Doubts about natural-gas drilling dominated the discussion at a meeting held by the Independent Oil and Gas Association of New York in Oneonta on Thursday.
There were about 120 people at the two-hour meeting that started at 6:30 p.m. and was held at Hunt Union at the State University College at Oneonta. About a dozen people from a variety of local groups carried picket signs outside the building protesting the proposed gas drilling or manned a table inside with information about their point of view.
The state Department of Environmental Conservation is scheduled to release draft regulations this month that will cover the type of drilling needed to extract natural gas from the Marcellus Shale while protecting the environment, state officials said.
Jim Smith of Corning Place Consulting of Albany said the event for the industry group was organized so residents could hear the science-based facts about natural-gas exploration.
"We believe there is a lot of misinformation. We have a long track record of safety," he said. "We are here to hear your concerns."
IOGA executive director Brad Gill began with a half-hour presentation that included an animated video of the process of horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing that is proposed. It was followed by a question-and-answer session where several people spoke in support of the process but dozens voiced concerns.
The latter group included Sarah MacArthur of Cooperstown, who said the one thing not portrayed in the video was the noise of the process.
But IOGA secretary John Holko said that when the drills run, the noise would only be sporadic and last for usually between 30 to 60 days.
Following the meeting, MacArthur said she remained opposed to the drilling.
"This session was informative, but I still have a lot of concerns," she said. "I can't imagine how they can drill here and not have a major impact on our lives."
One of those speaking in favor of drilling was Kimberly More of Goodyear Lake, who said that everyone in the room uses electricity and much of it is produced by coal in this country.
She was in favor of natural-gas drilling, which she said produces a much cleaner burning fuel. She said she was upset with the protesters, saying they demeaned the job the DEC has done in protecting the environment.
Several others who spoke questioned how the DEC could do an adequate job in protecting the environment with its staffing.
Another person in favor of developing natural gas was Bob Folchetti of Westford. "It would be a significant benefit" to the area, he said.
Joan Tubridy of Meredith attended with the Chenango-Delaware-Otsego Gas Opposition group. She accused the panel of misleading information because the process that would be used is new to the state.
But Gill said that the process is the similar enough to what is currently used to make the comparison between the two.
Carol O'Hara of Otego, who is opposed to the drilling, said she expected to hear from more people who supported it during the session.
However, she said she was glad the industry representatives made their presentation.
"I have to give them credit," she said.
