Victor Furman
Upstate New York Landowner
Shale Gas Activist

Gas drilling may seem controversial but that’s because a minority of voters has made a lot of noise. Recent elections show a pro-gas majority.

ACTION ALERT…..ACTION ALERT…..

Anyone who has ever monitored Bill Huston’s web site or is on NYRAD’s (New York Residents Against Development (Drilling) mailing list, or even a fan of the Catskill Mountainkeeper (or should I say “MountainCreeper”) sees these action alerts on a daily basis. They are often no more than missives from the cult leaders of the gas drilling opposition to the faithful patting themselves on the back to say “see what I did.” The Mountaincreeper’s also always include an appeal for funds so the blueblood brats who run the place can still have jobs.

These self-serving appeals aside, no one can deny the very well financed fractivist movement in New York has at least temporarily squashed the gas drilling opportunities of farmers and landowners who live here and have owned their properties for generations. The incessant demands of the gas drilling opposition for delay have had their impacts.  Nonetheless, signs abound that their fear tactics have clogged the pipe of misinformation they’ve constructed and the falsehoods are now backing up and overflowing the toilet, ruining their plans to grab our land! Let me explain why I feel this way….

Ten years ago I considered myself an activist against coal mining and I well recall the Sierra Club was calling for the replacement of coal with much cleaner natural gas as an energy source. Until very recently, in fact, the Sierra Club took millions of dollars from natural gas companies to help in the fight against coal, in favor of natural gas power plants. Their cause was anything but flawed, but it sure seems to me these environmental groups have been following the money all along, appealing to whatever deep pockets source they can find to pay their sweet six-figure salaries and keep their prestigious jobs.

Some gas drilling opponents (e.g., Tony Ingraffea) have, to bolster their case, even resorted to now claiming coal is cleaner than gas to confuse the matter and rally others to ban gas drilling. They have, in their fantastic, feverish frenzy to stop gas drilling, sold their souls to a faddish ideological cause (because that’s where the money is) and falsely equated gas drilling with what they previously said (and I agree) was the worse form of scarring man could do to the earth.

They now want us to believe this is the worst thing that can happen to the earth:

These sort of tactics are wearing thin with the public, which is slowly but surely seeing through them. A few weeks ago, for example, gas drilling opponents had an event called “The Global Frackdown,” which was a world wide embarrassment for them as their supposed 1.7 million supporters simply didn’t show. Here in Binghamton less then 20 people showed up to their well advertised “ACTION ALERT – SHOW THE GOVERNOR WE DONT WANT FRACKING” event. Yes, there were 50-60 altogether but some of them, like me, were pro-drilling, another 15-20 people were there before the event started just hanging downtown and about 10 people came down to see what was going on. You can verify the lack of participation here.

This event was within a few weeks of the announcement of Norse Energy was going bankrupt because of the de facto moratorium on gas drilling in New York.  Norse had been a regional employer with a bright future but here is what Binghamton’s soon to be ex-Mayor, Matt Ryan said in his opening remarks at the Frackdown.

We have done well here in New York to keep this industry out for 5 years and you should all be proud that we have driven one energy company out of business and they will no longer be a threat to our area.

I asked myself, as the antis cheered with joy and applauded this news, what have we as a community become? Never in my lifetime would I have believed a community could be led by a few fear mongers, using false information and junk science, to willfully and knowingly drive out jobs when there are so many needy families needlessly suffering from a 40 year long stretch of losing over 80,000 manufacturing jobs, and then celebrate it.  Have our leaders lost their minds?  Are they this out of touch?  How can they be this calloused in pursuit of their ideological mission to fight gas drilling?

Well, yes, they are that calloused, but chasing away prosperity and celebrating job losses is not smart politics. Gas drilling opponents have gone too far and recent local elections demonstrate it. ACTION ALERT…..ACTION ALERT…..so went out the call last year when Tarik Abdelizam, an outspoken opponent of gas activist, ran against Debbie Preston, a proponent of natural gas drilling, for the position of Broome County Executive. During the one pre-election debate held at Broome Community College, the gas drilling opponents packed the hall to support Tarik, but there were many supporters of Debbie there, too, and they  were actually local registered voters whose voice was heard when it came to election night, when common sense won the election over nonsense.

It happened again this year in the race for Binghamton Mayor. This time, even the much more liberal voters within the city, defeated gas drilling opponent Teri Rennia selecting Rich David who, like Preston, supports both jobs and safe natural gas drilling. This was a great victory for Rich David as the specal interests all lined up with Rennia, putting out several ACTION ALERTS on her behalf.  They even published a questionnaire on the NYRAD web site where Rennia articulated what she thought were politically correct views that would get her elected. Check it out:

From: Teri Rennia

To: bperkus
Sent: Wednesday, October 16, 2013 10:05 AM
Subject: Re: Binghamton Mayoral Candidate Environmental Issues Questionnaire

Good Morning Mr. Perkus,

Thank you for your interest in the race for the City of Binghamton Mayor. Attached please find the completed questionnaire that you recently sent out. I appreciate the opportunity to provide you with responses to your concerns.

Please feel free to contact me with any additional questions.

Regards,

Teri Rennia

 

Binghamton Mayoral Candidate Environmental Issues Questionnaire: Teri Rennia

Environmental issues are major concerns for many voters in the Binghamton mayoral race. This questionnaire is being sent to all official mayoral candidates.

Please answer the following questions as soon as convenient and no later than 10/16/13. Your response will be publicly released.

Thank you for your consideration.

Benjamin Perkus

Chair, New York Residents Against Drilling (NYRAD)

 

Marcellus Shale Hydraulic Fracturing

Binghamton is located in the portion of New York’s Marcellus Shale formation where natural gas extraction has been proposed using high volume hydraulic fracturing (HVHF). In 2008, New York State adopted a de facto moratorium on shale HVHF pending adoption of comprehensive public health and environmental safeguards pursuant to a Supplemental Generic Environmental Impact Statement (SGEIS) proceeding. To date, New York has not adopted a Final SGEIS and shale gas extraction has not been permitted.

1. Do you support continuing New York’s HVHF moratorium until a Final SGEIS has been adopted? Yes or No: YES

Additional Comments:

In the autumn of 2012, Governor Cuomo declared that no Final SGEIS would be adopted until after Health Commissioner Dr. Nirav R. Shah completes a “review” of the Department of Environmental Conservation’s Final Draft SGEIS. Dr. Shah’s review has received extensive criticism due to its technical inadequacies and because it has been conducted without a) any written public notice, b) opportunity for public review and comment or c) public hearing to receive input from interested parties.

2. Do you support halting the DOH review until the proceeding requires formal public participation? Yes or No: YES

Additional Comments:

Dr. Shah’s DOH review was intended to be “informed” by three outside investigations that reportedly were the first comprehensive health impact studies ever undertaken. Two out of the three studies (Geisinger, U Penn) have not actually gotten underway due to inadequate funding. The third study by the U. S. Environmental Protection Agency will not be completed until at least 2016.

3. Do you support requiring DOH to undertaking a comprehensive Public Health Impact Study to resolve all shale fracking concerns once and for all? Yes or No: YES

Additional Comments:

The New York Times reported on 6/13/12 that Governor Cuomo is considering permitting Marcellus Shale HVHF on a demonstration project basis in limited areas of the Southern Tier while prohibiting HVHF in all other areas of New York.

4. Do you support Governor Cuomo’s “demonstration project” proposal that would permit Marcellus Shale gas fracturing only in the Southern Tier? Yes or No: NO

Additional Comments: I would not support allowing fracking in the Southern Tier on a limited “demonstration basis.” I am not sure if the Governor officially proposed this as a policy or if was just floated as a trial balloon. I am also unsure if a proposal like this would even survive a legal challenge.

5. Do you have concerns about the urban impacts of shale fracking? If so, what specific safeguards would you put in-place to protect Binghamton from urban shale fracking impacts?

Yes, this is why I supported the City of Binghamton’s 2 year moratorium that was ultimately struck down by the courts. I have concerns about the impacts that fracking would have on our City. I’m concerned about the impacts on: our housing stock and availability, infrastructure, law enforcement, and local County health department, to name just a few. I would work with our state representatives to make sure that if drilling is permitted an urban impact fee be assessed for every well to help mitigate these unfunded costs.

Brownfields and Toxic Dump Concerns

Binghamton, like many northeastern cities, has inherited a legacy of abandoned industrial, commercial and residential properties with toxic contamination hazards. These underutilized properties are often in economically blighted areas. Investigating and remediating tainted properties can lead to redevelopment opportunities that benefit surrounding neighborhoods.

6. What specific efforts do you propose to undertake to clean up and redevelop brownfields and toxic dumps in Binghamton?

If elected I intend to continue to expand partnership opportunities with the State, along with partnering with Broome County and the Southern Tier Regional Economic Development Council to market some of our brownfield sites for re-development for a variety of purposes.

During my time on City Council I have worked with the State to remediate an abandoned dry cleaner site on Binghamton’s Westside. There is now a house built on the remediated property. We also worked with a private developer to remediate a brownfield site near the heart of our downtown. This remediation was followed by new construction of a student housing complex. This project, along with others, was instrumental in helping to revive our downtown business district.

We have also seen brownfield redevelopment in the Charles Street Business Park. There is currently a Brownfield Opportunity Initiative where the City is partnering with the State to remediate and market for re-development large areas of the First Ward, former home to several abandoned previous manufacturing facilities. If marketed successfully, this re-development has the potential to bring large scale economic revival to a very important district within the City.

7. Do you support the “polluter pays” principle that holds property owners and operators strictly liable for hazardous waste and petroleum remediation costs? Yes or No: YES

Additional Comments:

8. Please discuss additional environmental concerns or goals that you propose to address if elected mayor of Binghamton. Please be specific.

Rising energy costs and climate change are two of the defining challenges of the 21st century. Binghamton has already experienced many climate extremes in the last decade and set new local records for flooding and number of summer days over 90 degrees.

In 2011, I voted for the City of Binghamton’s Energy & Climate Action Plan, which identifies 51 actions to accomplish a reduction in emissions by 25% by 2025. Currently, we have only instituted less than a third of this plan.

If elected, I will make sure that we fully institute these polices to help combat climate change, focus on flood preparation and prevention, as well as several other pressing community needs including job creation, affordable housing, environmental health, and general quality of life issues in our neighborhoods.

Now, this completed questionnaire went to all of NYRAD supporters to show them the candidate to support was Terri Rennia and she lost, further proving the anti-drilling, anti job cult is, even within Binghamton, a minority, not the anti-fracking majority they keep claiming before a confused Andrew Cuomo. A city whose Mayor (Matt Ryan) has, for the last five years, been doing all kinds of  crazy things to fight the opportunities gas drilling would afford our depressed economy, soundly rejected his designated successor. Remember that video of Matt getting kicked out of a Dimock, Pennsylvania meeting for suggesting they needed Binghamton’s water? Well, apparently Binghamton voters remember, too.

These are only two elections and there have been many gas drilling opponents who’ve lost elections all throughout upstate areas that actually lie over shale gas beds. Let’s not forget the defeat of all but one gas drilling opponent who lost in Oxford, New York this month, where election turn out was historical as the people in favor of gas drilling beat out opponents who seemingly placed yard signs on every other 1/4 acre lot along Route 12. Then there was Sullivan County, where they ran a campaign to get New York City residents with second homes upstate to vote there and against gas drilling but lost.

A recent poll shows Americans favor gas drilling and want us to be free of foreign fuel dependence.  Local residents also need the jobs, yet Governor Cuomo, despite the physical evidence that gas drilling and fracking are safe and the electoral evidence that gas drilling opponents are a minority, continues to sit on his hands.  Will someone please tell him it’s safe to stand up now?  Tell him to “Drill Here, Drill Now – The Verdict Is In, Gas Drilling Is Cool.”