DEC should heed locals on gas drilling

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October 15, 2009

Anonymous The Daily Star Thu Oct 15, 2009, 09:33 AM EDT

In a democracy, all voices are meant to be heard.

Unfortunately, that maxim did not seem to make its way to the state Department of Environmental Conservation.

The DEC recently released a draft supplemental generic environmental impact statement proposing how communities and companies should go about natural-gas drilling. It also announced public information meetings and a public comment period ending Nov. 30.

But despite obvious local interest in the matter, the state DEC did not schedule any public information meetings in the four-county area.

Thankfully, local representatives have come to the aid of those who wish to have their concerns noted by the state DEC.

The city of Oneonta’s Environmental Board met Wednesday to discuss the draft regulations. According to an article in Tuesday’s Daily Star, part of the purpose of the meeting was to “gauge interest” in having a public hearing in Oneonta sanctioned by the city where comments could be forwarded to the state DEC.

We applaud the efforts of the board, including Chairman David Hutchison, who told The Daily Star that he hoped the meeting would help clarify the lengthy document of regulations.

As we have said in the past, this is an issue that stands to affect the quality of life in our community in a variety of ways. Members of the public are encouraged to inform themselves and make their opinions known. We are pleased they may now have a chance to have these concerns addressed.

One concern we have with the issue of gas drilling is vigilance.

In an Oct. 7 Daily Star article, Otsego County officials spoke of traveling Oct. 1 to a gas well being drilled by Gastem USA in the town of Maryland.

Officials recalled their trip as satisfactory.

“I’d say it’s definitely less intrusive than a logging operation,’’ said Rep. Stephen Fournier, R-Milford, a member of the Otsego County Board of Representatives.

David Parker of Worcester, a member of the MOSA board of directors, said it appeared to him that Gastem USA ``wants to make absolutely sure there are no problems here.’’

While we appreciate area representatives seeing gas drilling in action, we hope they do not stray from vigilance on the issue. All well sites and gas-drilling companies are not created equal.

The Maryland experience could prove worthwhile in showcasing what does and does not work for drilling in our area, but we urge our representatives to continue to investigate the matter and hear all concerns.