|
|
|
Pro and anti ‘frackers’ butted heads Dansville as that town explores natural gas extraction through hydraulic fracturing.
The process allows drillers to reach gas trapped beneath layers of shale by inserting a mix of water and chemicals underground to force out the gas.
Though the entrance of fracking into the western part of Steuben County is still a few years out, area towns, including Dansville, are considering moratoriums in order to buy time to establish their own policies and road use agreements.
The meeting Wednesday was organized by Dansville resident Michael Holler. Holler described himself as a concerned citizen and said he wanted to get people talking.
“I thought people needed to learn more,” Holler said.
Four members of Frack Free Genesee, an anti-fracking coalition from the Genesee River region, were on hand to present data and answer questions. One speaker, Bob Thompson, urged meeting attendees to become more educated about fracking.
“You need to look at the facts, you need to look at all sides of the issue,” Thompson said.
Thompson urged residents to consider fracking’s effect on the environment and health. He acknowledged that fracking would have stimulate the economy in the short term but questioned the long term impacts.
“So what we’re doing essentially is we’re creating some jobs without a doubt, but we’re going to be losing a tremendous amount of really sustainable industries like farming, agriculture, tourism, the wine industry, so we have to look at those consequences too,” Thompson said.
The meeting broke down at times after Dansville resident Steve Born attacked the way Thompson and others from Frack Free Genesee described fracking and its possible dangers.
“What we just heard were scare tactics. I wrote down a few of the phrases because I couldn’t believe it. ‘Leaching,’ ‘horrific,’ ‘they spread it on the roads,’ ‘early cancers,’ ‘nasty chemicals,’ ‘earthquakes,’” he said.
Others, like Penny Lawrence of Arkport, questioned the validity of Born’s viewpoint and accused him of glossing over environmental risks in favor of economic gain.
“They aren’t trying to use words to scare us, they’re using words that are reality words. You can take them and transform them into anything you want to in your mind,” Lawrence said.
Dansville is slated to discuss its moratorium at a town meeting Thursday, but in the meantime for residents and neighbors across the Southern Tier, the fight to make sense of an issue with so much at stake threatens to overwhelm.
“I don’t think our town is quite ready for the scope of what’s about to come,” Holler said.
Pro and anti ‘frackers’ butted heads Dansville as that town explores natural gas extraction through hydraulic fracturing.
The process allows drillers to reach gas trapped beneath layers of shale by inserting a mix of water and chemicals underground to force out the gas.
Though the entrance of fracking into the western part of Steuben County is still a few years out, area towns, including Dansville, are considering moratoriums in order to buy time to establish their own policies and road use agreements.
The meeting Wednesday was organized by Dansville resident Michael Holler. Holler described himself as a concerned citizen and said he wanted to get people talking.
“I thought people needed to learn more,” Holler said.
Four members of Frack Free Genesee, an anti-fracking coalition from the Genesee River region, were on hand to present data and answer questions. One speaker, Bob Thompson, urged meeting attendees to become more educated about fracking.
“You need to look at the facts, you need to look at all sides of the issue,” Thompson said.
Thompson urged residents to consider fracking’s effect on the environment and health. He acknowledged that fracking would have stimulate the economy in the short term but questioned the long term impacts.
“So what we’re doing essentially is we’re creating some jobs without a doubt, but we’re going to be losing a tremendous amount of really sustainable industries like farming, agriculture, tourism, the wine industry, so we have to look at those consequences too,” Thompson said.
The meeting broke down at times after Dansville resident Steve Born attacked the way Thompson and others from Frack Free Genesee described fracking and its possible dangers.
“What we just heard were scare tactics. I wrote down a few of the phrases because I couldn’t believe it. ‘Leaching,’ ‘horrific,’ ‘they spread it on the roads,’ ‘early cancers,’ ‘nasty chemicals,’ ‘earthquakes,’” he said.
Others, like Penny Lawrence of Arkport, questioned the validity of Born’s viewpoint and accused him of glossing over environmental risks in favor of economic gain.
“They aren’t trying to use words to scare us, they’re using words that are reality words. You can take them and transform them into anything you want to in your mind,” Lawrence said.
Dansville is slated to discuss its moratorium at a town meeting Thursday, but in the meantime for residents and neighbors across the Southern Tier, the fight to make sense of an issue with so much at stake threatens to overwhelm.
“I don’t think our town is quite ready for the scope of what’s about to come,” Holler said.
