Sunday, July 14, 2013

Fate of 200,000 fracking comments unclear

9:18 PM, Jul 12, 2013

Written by

Jon Campbell

Albany Bureau

@JonCampbellGAN

ALBANY — New York's proposed rules for hydraulic fracturing drew an unprecedented response in January, when more than 200,000 comments were submitted by the public to the state Department of Environmental

Conservation.

Seven months later, the fate of those comments is unknown, with the DEC refusing to say whether it will respond to the concerns raised in the submissions or allow them to sit unanswered.

"We know a vast majority of those comments expressed clear opposition to fracking, but we don't know if the DEC has read them or catalogued them or simply thrown them away," said Alex Beauchamp, Northeast director for Food & Water Watch, an advocacy group opposed to hydrofracking. "It's absurd that we don't know."

The DEC ignored a series of inquiries over the past week from Gannett's Albany Bureau about the comments, which were submitted by the boxful in mid-January by a coalition of fracking opponents.

Read More: http://www.pressconnects.com/article/20130712/NEWS11/307120085/Fate-200-000-fracking-comments-unclear?nclick_check=1

High Volume Horizontal Hydraulic Fracturing

Concerned Burlington Neighbors formed in July of 2011 over a discussion about the pro's and con's of "fracking" for natural gas. We are small farmers, business people, retired people, gardeners, artists, teachers, writers, people who fish and hunt and call the beautiful valleys and hills of Burlington home.

We sent out a survey to find out if we were alone in our concern about gas drilling. It turned out that although Burlington residents are quiet and respectful of their neighbors privacy, over 61% of those responding were against "Hydro-Fracturing / Gas Drilling in our Community" and that 11% were unsure. We have since held two informational meetings for the community, one with local experts presenting information about the “fracking” process. Our second meeting was a series of videos highlighting farmers and business people in Pennsylvania whose lives have been negatively impacted by the drilling.

We now attend Town Board meetings and have become involved in our town’s attempt to develop a comprehensive plan to protect our valuable resources. You may have noticed the weekly Wharton Valley Pennysaver ads with information about drilling. This website was launched to post announcements and share additional information we receive from a variety of sources. We hope that you find it helpful. Please join in our conversation.

Concerned Burlington Neighbors

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