COOPERSTOWN —
About 150 people opposed to horizontal gas drilling and hydraulic fracturing came to Wednesday's meeting of the Otsego County Board of Representatives.
Armed with signs, the diverse group of adults and children gathered at about 9:15 a.m. outside the county office building in Cooperstown.
When the group tried to attend the meeting, which started at 10, just more than half were able to squeeze into the board room. The others waited in hallways and outside, and some could be heard clapping and cheering when they agreed with comments made inside the room.
At a meeting where gas drilling dominated, board members listened to residents' concerns for about an hour, then heard from Orville Cole, president of Gastem USA, on how gas drilling can be conducted safely and to the economic benefit of the public, as well as landowners. Cole said that the state Department of Environmental Conservation has rigorous regulations and that his firm, which has about 150 leases in the county, strives to assure that gas drilling is done without mishap.
