Some residents of rural Central New York say gas drilling companies are ruining their pristine environment.
One of those people is lawyer Jane Welsh. She is also a member of Citizens for Safe Energy, a group of concerned residents in Madison County. She and the group are fighting for tighter regulation over natural gas drilling. Welsh lives in Hamilton, N.Y., a town in Madison County, about 45 miles southeast of Syracuse. She and her neighbors want more help from Albany in regulating natural gas drilling.
“At the state level is where the change has to happen.”
(Jane Welsh, Madison County resident)
The state Department of Environmental Conservation, or DEC, has only seven people to enforce regulations on oil and gas drilling. Welsh and others argue that the small number of regulators is not enough to protect the environment. As companies drill for more natural gas, Welsh and others call for more support for the Department of Environmental Conservation from the state government.
“They’ll have to put more money into DEC because they don’t even have enough people to supervise what’s going on now.”
(Jane Welsh, Madison County resident)
Norse Energy Corporation is the company that’s drilling natural gas wells in Madison County. Its vice president, Dennis Holbrook, defends natural gas drilling and how it’s done. He says natural gas burns 20-percent cleaner than oil, making natural gas better for clean air and the environment. And he says the drilling process is short.
“There’s no question that there’s some inconvenience for a period of time while the well is being drilled. But generally speaking you’re talking about a time frame of 3-4 weeks.”
(Dennis Holbrook, vice president, Norse Energy Corp.)
But residents say the wells cause more than just inconvenience. Patty Grossman of Madison County recalls when one was drilled in her neighborhood.
“One day I came from my walk and I came up to here and there were so many fumes in the air I had to turn around and go home. I just couldn’t bear it.”
(Patty Grossman, Madison County resident)
Madison County resident Jane Welsh says if state legislators don’t regulate gas drilling companies more, their pristine environment will be destroyed.
“This is a tourist area. This is a place where people come to hunt, to play, to relax, That won’t be the case.”
(Jane Welsh, Madison County resident)
For Democracywise, I’m Melanie Kendall.
(Melanie Kendall is a senior with dual majors in broadcast digital journalism and political science.)
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