Friday, May 27, 2011
Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News
by Tom Grace, The Daily Star, Oneonta, N.Y.
State Sen. James Seward supports a bill that would make it easier for towns to say no to gas drilling and hydrofracking.
Seward, R-Milford, said that he is cosponsoring Senate bill 3472 "to give local governments veto power over natural gas drilling."
The measure would strengthen the home-rule authority of municipalities to use their land-use laws and zoning to restrict activities like drilling and hydrofracking -- the injection of gas wells with millions of gallons of water, sand and chemicals to shatter rock deep underground and increase production.
In northern Otsego County, several towns have been working to strengthen their land-use laws and prevent gas drilling, he noted.
"When it comes to horizontal drilling and hydrofracking, these are very technical and emotional issues," Seward said. "The DEC is going through its review, and we could see another version of their regulations in mid-to-late summer.
"In the meantime, I have been meeting with advocates on all sides of the issue, but I think it's significant when a local government, a town board for example, takes action with their zoning and land-use authority. I think the state should respect these actions and the ethic of home rule.
"Here, we have Otsego, Middlefield, Cherry Valley, Springfield all taking steps to respond to their residents and I think the state should respect that."
If the state strengthens home-rule authority, municipalities will have less risk of being sued and seeing their local laws overturned in court, he said.
"I'm taking a two-pronged approach: co-sponsoring the bill and I have written to the commissioner of the DEC, and met with the governor's office, urging them to respect home rule."
In his letter to DEC Commissioner Joe Martens, Seward wrote, "I take this opportunity ... to recognize the prerogatives of local governments, the varied opinions on the merits and drawbacks of natural gas exploration and provide for local 'opt-out' provisions in the new regulations.
"This could be as simple as the department not considering applications where local law prohibits drilling."
Reaction to Seward's stance on home rule was divided Wednesday.
"I haven't read the bill, so I can't comment on that, but I support the concept," Middlefield Town Supervisor David Bliss said.
With enhanced home-rule authority, municipalities will be freer to respond to their residents' concerns, he said.
On the other hand, Worcester town board member and drilling proponent David Parker asked: "Is he up for re-election this year? (He isn't.) Because he's going to make a lot of people upset."
Parker said the industry likes to have an organized approach to drilling, connecting wells with pipelines that cross municipal boundaries, "not dealing with every individual town government."
Jim Smith, a spokesman for the Independent Oil & Gas Association of New York State, said state regulation has "worked well for 30 years, and I don't see any reason to change that."
If some towns opt out of drilling and hydrofracking, they may compromise other towns' ability to extract the resource, he said.
Rob Robinson, president and chief executive officer of the Otsego Chamber, said: "I think gas drilling should be regulated by the state, not towns."
Erik Miller, executive director of the Otsego County Conservation Association, hailed Seward's leadership on the issue.
"Home rule is exactly what more progressive communities have asked for, a chance to make their own determinations," Miller said. "I think it's a great middle ground."
Copyright (c) 2011, The Daily Star, Oneonta, N.Y.
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