Cortland News

Cortland County-

Elected Officials to Protect New York. Do a search to find the 18 Cortland County officials who have signed on and then contact those who have not to done so.

Rallies

Senator Seward’s Office May 30, 2012

Public Opinion

Lawrence Ron Jones – Homer News -‘Current Status of Natural Gas Development in the Town of Homer.’  Sept. 13, 2012.

 

Poll Sponsored by Gas Drilling Awareness for Cortland Co. (GDACC) and Moving in Congregations, Acting in Hope (MICAH) Concludes that Home Rule Legislation is needed to Protect towns right to self-determination.

Cover Letter – Cortland County, NY.doc

Summary Results- Cortland County – December 17-18, 2011

Comment on a similar poll by same polling firm

News Coverage:

Poll shows opposition to hydrofracking in Cortland County – YNN, Your News Now.

New poll shows majority of Cortland County opposes fracking : News : CNYcentral.com.

Oldies 101.5 – Local News.New Poll Says 58% of Cortland County Residents are Opposed to Fracking

Municipal Laws & Regulations Pertinent to Gas Drilling:

Cortland County Municipalities’ Land Use Laws in place

Cortland Standard Editorials/News Coverage

Cortland Common Council Action:

  • Cortland Council July 6, 2010  Resolutions re sale of water for hydrofracking , request for Governor Paterson to withdraw the SGEIS, and formation of a Committee to define policy to protect the city’s water supply.  Text of Documents adopted at the July 6, 2010 Common Council Meeting are available on the city website:  http://www.cortland.org/city/council/2010-07-06.htm

Cortland County Legislature Action:

Cortland County Road Preservation Agreement 2011    http://www.cortland-co.org/Legislature/Road%20Preservation.pdf

Cortland County Legislature Gas Drilling Taskforce:  Cortland County Natural Gas Task Force Reviewing New Drilling Rules  Last Edited: 2011-10-20 11:23:47    Story ID: 4379.  Oldies 101.5 – Local News.

July 28, 2011- the Cortland County legislature passed a resolution asking the DEC to establish at minimum a 90 day comment period on the SGEIS.

  • The Cortland County Agriculture, Planning and Environment Committee sends comments to the DEC on the draft SGEIS on gas drilling. (12/09) Cortland County DSGEIS comments (12/09)

Cortland County Agency Comments

Cortland Co. Planning Dept.  Comments:  Cortland County Planing. Dept Draft Supplemental Generic EIS 1

Cortland County Dept. of Health Comments: https://docs.google.com/file/d/1M3lCkXvtxraxrM8ZYWBKGDVji7A1yPhB5QhCb5prpQ-wXqfHWnDA3oOY94yh/edit?pli=1

Town of Freetown Comments:Freetown Planning Board SGEIS Final Comments

SWCD Comments on dSGEIS

Cortland County Landfill Disposition

The public will have a chance to review the pros and cons of selling, leasing or expanding the Cortland County landfill at a public hearing set for 5 pm Dec. 6 at the County Office Building auditorium.   A Cortland Standard editorial (Oct. 25, 2010, p.5)  lists some of the things the citizens and the county government should consider in making this decision including control, truck traffic, liability and cost containment.   A further consideration is what materials might be brought to the landfill now that industrial gas drilling is a reality in PA and possibly in NY.

The Ensol Report on Alternatives is on the County Website at http://www.cortland-co.org/Legislature/CORTLAND%20COUNTY%20LANDFILL%20ALTERNATIVES%20ANALYSIS%20-%20FINAL%20REPORT%2010-15-10.pdf

See https://gdacc.wordpress.com/resources/waste-disposal/ for documents and news of radioactive fracking waste being disposed of in nearby landfills.

Home Rule Legislation/Support:

There is a meeting Jan 26, 2012 of the Cortland County “County, City, Town, Villages, Schools (CCTVS) Committee” to consider a resolution about Home Rule and natural gas drilling.  The legislature’s Agriculture, Planning, and Environment Committee is seeking input from towns to inform its discussions about asking the Cortland County Legislature to support a resolution passed by the Tompkins County Legislature on Home Rule.

Both Senator Jim Seward and Assemblywoman Barbara Lifton have sponsored bills on Home Rule in the NYS Legislature.
Four relevant documents are attached below.
I am told that meetings of the CCTVS Committee are generally poorly attended.  If you would like your Town to provide feedback to the CCTVS Committee, consider encouraging your Town officials to attend.  The meeting is open to the public.
5 attachments — Download all attachments
1-26-12 CCTVS AGENDA.doc 1-26-12 CCTVS AGENDA.doc
64K   View   Download
1-26-12 CCTVS AGENDA.pdf 1-26-12 CCTVS AGENDA.pdf
30K   View   Download
Lapeer Letter.pdf Lapeer Letter.pdf
63K   View   Download
TC Resolution supporting Home Rule.pdf TC Resolution supporting Home Rule.pdf
242K   View   Download
Willet Letter.pdf Willet Letter.pdf
69K   View   Download

Other Local Actions

  • Who owns Dryden?  opinion by Martha Robertson, in CS 10/24/11
    • Guest Opinion:The 39th Richest American vs. the Town of Dryden  By Martha Robertson, Town of Dryden
    • When the Town of Dryden amended its zoning on August 2 to strengthen its ban on heavy industry, including gas drilling, about a dozen communities in New York had already passed similar bans.
      However, Dryden was the first to be sued by the gas industry. Why? The answer seems to be in plain sight, on the Dryden Safe Energy Coalition website (http://drydensec.org/).
      The lead article, called “Leaders Attend No Ban Conference,” describes DSEC’s invitation-only gathering of sixty leaders from the oil and gas industry in Binghamton on August 22. The purpose was to “discuss legal strategies for pushing back against, and legally combating” the bans on hydrofracking passed by the towns of Dryden, Ithaca, Ulysses, Middlefield, and other municipalities.
      DSEC founder Henry Kramer moderated the meeting and is quoted: “We are bringing together landowners, farmers, and industry in common cause to overturn bans and unpaid takings. We have knowledge that a test case challenging a ban is already getting underway… that could set definitive precedent for New York State….” (emphasis added)
      There are too many coincidences to ignore:
      • Was the Anschutz Exploration lawsuit against Dryden the “test case” that emerged out of that meeting?
      • The suit was filed just as election season was beginning, in a town where fracking is the dominant political issue.
      • On September 26 Anschutz’ lawyer, Tom West, said on WSKG’s Capitol Pressroom: “…we’re going to find out…Election Day. Because that’s when the Town Board and Town Supervisor are up for election….we’ll find out whether a majority of people in the Town are in favor of drilling, or not, because those elections are going to decide the fate of that issue.”
      • Besides being the founder of DSEC, Kramer is prominent in the Dryden Republican Committee. He is on record warning the Town Board that a ban would bring a lawsuit.
      Did Kramer’s group encourage Anschutz to sue Dryden first, hoping they could flip not only the ban, but also the election?
      Anschutz Exploration is owned by Philip Anschutz, the 39th richest man in America according to Forbes. He holds leases with 7% of Dryden’s residents, on about 40% of Dryden’s land. Who controls Dryden? Whose town is it?

Find Leases in Cortland County:

Map of Leased Property.  Cortland Co. Planning Dept. Sept. 2010:

WWW.SEARCHIQS.COM

  • Click on Cortland County;
  • then click “Search Public Record”
  • No password is required, just click thru (“Log In”) and
  • enter
  • Accept the Disclaimer
  • leases are under Doc. Group-“Real Property” and Document type-“Lease”  or “lease surrender”  NOTE:  Later lease transactions (2010 FORWARD) are filed under Document Type “lease” or “lease cancellation” or “lease surrender” or “lease release” without any Document Group.
  • You may limit your search by the landowner’s name, the leasing company, i.e. Chesapeake, etc. , the town, a range of dates.
  • Enter “Search”
  • There is a set of search tips available at the bottom of the search page.

Lease Mapping Project:  The County Planning Dept and the County Clerk’s office have been working for 2 years to create a map of leases in Cortland County.  During Summer, 2010, A project is planned for volunteers to gather the data needed to create the map.  The instructions for this project: Cortland County Lease Write-Up[1]

State Forest Land and Gas Leasing

Water:

Official Testimony and Presentations from Cortland Citizens:

Our Sole Source Aquifer–EPA Description

Leave a comment