Finding Ulysses » natural gas

Final Public Meeting About Anti-Fracking Ordinance This Wednesday

Jonathan Cook — Mon, 27 Jun 2011 15:20:30 +0000

This Wednesday, June 29 at 7:00 PM in the auditorium of the Trumansburg elementary school, there will be a public hearing on proposed legislation that would ban drilling for natural gas in the Town of Ulysses. The Town Board will be present to listen to residents’ opinions about the anti-fracking legislation, but those who wish to speak are encouraged to show up early and sign up for a slot.

Written comments, submitted along with name and mailing address, are now being accepted by mail at Town Clerk, 10 Elm St., Trumansburg, NY 14886. Emails to be included in the public record pertaining to the proposed fracking ban can be sent to Liz Thomas at Liz.graeper.thomas@gmail.com with the subject line: Public Comment for Local Law to Amend Zoning.

The text of the draft legislation is as follows:

Proposed Ulysses Gas Drilling Local Law
resolution to go to Public hearing and send to Tompkins County for 239 l,m review passed 6-14-11 1-0

TOWN OF ULYSSES, NEW YORK

LOCAL LAW NO. ___ OF THE YEAR 2011
A Local Law to Amend the Zoning Law of the Town of Ulysses

SECTION 1.
The definition of “Extractive industry” in Article IV of the Zoning Law, Section 4.2
(“Definitions”) shall be amended by the addition of the italicized words:

“The extraction of overburden and minerals from the earth; the preparation and
processing of minerals, including any activities or processes used for the extraction or
removal of minerals from their original location and the preparation such as washing,
cleaning, crushing, stockpiling or other process at the mine location that makes a mineral
suitable for commercial, industrial or construction use, but does not include operations
extracting natural gas and / or petroleum. For the purpose of this Zoning Law, borrow
pits (excavations for removing material for filling operations) which exceed 2,000 tons
in a one (1)-year period are considered extractive industry.”

SECTION 2.
The following definitions shall be added to Article IV of the Zoning Law, Section 4.2,
“Definitions”:

Natural Gas and/or Petroleum Exploration: Geologic or geophysical activities related to
the search for natural gas, petroleum, or other subsurface hydrocarbons including
prospecting, geophysical and geologic seismic surveying and sampling techniques, which
include but are not limited to core or rotary drilling or making an excavation in the
search and evaluation of natural gas, petroleum, or other subsurface hydrocarbon
deposits.

Natural Gas and/or Petroleum Extraction: The digging or drilling of a well for the
purposes of exploring for, developing or producing natural gas, petroleum, or other
hydrocarbons.

Natural Gas and / or Petroleum Support Activities: The construction, use, or
maintenance of a storage or staging yard, a water or fluid injection station, a water or
fluid gathering station, a natural gas or petroleum storage facility, or a natural gas or
petroleum gathering line, venting station, or compressor associated with the exploration
or extraction of natural gas or petroleum.

Natural gas: Any gaseous substance, either combustible or noncombustible, which is
produced in a natural state from the earth and which maintains a gaseous or rarified
state at standard temperature and pressure conditions, and/or gaseous components or
vapors occurring in or derived from petroleum or other hydrocarbons.

Natural Gas and/or Petroleum Exploration and Production Wastes shall mean any
garbage, refuse, cuttings, sludge, flow-back fluids, produced waters, or other discarded
materials, including solid, liquid, semisolid, or contained gaseous material that results
from or is associated with the exploration, drilling or extraction of natural gas and/or
petroleum.

SECTION 3.
The following provisions shall be added to “Article XXI – General Provisions” of the
Zoning Law:

21.15. Natural Gas and/or Petroleum Exploration, Natural Gas and/or Petroleum
Extraction, Natural Gas and/or Petroleum Storage, Natural Gas and/or Petroleum
Treatment, and Natural Gas and/or Petroleum Waste Disposal

21.15.1 The provisions of this section are in further clarification of section 2.1, of this
Zoning Law, which provides inpart: “Any use not specifically set forth as a permitted
use in any zoning district shall be expressly prohibited in that zone. A use specifically set
forth as a permitted use in one zoning district shall not be permitted in another zoning
district unless it is specifically set forth as a permitted use in such district.”

21.15.2 The following uses are not permitted in any zoning district:

21.15.2.1 Natural Gas and/or Petroleum Exploration

21.15.2.2 Natural Gas and/or Petroleum Extraction

21.15.2.3 Natural Gas and / or Petroleum Support Activities

21.15.2.4 the transfer, storage, treatment, or disposal of natural gas and/or petroleum
exploration or production wastes;

21.15.2.5 erection of any derrick, building or other structure or placement of any
machinery or equipment for the purposes outlined in paragraphs 21.15.2.1, 21.15.2.2,
21.15.2.3, or 21.15.2.4 above;

21.15.3 No permit issued by any state orfederal agency, commission or board to any
person, firm or corporation, which would violate the prohibitions of this section shall be
deemed valid within the Town of Ulysses.

SECTION 4.
This local law shall take effect upon filing with the Secretary of State, at which point this
local law shall apply to any and all prohibited activities in the Town of Ulysses regardless
of the date of any applicable New York State Department of Environmental Conservation
permits.

SECTION 5.
The provisions of this local law are severable. If any court of competent jurisdiction
decides that any section, clause, sentence, part or provision of this local law is illegal,
invalid, or unconstitutional, such decision shall not affect, impair, or invalidate any of the
remaining sections clauses, sentences, parts, or provisions of the Local Law.
SECTION 6.
This local law shall supersede or repeal any prior inconsistent Local Law or local law in
the Town of Ulysses purporting to allow natural gas exploration, natural gas extraction or
the transport, storage, treatment or disposal of natural gas exploration or extraction waste.

Ulysses Town Board Gets Overwhelming Message Opposing Fracking In Town

Jonathan Cook — Wed, 09 Feb 2011 11:22:47 +0000

Last night the Ulysses Town Board saw a presentation by Concerned Citizens Of Ulysses about a survey of residents on the subject of drilling for natural gas in our town. The meeting room was packed, with at least 50 people in attendance, in addition to the members of the Town Board.

The presentation given by Ken Zeserson, chair of the Town Planning Board and member of the Ulysses Gas Drilling Advisory Board, described natural gas drilling as a threat to social and economic health of the community. Zeserson spoke in favor of a principle of “Rational growth, but only if it doesn’t interfere with the environment we enjoy,” and encouraged members of the Town Board to act to stop drilling, saying, “It’s possible for little towns to stand up to hydrofracking, and say, ‘Not here. Not now. Not ever.’”

A cooperative effort by CCoG, UGDAB, and Back to Democracy had drafted a petition supporting a ban on drilling for natural gas using slickwater horizontal hydrofracturing to in our town. Robert Oswald reported the results of the petitioning effort, showing a broad base of opposition. “It’s not limited to any geographical part of the town, political party, age of gender,” Oswald said, and showed extensive statistics to back up that claim.

1,047 signatures from Ulysses residents are on the petition so far, and even more signatures from people who live in neighboring communities. Of those who were asked to sign the petition, 80 percent did, and only a small fraction of those who did not sign expressed support for natural gas drilling using hydrofracking. Those who signed the petition reflected the demographic characteristics of the town in general, rather than a skewed minority of our population. Farmers and students, rural landowners and residents of Trumansburg alike signed the petition.

After the presentation of the petition was over, Supervisor Roxanne Marino remarked, “It’s the most professional petition I’ve seen, that’s for sure.”

A zoning amendment was then proposed. The amendment does not attempt to ban fracking by name, but would have the effect of banning fracking by prohibiting “high impact industrial uses”, defined as activities that have four or more impacts, such as truck traffic, use of explosives, and high water use. Agricultural activities would not be banned by the amendment. In order to prevent lawsuits against the Town of Ulysses by a proxy for a drilling company, the proposed zoning amendment contains a provision that would require an “administrative remedy” to be fully pursued before a lawsuit could begin.

Members of the Board asked specific questions about the proposed amendment, and expressed an eagerness to look the amendment’s specific language. Board member Liz Thomas suggested that a larger public forum on the matter ought to be held. “It may be that we’ll want to have an informational session for the public that’s larger,” she said.

In addition to three speakers from CCoU and the Ulysses Gas Drilling Advisory Board, 19 residents rose to speak in favor of the proposed zoning amendment. Only one resident spoke against the measure.

Marty Petrovic, Mayor of Trumansburg, spoke in favor of the proposed amendment, though not in his capacity as mayor. He explained that the Village Board of Trustees has already passed a resolution stating that Trumansburg will not provide water for use in fracking by drilling companies. “I can’t think of anything that would more ruin the life, health and welfare of our community than hyrdrofracking,” he said.

Biologist Sandra Steingraber talked about her research on the health impact of fracking, and also discussed impact on the more general quality of life in the town of Ulysses, saying, “All those thousands of truck trips to each well will fill our roads with trucks. That’s a certainty.”

Resident Tree Cook talked about her concerns about the likely impact of drilling for natural gas on income through tourism. “I’m a small business owner, and a lot of my customers are tourists,” she commented. “People will not come here when we have this type of industrial landscape.”

Veterinarian Michelle Bamberger explained her work with farmers in Pennsylvania whose animals had been poisoned by chemicals related to hydrofracking, and said to the Board, “I hope that you’ll stand up and do the right thing here, not just for the community, but for other communities across the country.”

County legislator Jim Dennis joined those expressing support for a move by the Town to prevent fracking here. A representative of the West Shore Homeowners Association also came forward in support of the zoning amendment.

Don Barber Warns Trumansburg Of Rural Industrialization

Jonathan Cook — Tue, 04 Jan 2011 11:45:44 +0000

In this video from Shaleshock Media, Caroline town Supervisor Don Barber warns Trumansburg residents about the dangers of rural industrialization that come along with natural gas drilling. The video comes from a recent forum in Trumansburg about the risks of drilling that uses the controversial technique of hydrofracturing.

Susan Steingraber On Gas Drilling In Ulysses

Jonathan Cook — Fri, 17 Dec 2010 21:35:04 +0000

A video of Trumansburg resident Susan Steingraber speaking at a forum about the impact of natural gas drilling using hydrofracking in our area:

Fracking Discussion Coming To Trumansburg

Jonathan Cook — Tue, 30 Nov 2010 10:01:58 +0000

A community forum on hydrofracturing – also known as fracking will come to Trumansburg on December 8. The forum will begin at 6:30 PM in the high school auditorium, and will include several speakers, including Trumansburg’s own Sandra Steingraber and a former Executive Vice President at Mobil Oil Corporation.

Earth First Grows In Our Area

Jonathan Cook — Tue, 18 May 2010 19:24:54 +0000

Over the last year, drilling for natural gas has become the top environmental issue in our area – and perhaps the top issue overall. Lawn signs protesting fracking (hydrofracturing) are seen on many streets and roads in the Town of Ulysses.

The intensity of feelings that the prospect of natural gas drilling has raised is illustrated by the formation of a new branch of Earth First in our area. “No drilling! No compromise!” is the motto of Finger Lakes Earth First, which refers to its activities as a kind of “defense” of our local ecosystems.

From the logo used by Finger Lakes Earth First, it seems pretty clear that at least some of the group’s “defense” could include monkeywrenching – protest through sabotage.

With something as literally explosive as natural gas, monkeywrenching against natural gas drilling could become dangerous. What are the ethical considerations Earth Firsters ought to take into account in their anti-drilling activities in our area?

John White Conflict Of Interest For Trumansburg Mayor?

Jonathan Cook — Sat, 13 Mar 2010 16:53:54 +0000

Tuesday is Election Day here in Trumansburg, with two seats on the Board of Trustees up for grabs, along with the position of Mayor of our village.

As the campaign approaches its zenith, there are political lawn signs up and down our streets, and even a big billboard far outside of village limits on route 96. What’s more important, however, is the talk going on around town about the candidates. In a small community like ours, what people already know about a candidate is not easily overpowered by a quick investment in campaign gear.

This weekend, much of the talk has to do with Republican mayoral candidate John White, who is seeking to replace incumbent Democrat Marty Petrovic. The concern being expressed has to do with one of the hottest political topics in our region: Natural gas drilling, and the impact of its fracking technology on our local water supplies.

It seems that John White owns a good deal of land outside of Trumansburg – land that’s leased out to natural gas drilling companies. In order for those leases to bring a profit to White, however, there would have to be an arrangement for local water to be used, so that dangerous substances could be added to it for hydrofracking, in which natural gas is released through the pumping of the resulting mixture into the ground.

As Mayor of Trumansburg, John White would be in a position to lead the village into providing some of our water to natural gas drilling companies such as the one that holds a lease on his own property. It smells like a serious conflict of interest.

Marcellus Shale Gas Drilling Tipline Created

Jonathan Cook — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 03:35:30 +0000

People in Ulysses who are concerned about coming drilling for natural gas in our town should take note: The Environmental Protection Agency has just started a tipline about illegal and generally suspicious activities taking place in association with drilling of the Marcellus Shale.

If you see anything, you can call 877-919-4372 or email eyesondrilling@epa.gov .

Doug Austic Made Deal For Natural Gas Drilling

Jonathan Cook — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 00:59:34 +0000

If you want to understand what’s going on right now with local government in the Town of Ulysses, the one place you absolutely should not go is the web site of the Town of the Ulysses. Although we Ulysses residents pay for both a Town Clerk and a Deputy Town Clerk, online meeting minutes to tell us what the Town Board is doing on our behalf are more than two months out of date.

No, if you want a clue about the political goings-on with the Ulysses Town Board, you’ll have to go to a report recently assembled by Allen Carstensen. He provides the kind of information about what happens at board meetings that never makes it into the official minutes.

I’ll be discussing many of the items Carstensen has documented in the coming days, but for this evening, I want to focus on one of the most timely issues for our town: The arrival of natural gas drilling in Ulysses.

I’ll risk offending some here in Ulysses by stating that whether a person decides to allow natural gas drilling on their land indicates a great deal about how they feel about their neighbors and their community. The reason is hydraulic fracturing (fracking), the drilling technique that has to be used in the Marcellus Shale, the geological formation underneath our town from which natural gas companies hope to extract their product. Fracking requires the use of large amounts of ground water, taking that water, and mixing it with a secret group of chemicals. That mixture is then pumped into the ground. When the process is over, the drilling company removes as much of the fracking fluid as it can, and then has to dispose of the fluid as toxic waste.

Here’s what we learn from Allen Carstensen’s report: At the last Town Board meeting, Ulysses Supervisor Doug Austic admitted that he has signed a lease with a natural gas drilling company, allowing them to perform fracking on his property.

Connect the dots to an old story: Doug Austic spent much of this decade trying to push through approval for Water District 5, a plan to construct water pipes snaking across the countryside throughout Ulysses – and to Doug Austic’s own property.

At the time, Supervisor Austic said that he was promoting Water District 5, because he hated the idea that some landowners in Ulysses might have poor drinking water. However, Austic has personally agreed to take part in a drilling project that involves taking huge amounts of our Ulysses water, mixing it with a bunch of secret chemicals that make it into toxic waste, and pumping it back into the ground.

It’s hoped that this fracking fluid isn’t spilled, doesn’t leak into groundwater, and doesn’t cause problems in some other way. It’s hoped that the fracking process doesn’t cause earthquakes or lead a neighbor’s house to explode. But, hey, no one can say for sure what will happen. We’ll just cross our fingers. Maybe it will all turn out fine.

Property owners like Doug Austic may see some profit – or they may just see drilling company trucks running roughshod over their land without a penny of income. However, these property owners have neighbors who aren’t choosing to go along with the natural gas drilling plans. Those neighbors most certainly won’t be seeing any profit, but their homes and land will be put at risk.

So, it’s not very gentle of me to say this, but I don’t think it’s a very neighborly thing for someone to sign a for-profit lease to allow drilling companies to go prospecting for natural gas on one’s land, when the likely impacts on one’s neighbors are still unknown. For the Supervisor of our Town to engage in such behavior seems particularly disappointing, especially when that Supervisor has been pushing a gigantic water program his neighbors would pay for, which just so happens to lead straight to his own personal profit.

In Mr. Austic’s favor is the fact that he signed the drilling lease on his land 15 years ago, not as a part of the recent push for drilling here. Some will say that 15 years ago, the environmental impacts of natural gas drilling weren’t known. Isn’t that still a problem, though? Should we enter into any kind of radical exploitation of our properties before we understand what the impacts will be?

Concerned Citizens of Ulysses Speaks Out On Gas Drilling

Jonathan Cook — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 20:17:44 +0000

The following article was written by Concerned Citizens of Ulysses, a citizen group forming in order to deal with the prospect of natural gas drilling in our town:

“Dear Friends and Neighbors:

You may have heard about the prospect of drilling for natural gas in Tompkins County. In fact, you have a very good chance of living on or near land that has already been leased to gas companies since close to half of the County has already signed up.

Many of us heat our homes with natural gas because it is generally considered to be the “cleanest” fossil fuel available and will doubtlessly be a mainstay of the American energy generation system for the next several decades as we make the slow shift to more renewable and sensible sources. Is it ethically and morally defensible to heat your house with natural gas and fight to prevent companies from drilling in your neighbor’s adjacent fields?

You bet it is. It’s okay to be a NIMBY on this issue. There are trillions of cubic feet of natural gas beneath American soil. Currently natural gas prices are at multi-year lows because supply is so plentiful. We are NOT in a natural gas crisis in this country. There is no earthly reason to drill for natural gas in Tompkins County except greed. But we are inviting a health crisis in Tompkins county and other residential and agricultural areas where natural gas companies are gobbling up land leases if we don’t attempt to regulate natural gas drilling now!

WHY IS THIS A PROBLEM?
Halliburton and other energy companies have developed a means of siphoning natural gas from the Marcellus shale which lies under much of New York State and northeastern Pennsylvania with a technique called hydraulic fracturing (hydrofracking). This involves drilling wells into the shale (six to eight thousand feet below the surface of the earth) and forcing a poisonous mixture of water and unknown chemicals under pressure into the holes to force out the gas. The wells are drilled vertically but can run horizontally for miles beneath our homes, our wells, our water supplies, our children…well you get the picture. What is so bad about fracking fluid? Nobody knows except Halliburton and other gas drillers because they claim the fluid they use is proprietary and patent protected. More than a 1000 documented incidents of water contamination have occurred in New Mexico, Ohio, Alabama and other places where fracking fluid has been inserted into the water supplies of local communities. Recent information from Texas which is riddled with hydrofracked wells suggests that the technique may precipitate earthquakes. People and animals have died as a result of exposure to hydrofracking fluid but the extent of the danger is unknown at the moment. And even when a drilling process is proceeding as it should, the activity involved in working each well involves delivery of millions of gallons of water weekly and constant and deafening drilling and pumping of fracking fluid as long as the well is active. Would you want one in your backyard or across the street? And where would natural gas companies get these untold millions of gallons of water? From OUR water supplies and Lake Cayuga itself.

AREN’T THERE FEDERAL AND LOCAL LAWS PROTECTING OUR WATER SUPPLIES?
Yes, the Safe Drinking Water Act is a Federal mandate designed to do just what its name implies, namely insure safe drinking water for Americans. But in 2005 working with a Bush administration friendly to their goals the natural gas industry succeeded in exempting hydrofracking operations from governance by the Safe Drinking Water Act. But wait! Just because the Federal government has abdicated its responsibility to protect our water supplies, what about our State and Local governments and agencies? Unfortunately after defanging the Federal mandate incredibly the gas industry was also successful in pushing through NY State Environmental Conservation Law Article 23 which in effect prevents local town and county governments from regulating gas drilling activity within their jurisdictions. And as for the DEC that presumably protects New York State citizens from activities hazardous to health and/or the environment…well, the DEC is the agency that hands out gas drilling permits to gas companies and in fact has opened up some State forests to this activity…so far.

SO WHAT CAN YOU DO?
Look into the mirror! It is up to each of us to get concerned, involved and active NOW if there is any hope at all of stemming this developing environmental tragedy. At this writing, the House Committee on Energy and Commerce is considering a bill that would repeal the exemption that gas drilling currently enjoys from the Safe Drinking Water Act. If you care about this problem, please write to the officials on this Committee and urge them to recommend the legislation for Congressional deliberation. And towards that end, please write to your New York State Congressional representations and our Senators and to the State DEC. Some sample letters and relevant addresses follow. Please help us win this battle for our families and the lifestyle we enjoy in what is currently a fairly placid rural environment. If hydrofracking is allowed in Tompkins County that will certainly change!

Thank you,

Ken Zeserson and Judy Abrams on behalf of
Concerned Citizens of Ulysses (CCU)

Chris Thomas Announces Campaign For Supervisor

Jonathan Cook — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 09:56:29 +0000

Village Trustee Chris Thomas has announced his intention to seek the Democratic nomination for the position of Supervisor of the Town of Ulysses. If Doug Austic decides to run for re-election this year, there could be an actual choice when residents of Ulysses go to the polls. The last time there was an election for the position of Town of Ulysses Supervisor, there was no election. The Republican Committee nominated Austic, the Democratic Committee nominated Austic, and that was that.

Other town news this morning:

- There’s going to be a forum on the impact of natural gas drilling down at the Museum of the Earth. U.S. Representative Maurice Hinchey will have a staff member taking part. Our own representative, Michael Arcuri, will not.

- The dropout rate at Trumansburg High School has risen over the last three years. Note to Trumansburg teenagers: There’s a recession on with crippling unemployment. Now is not the best time to go looking for a job that’s going to bring you anything more than a minimum wage lifestyle. School can feel like a drag. Flipping burgers is worse.

Arcuri Supports Truth in Fracking, Gillibrand Does Not

Jonathan Cook — Sun, 21 Jun 2009 18:48:54 +0000

There’s good news and bad news for those residents of Ulysses who want to know how natural gas drilling could affect the quality of their drinking water.

Part of the process of natural gas drilling is something called fracking (hydraulic fracturing). Fracking forces a fluid into bedrock at high pressure, opening up cracks in the rock and allowing natural gas to escape. What that fluid is, however, no one really knows – except for the people at Halliburton who make the fluid. Independent analysis of areas where fracking fluid is believed to have spilled have found some very toxic chemicals, but currently, Halliburton enjoys a special legislative loophole that allows it to ignore environmental laws, and keep the contents of fracking fluid a secret.

In the House and Senate, the Fracturing Responsibility and Awareness of Chemicals Act of 2009 seeks to close this loophole, requiring the disclosure of the toxic chemicals in fracking fluid to people living near proposed natural gas drilling sites.

The good news is that Michael Arcuri, who represents Trumansburg in the U.S. House of Representatives, has cosponsored the legislation, giving it his public support. The bad news is that appointed U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand has declined to do so. That’s particularly disappointing, given that one of Kirsten Gillibrand’s political strengths was supposed to have been that she is able to represent the interests of people living in Upstate New York.

If Gillibrand continues to ignore the growing concerns of people living atop the Marcellus Shale, she may find herself surprised in 2010 by some upstate resistance to her effort to gain the Democratic Party nomination for New York’s junior U.S. Senate seat.