Ask Legislature for Moratorium on Hydrofracking

Most local Assembly members oppose fracking moratorium legislation Press Connects Aug. 21, 2010

Moratorium Passes NYS Senate 48-9.  Still needs Assembly passage and Governor’s Signature Aug. 4, 2010

Press Connects Coverage Aug. 4, 2010

Is the Tide Turning? Aug. 5, 2010 Peter Mantius has been doing a semi-regular column called “Marcellus Watch” in the online Odessafile-News Of Schuyler County for well over a year. http://www.odessafile.com/features-Mantius11.html

Aug 1 Update on NY State Moratorium Campaign:

Momentum Builds for New York Moratorium, Despite Heavy Industry Lobbying

Word is that the NYS Senate will vote on a one year moratorium on horizontal drilling permits when they return to Albany this Tuesday (Aug. 3).  Call our officials in Albany and tell them to stand up to the corporate bullies. We need them to do everything they can to build and maintain support for the moratorium in the face of this threat to our water and public health.

Senate Majority Leader John Sampson 518-455-2788

Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver 518-455-3791

Governor David Paterson 518-474-8390

Senator James Seward, 518-455-3131 (Our Senator)

Or click here to send them an email!

Let’s make sure that New York sets a new standard for the country—one that puts our water and our future ahead of oil and gas company profits.

In New York State, the pressure is building for a moratorium on hydraulic fracturing. Last Wednesday, folk icon Pete Seeger and actor Mark Ruffalo joined health and environmental advocates to call for legislation that would delay fracking until next year and buy more time for a growing movement to raise awareness about the dangers posed by the gas extraction method. Lawmakers in both parties have come out in support of the bill, which may reach the floor in coming days.

The issue gains urgency in the wake of yet another fracking site explosion. On Friday two workers were killed when a gas well in Indiana Township, PA caught fire. The incident occurred the day after an EPA hearing south of Pittsburgh drew over a thousand people, many of whom shared their own stories of water contamination, sick livestock, and worsening health problems.

Now all eyes are on Albany. Today the New York State legislature went back into session for what might be the last time until after the fall elections. The Sweeney/Thompson bill (S8129B/A11443B), which would impose an 11-month moratorium on hydraulic fracturing, has bipartisan support in both the Senate and Assembly, but the leadership of both chambers has stalled in bringing this crucial legislation to a vote.

This may be our last chance to stop fracking in New York State. If the Sweeney/Thompson bill fails, the Department of Environmental Conservation could begin issuing fracking permits as early as August. We can’t let that happen!

We face a steep challenge; oil and gas corporations are increasing the pressure on legislators in an effort to defeat the moratorium. As the Times Herald-Record reports today, the industry has devoted more than $1 million this year to lobbying the Governor and Legislature, with $350,000 spent just since May.

Gas corporations are pinning their hopes on politics as usual, but we’ve come too far to let the industry stop us now! The wind is at our backs, but we need to make our voices heard in this final push to get a bill passed.

Petition to Senator Sampson to Pass Fracking Moratorium Needed by July 28, 2010

July 20th Senate Press Conference with Pete Seeger

Fax to all NYS Senators to support Moratorium on Drilling http://issuu.com/StopOIL_NYC/docs/senator

Rally to Protest Broome Co. Legislature from Leasing County Property — July 13, 2010.

Time is running out to place a moratorium on gas drilling in NY. We need your help in this last week of the legislative session to get it done. New York officials want to site tens of thousands of new gas wells from the southern Catskills to Lake Erie using the controversial technique – hydraulic fracturing or “fracking “. Other states that have embraced this form of drilling have experienced contaminated water, polluted air, and negative human health effects.
Just last week, a gas well explosion in Penfield, Pennsylvania spewed a column of contaminated fluid and methane 75 feet in the air for 16 hours before it could be controlled. Failure to avoid this catastrophe was blamed on the same technology responsible for the tragic oil spill in the Gulf: a faulty blow out preventer.
Do we really want to bring this flawed process to NY?
Please tell the legislature to support a statewide moratorium on drilling until we have all the necessary science and information to move forward.
Currently, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is studying the environmental impacts associated with fracking. But the EPA findings will only be available after drilling starts in NY. The findings of the EPA study could profoundly inform the way drilling is approached in NYS so that we may avoid catastrophic environmental impacts in the future.
Let your Assembly member and Senator know that no drilling permits should be issued until the findings of the EPA report are in and the best safe guards are in place. Click here to send an e-mail to your state representatives.

Thank you for all your efforts,
Roger Downs
Conservation Program Manager
Sierra Club Atlantic Chapter
P.S You can spread the word about this issue by sharing this alert with your friends and family and by posting it to your Facebook and Twitter.

If you would like to be further involved in this crucial issue please visit our website.

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