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Citizens debate ‘To Drill’ or ‘Not to Drill’ in competing Capital rallies

Competing chants of “drill now” and “no fracking” echoed through the rain and wind-whipped landscape of Albany last Monday as hundreds of proponents and opponents of drilling for natural gas in New York state took their cause to the streets and their elected officials.

On one hand, landowners expressed a need to secure additional revenue from their land. Supporters encouraged using New York’s natural gas to offset the damaging effects of coal, and the moral obligation to provide the natural gas from local sources, rather than importing it in from other areas.

Opponents said the process is environmentally dangerous, can pollute ground water systems and will disrupt land use and infrastructure. There are also concerns about safely disposing the water contaminated by the process.

The issue is at the forefront as plans to drill in the Marcellus Shale, which stretches throughout the southern part of the state, into the Catskills, are being reviewed. A draft generic environmental impact statement has been released by the state DEC, and is currently being reviewed. The Marcellus Shale drilling involves hydrofracking, which is a horizontal process that requires high pressure water, treated with chemicals, to blast apart the rocks to get to the natural gas.

Both sides tried to be heard on Monday.

“Albany is just not listening to us,” says Don and Joan Dawson of Afton, which is east of Binghamton. As a business owner, Don has been struggling to keep his Afton golf course viable. “Our area has been hard hit.” The revenue he could generate from drilling can make the difference between keeping his doors open or shutting them for good, leaving 26 workers unemployed.

“I consider myself an environmentalist, a steward of the land,” he says. “I’ve done my research and I’m 100 % in favor of this.”

Opponents have different sentiments. Nancy Reynolds and her husband own 185 acres in Chenango County. Although she and her husband signed a contract allowing drilling on their land, and received $50 an acre, plus a percentage of royalties, they believe they were misled.

“Once we realized it was awful, it was too late,” she says, explaining that her calls to a company lawyer in Texas were rudely dismissed. Their lease in non-negotiable she realizes.

But the more she finds out about the fracking process the more she opposes it. Her concerns about water quality prompted her to drive from her home in Manhattan to Albany to oppose the drilling.

“It will become an industrial site,” she says. “All the beautiful New York countryside won’t be there.”

Although the weather did not cooperate, both sides of the issue claim victory for the rallies they held.

The pro drilling speakers whipped the crowd of about 300 into a church revival atmosphere.

“We need jobs. The Marcellus will give us jobs - the Marcellus will bring our communities back,” they said to effusive cheers of support.

“They’re painting us a greedy, lazy people,” said one speaker. “I see hard-working farmers.” The crowd’s final chants of “drill now” and “jobs now” were shouted toward drilling opponents, who had gathered on the west lawn, but who ultimately retreated inside because of the weather.

“It was confusing and circus like, but we made out point,” said Ramsey Adams of Catskill Mountainkeepers, who estimated about 800 opponents came to Albany, but the confusion over locations and weather left many people scrambling.

“I believe this is the biggest environmental issue that ever faced New York state,” he said. Opponents’ lobbying efforts were effective, he said, since many legislators were unaware of hydrofracking process.