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Politics & Government

Hydrofracking Causes Stir in Mamaroneck

A standing room only crowd filled a conference room at the Mamaroneck Public Library on Tuesday to attend a presentation about hydrofracturing—known colloquially as fracking—entitled "Why Natural Gas Drilling in Upstate New York Impacts Westchester."

The environmental issue of the decade, so far, proponents and opponents of fracking are polarized between those who contend that it offers an unfettered economic boon to communities and the country at large and others who argue that it represents an environmental disaster.

The two presenters, Elisabeth Radow, chair, League of Women Voters (LWV) of Larchmont-Mamaroneck and Albert Appleton, former commissioner of the New York City Department of Environmental Protection, delivered sobering critiques of the practice, where natural gas is extracted from deep beneath the earth’s surface by blasting shale deposits with a combination of water, sand and chemicals.

The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) issued a revised draft set of regulations to guide future fracking on Sept. 7; the document, in its entirety, can be viewed on the DEC website here. This replaced Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s ban on hydrofracking that expired in July. 

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Some of the regulations included in the revised document—issued after over 13,000 public complaints were received in response to the original version—are prohibited drilling within 2,000 feet of public drinking water supplies, a requirement for additional well casings to prevent gas migration and a more stringent policy for waste removal.

When asked her view of fracking, County Legislator Judy Myers gave two thumbs down and crinkled her nose. Her response reflected that of 99 percent of the attendees, who sat with stone faced expressions and shook their heads throughout the over two hour event.

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The lone dissenter, Julian Hertz of Larchmont, expressed his displeasure in the perceived one-sided nature of the presentation. After the presenters told the hundred or so attendees to write letters to their representatives in Albany, Hertz asked, “Why would I write a letter when I’ve heard one side of this proposition?”

After Appleton and Radow addressed his concerns, he said, “You should be interested in a fair presentation; someone on the other side should have been invited.” Radow responded that she did invite an industry representative but that no one took her up on the offer.

When Hertz tried to speak for a third time, the crowd shouted him down.

“Exxon-Mobil paid billions for the rights and I can’t believe they would make that investment without thoroughly considering the implications,” he told The Patch. “I can’t believe the League let this happen, it is utterly biased. She [Radow] must be a paid operative of the anti-fracking side.”

Radow, a contract lawyer by trade, said at the outset that she had no requirement to present both sides. She noted that the state is considering allowing fracking in upstate New York near the Catskill-Delaware watershed, where a large portion of New York City and Westchester County residents get their drinking water from.

Appleton delivered a thorough primer on the fracking process, pointing out two myths that the gas company’s PR machine has been promoting. One, that the country’s energy security demands natural gas and it’s preferable to spending money overseas buying oil from the Middle East. He pointed out that we have a much larger trade deficit with China and that the development of green energy alternatives is the best way to free the country from its dependence on foreign oil.

The other myth is that the gas extracted through fracking is clean-burning natural gas, though he pointed out that this “is not your grandfather’s natural gas,” since fracked gas is difficult to extract and creates a large environmental impact and footprint on the environment as it requires drilling rigs and truck traffic.

Additionally, fracking can also release dangerous methane gas and, in a worst-case scenario, may pollute and irradiate drinking water. He called for a much larger buffer around the watershed and water infrastructure fixtures than Cuomo has called for.

“The industry is so far refusing to face the fact this is not an easy thing,” he said. “No filtration plant can protect the water because there are so many things in fracking fluid and if pollution reaches the water system, the taxpayers of the state of New York will pay an enormous amount of money as a direct subsidy to fracking companies.”

Knowing that the companies have been less than forthcoming about the process and its consequences and have forced people with whom they have settled to sign non-disclosure agreements, Radow took a look at some of the leases the companies signed with property owners to allow them to drill wells, along with company filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

In these documents, the gas companies explicitly admit the risks and that the process is likely underinsured. She sees salvation in the secondary mortgage market, underwritten by bonds and the federal government, who are generally risk-averse.

“This is an issue that impacts all of us; if the gas companies gain, the housing industry is going to suffer,” she said. “People won’t be able to sell their homes and somebody is going to have to absorb the loss, unless we demand that the gas companies take responsibility.”

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