Balance needed with gas industry

Dear Editor,

To facilitate the drilling (frac’ing) for natural gas, millions of gallons of fresh water and water treatment is required. Although there will be no, or nearly no drilling in the Village of Owego, there recently was a water treatment plant proposed for Taylor Road, roughly 3/4 of a mile off Front Street. The plan called for between 200 and 400 industrial waste water trucks (at +/- 8000 gallons each) to drive over the Court Street Bridge down Front Street past Riverrow and continue to East Front Street, over a RR crossing and to the proposed plant. The route through Owego is within the Historic District (but for the last few hundred yards).

These trucks would be operated by anyone with a CDL (Commercial Driver’s License). The Plant operators intended to keep them at arm's length and would not be in any way responsible for spills, poor driving, the condition of the trucks, noise, the volume of diesel emissions, or the inevitable damage done by vibration, or overweight conditions. When asked what would become of the cargo of a truck denied access by virtue of the presence of substances incompatible with their process, (such as oil), the prospective operator replied that it was not their concern. When it was suggested that the temptation might be to dump such a load in a convenient stream or river, the applicant was sure this wasn’t possible, His argument:: "That would be illegal."

If the Zoning Variance they sought were granted, and all proceeded according to their plan, this state of affairs would have continued uninterrupted, day and night, winter, summer, spring and fall, for 20-40 years.

There was no particular reason for this placement, except it is zoned industrial (it had been for 50 years a car dealership- my families'), and is at a convenient crossroads. Industrial waste would be invited from all points of the compass and likely from great distances. These and other practical, scientific and quality of life considerations were raised by a variety of residents at planning board meetings. As Chairman Reig was heard to say, "traffic alone makes this a bad location for this activity." As we are aware by now, the request for site approval has been withdrawn.

Disturbing and recurring elements of the Marcellus Natural Gas "play" are evident here. One is the obvious desire to shield the owners of this facility from liability. It was to be after all, a Limited Liability Corporation. The enterprise would not be possible without the constant delivery of tainted fluids carried in trucks, but was to be entirely separate from all issues involving them.

The constant refrain of those who are in favor of proceeding with natural gas exploration is that it is safe and will be monitored and policed in the manner necessary to keep it safe. This theory is belied by such legal nuance. Indeed, the subtext of the Patriot Water LLC application indicates a desire on the part of the exploiters to concentrate the risks of the activity, in this case in the populous center of Tioga County, while diffusing the responsibility through legal means, such as Limited Liability Corporations and their hands-off approach to their suppliers.

In how many other ways will the safeguards we presume will shield us from both the inevitable calamities, (spills, poisonings, trucks overturning) and the grinding overuse of infrastructure (air pollution, road and bridge wear, traffic, etc.) fail to do so. Before we allow our rural county to become an industrial zone, we must strike a balance, and the residents who will not see any royalty checks should not instead get the royal shaft.

Sincerely,

Mark Trabucco

Owego, N.Y.

Sign up for Text Alerts

Sign up for e-mail newsletters