Opposition to ‘fracking’ affirmed by Buffalo Common Council
January 13, 2011
The Buffalo News
http://www.buffalonews.com /city/communities/buffalo/article309816.ece
State of the State Address-Cuomo Jan.5, 2011
January 5, 2011
Governor Cuomo Outlines Transformational Plan for a New NY
Declaring New York State at a crucial crossroads, Governor Andrew M. Cuomo today outlined during his first State of the State Address an action plan to fundamentally transform New York State’s government and economy by getting the state’s fiscal house in order, radically redesigning our governmental structures and operations, and restoring integrity and performance to state government. Governor Cuomo noted that the decisions we make now will impact our State for decades to come.
“We must turn this crisis into an opportunity to fundamentally remake our state into the progressive capital of the nation,” Governor Cuomo said in his message to the legislature. “We must seize this moment to build a new New York for future generations.”
In the first State of the State message open to the public and the first using internet-age technology to deliver the presentation, Governor Cuomo said he would open up government to the public and work in partnership with all stakeholders to address the serious fiscal challenges facing New York State and its local governments.
“We must transform the State of New York from a government of dysfunction, gridlock and corruption to a government of performance, integrity, and pride,” Governor Cuomo said. “This is not about budget trimming or cutting, it’s about looking at how we can fix government and make it work for the people. Together, we must take the significant steps needed to reinvent, reorganize and redesign government to restore credibility and to rebuild our economy by creating jobs all across this State.”
In light of the enormous fiscal challenges facing New York, Governor Cuomo’s agenda relies on rethinking core government operations and economic development strategies to provide better results and to maximize resources.
“We must begin by confronting honestly the challenges we face. Change is not easy, but we must change to return to prosperity,” Governor Cuomo said.
Governor Cuomo outlined the following initiatives as part of his State of the State message:
- Emergency Fiscal Plan: Governor Cuomo today outlined an Emergency Financial Plan that closes the $10 billion deficit in the 2010-11 budget without raising taxes or borrowing. The plan called for imposing a one-year salary freeze on the vast majority of public employees whose contracts are up for renegotiation as of April 1; holding the line on taxes; and imposing a State spending cap limiting spending growth to the rate of inflation.
- Rightsizing Government: Saying that redesigning New York State government is essential to rebuilding the state’s economy, Governor Cuomo today issued an Executive Order creating the Spending and Government Efficiency (SAGE) Commission to make state government more accountable and efficient by reducing the number of agencies, authorities, and commissions by 20 percent. The SAGE Commission is directed to submit to the Governor a rightsizing plan to reduce the number of agencies by May 1st of this year. Under additional legislation proposed by the Governor today, the Governor would then submit the rightsizing plan to the legislature for action with the plan going in to effect, unless the legislature acted within 30 days to reject it. Director of Agency Redesign and Efficiency Paul Francis will serve as Co-Chair with the Governor appointing one or more additional Co-Chairs.
- Redesigning the Medicaid program: Governor Cuomo today issued an Executive Order aimed at redesigning New York State’s costly Medicaid program. The order calls for the creation of a new Medicaid Redesign Team to find ways to save money within the Medicaid program for the Governor’s upcoming state budget proposal for the 2011-12 Fiscal Year. Based on the nationally recognized model used in Wisconsin that involved bringing stakeholders together to find efficiencies and cost savings within the Medicaid program, the team will be comprised of leaders from the healthcare industry, the Governor’s office, the legislative bodies, and other business, labor and consumer advocates. Jason Helgerson, whom the Governor appointed today to serve as New York State Medicaid Director and created the Wisconsin model, will be the Team’s Executive Director.
Under the Governor’s order, the Team is to begin work no later than Friday, Jan. 7, and must submit its first report with findings and recommendations to the Governor by March 1 for consideration in the budget process.
- Providing Mandate Relief: Governor Cuomo today issued an Executive Order creating The “Mandate Relief Redesign Team” (“Team”) to review unfunded and underfunded mandates imposed by the New York State government on school districts, local governments, and other local taxing districts. The Team, chaired by Senior Advisor to the Governor Larry Schwartz, will include representatives from private industry, education, labor, and government and look for ways to reduce the costs of mandated programs, identify mandates that are ineffective and outdated, and determine how school districts and local governments can have greater ability to control expenses. The Team will begin working by January 7, 2011 and will submit a first set of recommendations to the Governor by March 1, 2011 for consideration in the Fiscal Year 2011-12 budget process. The Team will continue its review until the end of Fiscal Year 2011-12.
- Redesigning Local Governments: Governor Cuomo is creating a program to reward local governments that save money by rightsizing. The Citizen Re-Organization Empowerment Grants will provide up to $100,000 to cover all or part of the costs of merger and dissolutions studies.
- Redesigning Education: Noting that New York is first in spending but 34th in results, Governor Cuomo proposed restructuring a portion of our education aid to create incentives that reward school districts for improving student performance and implementing management efficiency policies.
- Transforming the ethical environment in Government. Governor Cuomo’s “Clean Up Albany” agenda includes instituting campaign finance reform to include a system of public financing for elections, limiting contribution levels, creating an independent redistricting commission, create independent monitoring and enforcement of ethics laws; and requiring full disclosure of outside income and clients. Governor Cuomo also proposed to outlaw “pay to play” to limit the impact of special interests, strip pensions for public officials convicted of a felony for abusing the public trust; and improving government performance and transparency through technology.
Transforming New York’s Economy:Governor Cuomo said, “Business built New York, and we are declaring that New York is once again open for business.”
Governor Cuomo said that restoring the State’s historically thriving private sector will require holding the line on taxes and working to lower taxes in the future. His economic development agenda seeks to help government to be job facilitators and not frustrating job creation through the following initiatives:
- Creating regional Economic Development Councils: Noting that those working at the local level know their area economies best, he will create regional economic development councils to work with state agencies to allocate resources. To ensure that state agencies and the councils are working to create jobs, Governor Robert Duffy will lead these councils, which will be drawn from the private sector, local governments, state agencies and academic institutions.
- Fixing the recently-enacted Excelsior Tax Credit Program: Governor Cuomo proposed to revise the recently enacted Excelsior Tax Credit Program to produce better results for New Yorkers. His proposals would restructure the value and length of the tax credit to provide greater incentives for job creation; restructure incentives for improving properties; pay credits as job-creation milestones are met rather than at the end of the proposal; expand research and development tax credits; and streamline the application and approval process.
- Create a permanent Power for Jobs Program: To help keep manufacturers in New York State, Governor Cuomo introduced a permanent Power for Jobs program to provide predictability and stability of supply with long-term contracts, and incorporate efficiency incentives to reward improvements.
- Enacting Property Tax Relief: Governor Cuomo’s property tax cap will set the cap at the rate of inflation or two percent, whichever is less; prohibit any property tax levy above the cap unless endorsed by both by the local governing board and a 60 percent majority of the people during an election; and provide only limited exceptions such as extraordinary legal or capital expenditures.
Making New York the Progressive Capital of the NationGovernor Cuomo seeks to reclaim its status as the progressive leader in the nation in the following ways:
- Better protecting consumers and investors: A newly-formed Department of Financial Regulation will merge the Insurance Department, Banking Department and the Consumer Protection Board to better regulate modern financial services organizations. A primary mission will be to stand up for consumers, protect them from predatory lending and unlawful foreclosure practices, and provide access to good, honest and capable financial services at competitive rates.
- A cleaner, greener environment: Governor Cuomo will create the “NY Cleaner, Greener Communities Program” to provide competitive grants that will encourage communities to develop regional sustainable growth strategies in housing, transportation, emissions control, energy efficiency. The program will emphasize revitalizing urban areas through smart growth, creating green jobs, building green infrastructure including roof and rain gardens, and strengthening environmental justice and protection.
- Expanding Minority and Women-Owned Business Enterprises (MWBE) support: Of the 1.9 million business entities operating in New York State, more than 50 percent are owned by women or minorities. The vast majority of these companies are small businesses and a critical driver of the New York State economy. To ensure that MWBE’s have the opportunity to earn their fair share of the State’s business, Governor Cuomo directed State agencies to double the current MWBE participation goal from 10 to 20 percent and ease bonding restrictions that they will face and expand the Owner-Controlled Insurance Program model to expand opportunities for small businesses.
- Juvenile Justice Reorganization: With a goal of reducing wasteful spending, Governor Cuomo will undertake an immediate reorganization of the State’s youth detention facilities with the goal of consolidation, while providing current staff the priority for relocation to other facilities, retraining and/or reemployment opportunities. He proposed a repeal of the requirement mandating a 12-month notice requirement to close facilities to avoid keeping facilities open that have few or no children.
- Expanding fresh food into urban centers: To help revitalize urban areas and develop markets for New York farmers, Governor Cuomo will seek ways to expand the presence of locally-grown food markets in urban areas. This will include working to revitalize the Hunts Point terminal Produce Market in the Bronx, which supplies a large portion of the produce for New York City’s and the region’s food consumption, and creating a “Share NY Food” Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) program that develops partnerships with farmers and residents to expand access and resources and make fresh food available to consumers in urban areas.
- Providing for marriage equality for all New Yorkers: To end discrimination against same–sex couples who wish to get married, Governor Cuomo called for the passage of legislation legalizing marriage for same-sex couples as has been done in many states and other countries.
- Protect Reproductive Rights: To protect a woman’s right to choose options in the face of an unplanned or problem pregnancy, Governor Cuomo will fight for passage of reproductive rights legislation to protect the fundamental right of reproductive freedom and a woman’s right to make private health care decisions.
Oil, Gas Firms Find It Harder To Drill On U.S. Land : NPR
January 5, 2011
Oil, Gas Firms Find It Harder To Drill On U.S. Land : NPR. Jan 5, 2011
Since the Deepwater Horizon accident in the Gulf of Mexico, the oil industry has complained loudly that the government is dragging its feet in approving new offshore drilling projects. Now the industry says it’s experiencing similar problems in the Rocky Mountains.
There, companies bid for the right to drill for natural gas on federal land. In recent years, environmental groups have found they can slow down the boom-town pace of drilling by challenging those leases, as a way of protecting special places.
It’s a tactic that has upset companies that drill for natural gas.
“We’re tired of spending our money, having the government cash our check and taking our money, and not issuing leases,” says Nerd Gas Co. senior vice president Cary Brus.
“We believe it’s a breach of contract. … They took our money; we want our leases,” says Brus, whose company has joined a lawsuit that claims the Bureau of Land Management is breaking the law.
The Mineral Leasing Act says the BLM has 60 days to award a lease. But a government report released last summer found that the agency was able to meet that deadline less than 10 percent of the time in the Rocky Mountain region.
Part of the reason is that these leases are also subject to other regulations designed to protect the environment. Environmental groups have challenged leases after they are sold, based on concerns for animals like pronghorn antelope, mule dehttp://seamus.npr.org/new_cms/SelectStoryEditorRouting.do?routingAction=LoadFeature&selEditFeature=132658302er and sage grouse that could be pushed out of their native habitat by drilling operations.
“One of the great things about this state is, we have world-class wildlife,” says Joy Bannon, field director for the Wyoming Wildlife Federation. “We also have world-class energy resources, and we need to find a balance of that.”
Environmental groups have worried that special places were being handed over to the oil and gas industry without much scrutiny.
Enlarge Jeff Brady/NPRJoy Bannon of the Wyoming Wildlife Federation examines a map for a BLM lease sale her group challenged.
Jeff Brady/NPRJoy Bannon of the Wyoming Wildlife Federation examines a map for a BLM lease sale her group challenged.
“Under the last half of the Bush administration, there was an avalanche of oil and gas leasing activity,” says Erik Molvar, executive director of the Biodiversity Conservation Alliance.
Molvar says groups like his started challenging leases as a way of slowing that avalanche. In his view, public land in Wyoming should be available for all kinds of uses, including recreation.
“For so many years, the oil and gas industry has had the entire pie of all the public lands all to themselves,” Molvar says.
But that changed when Barack Obama became president nearly two years ago. While George W. Bush’s administration was focused on oil and gas development on public land, Obama favors renewable energy. Those changing priorities made it difficult for BLM workers to keep up with awarding leases.
“Prior to February 2009, we were about two months behind,” says Julie Weaver, chief of fluid minerals adjudication at the BLM office in Cheyenne, Wyo.
“After the change in the administration, we had to step back and do some re-evaluation, and because of that we have a backlog,” she says.
The agency hopes to be caught up by Feb. 1, Weaver says. The BLM is also changing its leasing process, so that concerns from environmental groups are addressed before a lease goes to auction. That will likely lead to fewer leases sold, and less money for the federal treasury.
Meanwhile, the industry has started losing interest in drilling on public land.
“I think you have seen some pullback in activity,” says Kathleen Sgamma, director of government and public policy at Western Energy Alliance. “We’ve gotten very clear signals from this administration that it’s going to be difficult to get leases, it’s going to be difficult to get permits and project approvals.”
Sgamma says that’s a shame, because her industry could be providing thousands of jobs at a time when the country needs them.
Joseph Martens Nominated DEC Commissioner
January 4, 2011
ALBANY, NY (01/04/2011)(readMedia)– Governor Andrew M. Cuomo today announced the following appointments and nominations to senior positions within the state government.
Joseph Martens will be nominated to serve as Commissioner of the Department of Environmental Conservation. Since 1998, Mr. Martens has served as President of the Open Space Institute, directing and overseeing land acquisition, sustainable development, historic preservation and farmland protection. Previously, Mr. Martens served as Deputy Secretary to the Governor for Energy and the Environment from 1992-94 and before that Assistant Secretary from 1990-92. He is the Chair of the Olympic Regional Development Authority, which operates the 1932 and 1980 winter Olympic venues in Lake Placid and Wilmington, NY and Gore Mountain Ski Area in Johnsburg, NY. He also chairs the Adirondack Lake Survey Corporation, which continuously monitors Adirondack lakes and streams to determine the extent and magnitude of acidification in the Adirondack region, Mr. Martens studied Resource Economics at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst and received an M.S. in Resource Management from the State University of New York, College of Environmental Science and Forestry at Syracuse University.
“Joe’s lifelong experience of fighting to protect and preserve our environment will bring the highest level of stewardship to our state’s beautiful natural resources. Joe knows how to strike the critical balance between defending our natural resources from pollution and destruction while at the same time fostering a climate of economic renewal and growth. His experience and record as a competent and productive manager will breathe life into this vital agency.” Governor Cuomo said.
“Joe is an outstanding choice to lead such a vital agency at such at an important time. We are at a crossroads for the environmental movement in New York State and I know that Joe will continue to be a leader in the fight to preserve our great state’s landscape, environment, and natural resources. I look forward to working with Joe and commend the Governor for making this nomination,” said Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.
“Joe Martens’ experience, judgment, and temperament make him the right person at the right time to meet the challenges that DEC faces. He has the support and key relationships with the business and environmental community that will allow him to hit the ground running. The Governor’s selection of Mr. Martens reflects his strong belief that protecting New York State’s environment goes hand in hand with advancing the state’s economic goals,” said Ashok Gupta, from the Natural Resources Defense Council.
“Joe knows that one of the keys to not only preserving our environment, but creating good paying jobs is expanding the production of affordable and reliable energy across the state. He has both the hands on experience and also the bold vision to transform the DEC, steering it in a direction that strikes the critical balance of protecting our natural resources and our economy,” said Gavin J. Donohue, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Independent Power Producers of New York.
Comment:
Joe Martens as DEC commissioner seems promising. While it’s been taken off of the OSI website in the last fifteen days, there’s a google-cached version of a statement he made on hydrofracking earlier this year:
“OSI President Joe Martens spoke about the issue recently in a speech he made at Union College on the 40th anniversary of the creation of the DEC:
This morning you heard about drilling in the Marcellus Shale. Of all the daunting environmental challenges that DEC has faced during the past 40 years—criteria pollutants, hazardous waste, acid rain, even climate change—hydrofracking in the Marcellus may be the most difficult and daunting of them all.
As a nation, for a decade or more there has been a near-universal call for energy independence. If we could just wean ourselves from foreign oil, the argument goes, we would not be in the middle of two wars in the Middle East and sending billions of dollars to nations that don’t like us and, potentially, might do us harm.
And, as a state, we have been turning increasingly to natural gas to fire our power plants and heat our homes, because it’s less polluting than either coal or oil. I heat my home with natural gas (and wood!). Further, the state’s budget is in bad shape, unemployment is high and it just so happens that we have this huge rock formation under our feet that the gas industry has found a way to exploit and we even have a terrific new gas pipeline that could bring that gas to millions of nearby customers.
If nothing else, it seems to me, the Department should go slow. The tragedy of the Deepwater Horizon operation in the Gulf clearly demonstrated that the unexpected can and will happen. It is also clear that the gas industry has not been as candid as it should have been with regards to the potential for problems. That suggests to me that our fate—and the need to separate objective science and environmental assessment from industry rhetoric—is in DEC’s hands, and the stakes could not be higher.
The gas industry, and even DEC, is quick to point out that gas drilling and fracking are not uncommon in New York State and that, so far, there have not been any significant problems. However, what is relatively new and different is the combination of fracking and horizontal drilling. And it’s the potential scale of drilling within the Marcellus Shale that is the real concern. If DEC decides to give the gas industry the green light, there could be thousands of new gas wells drilled in the Catskills and the southern tier. Given the quantity of the chemical-laced water that would be used in fracking (up to 8 million gallons per well), and the quantity of wastewater that would need to be treated, the number of roads that would need to be constructed, the number of trucks that would travel back and forth to drilling sites, and so on, the potential for problems multiplies dramatically with each well that is drilled.
New Yorkers created the Adirondack and Catskill state parks more than a hundred years ago to protect the water resources within them. New York City has committed hundreds of millions of dollars and has spent years protecting its watershed so that more than 9 million people can drink unfiltered water. I see no reason to rush to judgment on a decision as monumental as hydrofracking in the Marcellus.
Given the huge budget cuts that DEC has been forced to endure over the last couple of years and in light of the way the EPF’s commitments have been abandoned, I think there is a real question about DEC’s capacity to ensure that everything involved in the drilling process goes according to plan—from water withdrawals, to wastewater treatment, to pipeline construction. Clearly things did not go according to plan in the Gulf of Mexico.
The EPA has initiated a $1.9 million, two-year study of the impact of hydrofracking on health and the environment. What’s the downside of waiting for the results?
In the meantime, while DEC and others continue to explore this issue, wouldn’t it be great if we had a national energy policy that did more than pay lip service to energy conservation, efficiency and renewable sources? A few statistics for you to ponder:
- The United States makes up 5 percent of the world’s population but consumes 20 percent of its energy;
- Eighty-four percent of the energy consumed in the United States comes from non-renewable sources—about 8.5 percent from nuclear power and 7 percent from renewable sources (2006 data);
- Twenty-seven percent of the energy consumed in the United States is used in the transportation sector;
- And, the most troubling statistic of all: per capita energy consumption in the United States has been relatively consistent from 1970 to today.
Although no energy source is perfect or without problems, shouldn’t we be doing everything possible to reduce energy consumption and do everything possible to increase the use of renewable resources before we make a major decision to exploit the Marcellus Shale and possibly damage, perhaps irreparably, the land, air and water resources that sustain life itself?
DEC has a heavy burden to bear here. For the past 40 years they have addressed a variety of environmental challenges with remarkable success. I’m hopeful, based on that 40-year record that they will continue to do so.
States Pursue Radon Limits in Drinking Water as EPA Action Lags
December 25, 2010 1 Comment
States Pursue Radon Limits in Drinking Water as EPA Action Lags.
By GAYATHRI VAIDYANATHAN of Greenwire
Published: December 7, 2010
States are taking the lead with studying levels of radon in drinking water and air even as federal regulators lag, as a coincidence of geology and population density leaves some more at risk than others of suffering from the naturally occurring radioactive toxin.
Tompkins Legislature Adopts Ban on Hydrofracking on County Land
December 22, 2010
Tompkins bans fracking on county-owned land. By Liz Lawyer • December 21, 2010, http://www.theithacajournal.com/article/20101221/NEWS01/12210359/Tompkins+bans+fracking+on+county-owned+land.
Land owned by Tompkins County will not be leased for natural gas drilling if hydraulic fracturing is used, the county legislature decided Tuesday.
The legislature voted 14-1 to approve a resolution prohibiting the leasing of any county-owned land for hydraulic fracturing, a natural gas-drilling method used in the Marcellus Shale in which a mixture of water, sand and chemicals are pumped into the ground under high pressure to crack the shale and release the natural gas.
The process is highly controversial, with opponents arguing it is detrimental to the environment, threatens drinking water, and the traffic from the drilling pads destroys local roads.
Supporters say the natural gas trapped in the Marcellus Shale, part of which reaches into western and central New York, would be an economic boon to the region.
Legislator Frank Proto, R-Caroline and Danby, cast the only vote against the resolution. He said the wording was unnecessarily complicated and a simpler, more direct resolution, accomplishing the same thing, should have been presented.
Text of the Resolution with Greenhouse Gas provisions that were excised before adoption
Additional Municipal Bans/Resolutions on Hydrofracking
Ontario County Bans Fracking and Disposal on County Land
December 21, 2010
Supervisors pass ban on hydrofracking in Ontario County. By Mike Maslanik, GateHouse News Service. Dec 20, 2010. Canandaigua, N.Y. —
The Ontario County Board of Supervisors overwhelmingly backed a measure to ban the practice of hydrofracking on property owned by the county.
All supervisors present at Thursday night’s meeting voted to approved the resolution, which also stipulates that the Ontario County landfill will not accept waste products from hydraulic fracturing without written permission from the county.
Supervisors Don Ninestine, D-City of Geneva , and Robert Green, R-Bristol, were absent.
“I’m quite pleased that the board was unanimous in its decision,” said Supervisor David Baker, D-City of Canandaigua, chair of the county’s Environmental Quality committee. “We’re very hopeful that the state Legislature will not allow (hydrofracking) until the Environmental Protection Agency studies it fully.”
In the past, the board has passed several resolutions related to hydrofracking, such as requesting the state to put a moratorium on the practice until more studies could be done, but this was the first time the board exercised local control. “The control we have is over county lands,” Baker said. “The other local control we have is the acceptance or rejection of waste materials.”
In Albany , outgoing Gov. David Paterson issued an executive order banning high-volume fracturing of horizontally drilled wells, like those in the southern part of the state, until July 1. Paterson vetoed a bill that would have suspended all gas drilling permits until May 15.
Going forward, Baker said the board will take up a resolution that, if hydrofracking is allowed in the state, would require companies to get a road-use agreement with the local municipality or a trucking plan. That resolution will also direct the county’s Planning Department to draft model resolutions for towns and villages interested in passing their own hydrofracking regulations.
Texas Driller to Pay $4.1M Over Tainted Pa. water
December 16, 2010
Texas driller to pay $4.1M over tainted Pa. water. The Associated Press • December 15, 2010
HARRISBURG, Pa. — The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection has abandoned its plan to force a Houston-based drilling company to pay nearly $12 million to extend a public water line to residents whose wells have been contaminated with methane gas, citing a lack of political support.
Environmental regulators say Cabot Oil & Gas Corp. instead will pay residents of Dimock a total of $4.1 million under a settlement with the company announced late Wednesday. Cabot also has agreed to pay to install whole-house gas mitigation systems in each of the 19 affected homes and to pay DEP $500,000.
The settlement infuriated some residents, who say DEP caved to political pressure.
“Pretty nice that Cabot can do whatever they want,” said Craig Sautner, a Dimock resident who is a plaintiff in a federal lawsuit against Cabot. “When Cabot pays all the bills, that’s what happens. It’s ridiculous. Now we’re stuck here.”
Environmental Secretary John Hanger had announced the water line plan in late September before cheering residents in Dimock, a small town in Susquehanna County where tainted wells have raised concerns nationwide about the environmental and health consequences of gas drilling.
Blaming the contamination of the residents’ aquifer on faulty Marcellus Shale gas wells drilled by Cabot, Hanger declared that DEP would sue the company unless it agreed to pay $11.8 million to extend municipal water service from Montrose, about six miles away, to the Dimock residents. A state financing authority voted last month to front the money for the project through a combination of grants and loans.
But the water line provoked significant opposition among local elected officials, who called it a boondoggle and threatened to sue to block it. Cabot also balked, calling it “wasteful and environmentally disruptive” and blasting Hanger and his agency for abuse of authority.
Hanger told The Associated Press late Wednesday that he dropped the water line plan because of the significant opposition it faced. Hanger, part of the administration of outgoing Democratic Gov. Ed Rendell, leaves office in January. He said incoming Republican Gov. Tom Corbett could have easily halted the project.
“I personally think the line would have done a lot of good for the community, but a lot of people disagreed with me. That’s absolutely something we took into account when arriving at this settlement,” Hanger said. “This line was not going to get built.”
Hanger said each family will receive an amount equal to twice the value of its home, with a minimum payment of $50,000.
Cabot said in a statement that the settlement will permit the company to resume drilling in Dimock and that it plans to do so in the second quarter of 2011.
“This agreement provides a reasonable and pragmatic way forward for all parties,” said Dan Dinges, Cabot’s chief executive officer.
DEP began investigating reports of stray gas in Dimock water wells in January 2009, when the presence of methane led to the explosion of one resident’s well. DEP said it has traced the gas to Cabot’s drilling operations. Cabot denies responsibility for the pollution.
GDACC 
