Living in Otsego County, located in the rural southern tier of New York State, one of the most pressing issues is Natural Gas drilling in the Marcellus Shale. This issue raises many questions about the economic and environmental future of the region.
The website www.geology.com states that the Marcellus Shale is a unit of rock mainly underneath the states of Ohio, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and New York. The large amount of Natural Gas in the Marcellus shale is seen by many people in New York State as an opportunity to bring energy production closer to home, and to create jobs in an area that desperately needs them.
According to the Marcellus Shale Coalition at www.marcelluscoalition.org, the Natural Gas extraction process consists of six steps: leasing, exploration, drilling, well casing, hydraulic fracturing, and site restoration. Of these steps, the most controversial in the Southern Tier are the leasing process and hydraulic fracturing.
Residents who own property on the Marcellus shale can lease their property to natural gas companies. The agreements allow the company to drill for gas on their property in return for a sum of money. The amounts of the leases vary. According to the Marcellus Shale Coalition website:
“The lease typically includes a per-acre signing bonus for a specified number of years and an agreed-to royalty payment to the property owner if a well produces natural gas. A number of market-based factors influence the terms included in each agreement.” (http://marcelluscoalition.org/marcellus-shale/production-processes/leasing/
Various problems have been reported with the leasing process. Leasing property for gas drilling holds no guarantee that the drilling will actually be done. It also gives the gas company the right to build on the property, According to Cornell Cooperative Extension, the gas lease can also create additional difficulties in trying to refinance or sell a home.
Although leasing is a huge issue in the Southern Tier of New York, hydraulic fracturing , or “fracking” has raised the most outcry. Hydraulic fracturing involves injecting a mixture of water, sand, and chemicals into the ground at high pressure to crack the rock providing access for natural gas. Since this region of New York prides itself on fresh water and also provides drinking water for New York City, water quality concerns are at the forefront of the argument. There are, concerns about air pollution from trucks and heavy equipment.
Drilling for natural gas in the Marcellus shale touches on important issues in the Southern Tier of New York State. On the one hand, the historically depressed area has been looking for new ideas to bring jobs and money into the community. On the other, the natural beauty of the area supports a bustling tourist industry, an active agricultural community, and serene quality of life. For more information on Natural gas drilling, take a look at the following websites:
Marcellus Shale Coalition:
About
Action Otsego:
http://www.actionotsego.org/