Dear Editor,
We read with disbelief Tioga County Legislature’s resolution that “strongly endorses and supports” the Snyder Farm Group’s proposal to move forward with fracking within the county, using LPG (liquefied petroleum gas). The resolution states:
– That “The Tioga County Legislature has a vital interest in protecting the community’s health, safety and welfare,” yet the June 2015 DEC Findings statement says, “It is clear from existing literature and experience that HVHF activity has resulted in environmental impacts that are potentially adverse to public health,” and states many impacts that would not be resolved by using LPG versus water.
– That “family farms are the backbone of its economy,” yet proposing that arable farmland be converted into a heavy industrial zone makes a mockery of food production.
– That LPG fracking is “proven, safe and reliable.” LPG is highly flammable and pools on the ground when leaked, creating a substantial threat of explosion… a risk highlighted by two major explosions in 2011 at GasFrac well sites that injured fifteen workers and caused the company to suspend all of its operations for two weeks.
Canadian company GasFrac is the only company with experience and that experience is limited. It filed for bankruptcy protection in January. So who plans to conduct this risky process?
– That they strongly support the rights of private property owners to explore and recover the mineral resources of their land. Do our community rights to clean water, air, and safety from explosion not supersede the rights of private property owners?
– That the New York State Dept of Environmental Conservation has referred to LPG fracking as “environmentally friendly.” What is the legislators’ source? Nowhere in the DEC’s 1992 GEIS or 2011 revised draft SGEIS are the words “environmentally friendly” used in connection with LPG fracking.
– That “natural gas provides a clean alternative to sources of energy.” This is industry propaganda. Cleaner burning does not equate to a clean lifecycle of extraction, production, compression, distribution, and waste disposal. This has been made crystal clear via more than 20 public education forums over the past three-and-a-half years featuring experts in science, public health, economics, water quality, air quality, and hydraulic fracturing that RAFT and other Tioga County grassroots citizens’ groups have hosted. Members of the legislature were invited to these non-industry-funded programs, but did not attend.
– That respect for the will of the people, as expressed through their local elected representatives, is a cornerstone of democracy. Sixty-nine percent of 3,600 Town of Owego residents polled in 2012 signed a petition to prohibit horizontal hydraulic fracturing in the Town, yet the appeal for a ban was denied. The will of the people was not represented in Owego or Tioga County then; nor is it now.
Instead of promoting dangerous, polluting, and climate-altering shale gas development, we ask that the Tioga County Legislature look at opportunities for cost-savings, jobs, and a healthier community through energy efficiency and renewable energy solutions.
Sincerely,
Residents Allied for the Future of Tioga
