Meschke said the San Juan Basin Health Department could play a greater role – as the Garfield County health department did – in looking at gas development’s impacts on children, schools, homes, day care centers and water supplies.

“There’s a lot to examine from an environmental standpoint on these proposals, but we’re not currently examining them,” Meschke said.
Heather Scofield Herald Staff Writer