Meanwhile, PA DEP official “dispels myths” about HF, says fluids “can be found on the department’s website”

• “Hydraulic fracturing, the target of Fox’s documentary, has been used for more than 60 years without any reported cases of groundwater contamination”

• Top PA environmental official “dispelled myths that the DEP does not know what additives a company uses in the hydraulic fracturing”; “companies must submit a list of chemicals to the DEP, he said, adding that a list can be found on the department’s website“

In an attempt to delay test wells from being permitted in the Delaware River Basin, the NIMBY groups and their leaders have begun a campaign to ask the Basin Commission to  - guess? that's right!  - STALL development again!

They are asking that no final guidelines for development be released until AFTER a multi-year million dollar study on cumulative impact is completed!  Now, I ask you, how do you study cumulative impact if the impact is not allowed to accumulate???

Please take a moment to send a letter of concern to the DRBC.  Let them know we want reason not hysteria to prevail! We have 3 letters ready to send. Each letter is the same, because each is addressed to ten email addresses at a time, we ask that you please send all three letters to ensure we reach all involved. Click here to send emails now.

Thanks to Tom Shepstone, author of the piece below, for doing just that!

Many of you are keenly aware of the actions of Catskill Citizens for Safe Energy in challenging the actions of Cornell Cooperative Extension and the Sullivan County Partnership for Economic Development.

According to a July 25, 2010 article in the Times Herald Record, Bruce Ferguson and Jill Wiener of that organization "accused the organizations of using taxpayer money to promote a 'pro-drilling agenda'." 
They cited the receipt of public monies (,000 this year for the Partnership) to suggest these organizations shouldn't be involved in the gas issue - a patently obvious attempt to intimidate and silence anyone and everyone who might raise a hand in favor of responsible drilling.

What Ferguson and Wiener didn't discuss, of course, was their own partnership with the Catskill Mountainkeeper, which is wholly a part of the Open Space Institute (OSI), a 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation that took a million loan from the Empire State Development Corporation in 2007, which comes due this year. This partnership is acknowledged on the Catskill Citizens for Safe Energy website at http://www.catskillcitizens.org/ where it is noted "Catskill Citizens has partnered with three other organizations on a joint media campaign centered around the message 'Drilling Isn’t Safe'."

That the Catskill Mountainkeeper is simply a part of the Open Space Institute is clear from the latter's 2008 tax return, which is attached. 
The return clearly indicates, on page 38, that Ramsay Adams, the self-designated Mountainkeeper is an employee of OSI. It also states on page 44 the Catskill Mountainkeeper initiative is an OSI's "Citizen Action Group." Therefore, when the Catskill Citizens for Safe Energy (Bruce Ferguson, et al) says it partners with the Mountainkeeper, it is acknowledging a partnership with OSI, which took, not ,000, but an astounding million from the public - roughly 278 times what the Partnership got.

Even worse, this was public money intended for economic development and which should have gone to organizations like the Partnership. Instead, it went to an overtly anti-development group that prides itself in doing everything it can to frustrate the greatest economic opportunity this region has ever had. Indeed, the million received by OSI is now equivalent to over 10% of the Empire State Development Corporation budget for 2009-2010 (4 million). If there were ever a greater misapplication of public funding (taking the equivalent of 10% of today's State's economic development budget and loaning it to an anti-economic development organization) it is hard to imagine. 

Money is fungible. Therefore, we all have a right to know how much of the State's money went into those new billboards on Route 17 that allege drilling isn't safe. Isn't this exactly what Ferguson, et al said they so opposed - the use of public money to influence public policy? Of course, it is and this blatant hypocrisy his partnership needs to be directly challenged.

OSI is heavily influenced by the Rockefeller family, which also loaned it module,200,000, secured by the stock of a private for-profit entity known as Johnson Hill Associates that, according to the financial statement attached to the tax return, has "an ownership interest in assets and liabilities associated with various Catskill properties." 

See page 21 of the financial statements for the listing of both loans (Rockefeller and Empire State Development). This suggests an additional question of why an essentially bankrupt State is loaning million of economic development money to the Rockefellers, of all people, to halt or slow economic development.
Perhaps the answer is found on page 17 of the financial statements, where it is revealed OSI (through the affiliated Open Space Conservancy) purchased a tract of land for [157],100,000 in 2008 and then resold it to the State for ,762,000 later that same year. Perhaps it is in the job created for OSI Trustee family member Ramsay Adams as Mountainkeeper. Perhaps it is in the property interests of Johnson Hill Associates, whoever they are. Perhaps it is in the private Catskill park the Rockefeller family and friends (including Dan Rather of 60 Minutes fame, where Ferguson was a producer) are assembling bit by bit with public money, thereby buffering and augmenting their own holdings, further adding to the value of their already considerable assets.

Whatever the answer, we know this much - it stinks and the gas industry across the entire country is suffering from it as these people use their money and influence to promote Gasland, run savvy media campaigns, intimidate public officials, spur moratoriums in New York and otherwise spread their unique brand of demagoguery across the region and the U.S. as a whole. Stand up to them and don't let them silence us.

Finally, here is a little more insight on Johnson Hill Associates:
http://www.sc-democrat.com/archives/2003/sports/08August/29/fish.htm

Imagine that - a fish kill by the very same people who now harass the gas industry and demand environmental purity. The article says the "property owners might be required to make a public fishing access or other benefit to the community or ecosystem." I wonder if that ever happened ...

EPA announced today that the Agency has selected a new venue and dates for  the public meeting on EPA’s upcoming hydraulic fracturing study originally scheduled for August 12, 2010. The meeting will now be held at the Broome County Forum Theater (236 Washington St., Binghamton, NY  13901) on Monday, September 13th and Wednesday, September 15th, 2010.

EPA will hold four identical sessions, two on each day: 12:00pm – 4:00pm (check-in begins at 10:30am) and 6:00pm – 10:00pm (check-in begins at 4:30pm).

Because the format of the meeting has changed from three sessions on one day to two sessions on two days, we ask that you please visit the following website to select ONE session during which you would like to speak:http://hfmeeting.cadmusweb.com/Reschedule/

Signs are 18x24 with wire stands

If you are a business put this in your window or in front of your location.

If you don't own land put a sign in your window.

Friends of NY Natural Gas, the civil silent majority with over 30,000 members and growing!

We have a new order of lawn signs coming in. For individual signs contact your local landowners coalition for pick up locations.

Show our UNITY!

Leaders call Rapid Reproductions llc   607 843 2221  ask for Bryant or email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it to reserve your signs NOW!

Lets turn back the clock three years. Extreme environmentalist we called them. We found out we were the extreme environmentalist!

Extreme environmentalist: Someone who cares about the environment, the land worked and handed down by generations.

WE purchased and paid for our land with hard earned dollars. WE the people that understand the fine line between our back yard, the environment, and our future. We the people that help ensure the future for all living creatures.

We then labeled them as "Obstructionists" which is more fitting as they obstructed and corrupted the information and used lies and fear to misinform the simple folks and the weak public servants while offering no viable alternatives to gas.

We strive to understand how it is that society placates those who make simple statements, does not hold them responsible for their words that usually are preceded by “could” and allows them to come before hardened, scientific, time proven facts.

But when pressed to the max their answer is revealed! NIMBY! Yes not in my back yard. I have pushed folks to the edge and had them state, "I DO NOT WANT THIS IN MY AREA!" But yet they drive and survive on hydrocarbons!

Bob Williams said it the best!

“We have the opportunity to lead all nations in reducing carbon emissions. We can lead our country up from the downward spiral with a true 100% American product!”

It is time the true environmentalist stepped up and worked together to be producers again! WE CAN!

Call the opposition what they truly are…… NIMBY!

Bryant La Tourette

Father, Businessman, Landowner and 100%  PROUD AMERICAN!

Attorney Helen Slottje of Ithaca Coaches NIMBYs for the upcoming EPA Hearings

Do they believe that a 60 year perfect track record is something that should be avoided at all costs?

Do they feel threatened by attaining energy security by reducing our dependence on foreign fuel sources?

Do they not wish to eradicate health problems created by dirty coal fired electric generating plants?

Do they truly NOT want to address greenhouse gas emission concerns as quickly & economically as possible?

Why are they against these things?  Pardon me, Helen & peer group, but I think your NIMBYism is showing,

LOOK IN THE MIRROR!   IT IS UGLY!

Those very few friends of Natural Gas in the NY State Senate that had the courage to vote NO on the one year moratorium on drilling into the Marcellus shale.

Please take the time to drop them an email AND call their office to express appreciation for their courageous & informative vote. We owe them our thanks and need their continued support! Click here to send our pre-filled Thank You email to all these senators at once.

MONTICELLO — Local pro-drillers came out swinging at Thursday’s monthly meeting of the full Sullivan County Legislature.
Goaded into action by accusations on the anti-drilling side that the Sullivan County Partnership for Economic Development and Cornell Cooperative Extension were inappropriately promoting gas drilling, 18 pro-drilling speakers dominated the Legislature’s nearly three-hour gathering.
“We have a lot of good people on that board,” said Partnership Board Chairman Josh Sommers. “... The sad thing is, we believe we wouldn’t even be having this ‘ethics’ discussion if we were against gas drilling.”
Sommers affirmed the Partnership adheres to “detailed disclosure requirements” in its contract with the county, which partially funds it, and he insisted the Partnership is interested only in safe gas drilling.
“It’s coming whether we want it or not,” he remarked. “... And economic development needs to be represented in the discussion.”
Partnership President Tim McCausland mostly read a letter of support from the Partnership’s counterpart in Orange County, but he added that his non-profit organization submits a treasurer’s report, statement of economic indicators and meeting minutes every month to the county manager’s office.
“The Partnership’s main goal,” said longtime member Lew Klugman of Parksville, “is to bring environmentally safe businesses into Sullivan County.”
Larry Wolinsky of the law firm Jacobowitz and Gubits turned the focus on Catskill Citizens for Safe Energy (CCSE) in what would become a recurring theme of the public comment, responding to CCSE members’ recent letters and statements in the Democrat.
“As most of you know, we are not a gas leasing firm,” he corrected. “... We’ve developed an expertise in gas leasing. ... We do not participate in the drumbeat to get permitting under way.”
He said all the costs of a recent forum at the Extension office – one CCSE criticized as simply benefitting those who stand to benefit from drilling – were paid for by his firm, which participated in the forum, rather than Extension monies.
“We make no apologies for promoting our expertise,” Wolinsky added.
As a member of the Partnership, Wolinsky explained that the Partnership’s bylaws require financial disclosure and voting recusal only when related to specific projects, not an industry as a whole.
Regardless, he said the controversy “is diverting us from our mission” of economic development.
Farmers agreed, including dairyman Harold Russell of Bethel and poultry farmer Robert Kaplan of Glen Wild, who expressed their support for the Partnership and drilling.
“I’ve made my living off the land,” said Russell, saying he’s not in business to pollute that land.
Profit, added Kaplan, “is the only thing that’s going to save our farms.”
They found a comrade in Dawn Erlwein, a Jeffersonville dairy farmer who resents the implication that her support of drilling equals a lack of caring for the environment.
“We’re all just trying to do the best we can out of the life we’ve been given,” she told legislators.
Fremont Supervisor Jim Greier, a horse farmer himself, recalled when locals used gas for lighting and heating, before electricity came to town. Then he turned to the future.
“We’re about 20-25 years away from being self-sustainable in our energy problem,” he remarked. “We need something to bridge this gap.”
With 76,000 gas wells already in New York, Greier said the “bridge fuel” appears obvious.
“God gave us this resource in the ground,” he stated. “... Let progress move forward.”
“I believe gas drilling would be a good boost to Sullivan County,” agreed Cochecton Mills owner Dennis Nearing, who supplies feed to a dwindling array of farmers. “... All the bad stories you hear about drilling? They’re not true.”
He accused retirees and “Johnnie-come-latelys” of selfishly and jealously opposing drilling.
“It’s a shame that a small minority can govern what happens in this area,” said Nearing.
Sullivan-Delaware Property Owners Association co-founder Noel van Swol noted his group has 70,000 acres of land available for leasing – but only for drillers with “the best environmental practices.”
He accused CCSE of trying to intimidate the Partnership and of having a hidden agenda to stop drilling entirely, rather than simply assuring it’s done safely.
“This is left wing environmental McCarthyism at its worst,” he told legislators. “Enough is enough.
“... We need to move forward and develop these fabulous gas resources in Sullivan County.”
He called concerns about drilling’s safety “largely overblown and exaggerated,” arguing that the chemicals used in fracking “are completely entombed and encapsulated [in the wellbore] and cannot affect the water supply.”
He then turned his focus on Legislator David Sager, who is running against NYS Senator John Bonacic on a platform that includes stricter regulations and studies on drilling.
“You are being perceived as anti-farmer, anti-business and anti-taxpayer as a result,” van Swol said.
Well-known sportsman Jack Danchak added his opinion that drilling can be done safely and responsibly and can save the county from further financial crisis.
“We’re not here with a hostile attitude,” he said but told legislators that the county’s current ban on drilling on county-owned property “is not a friendly statement.”
“The extra monies [from leasing] would be beneficial to our county budget,” he remarked.
Douglas Lee of Livingston Manor said the Marcellus Shale features the “motherlode” of gas, yet environmentalists and New York City residents are against it because they “want to turn this into their playground.”
“No, this is our land,” he countered. “We want to make a living!”
He discounted “Gasland” and other reports of environmental problems, saying they had been blown out of proportion when compared to accidents in other types of industry.
“We only have a handful of incidents,” Lee said, “and many of them are just suspected cases.”
He had travelled to Dimock and found a better-looking area than his own hometown.
“Gas development is highly, highly compatible with our area,” he urged. “... Let’s not force our farmers, our young people, out of the county so then the rich people can use this county as their playground.”
“Every person in our coalition is an environmentalist,” said Al Larsen, head of the Rural Bethel Landowners Coalition, another group interested in leasing land for drilling.
“... But we’re also realists,” he said, arguing that Sullivan County has little room to be picky when it’s the second poorest county in the state.
Though acknowledging he’s skeptical of industry claims, Larsen said he’s also skeptical of environmentalists’ claims.
“Don’t be frightened by those who tell you our water is going to be polluted,” he said.
He wondered if the opposition is actually being funded by oil interests, or those looking to grab cheap properties that end up in foreclosure.
That thought was echoed by Gerry Skoda, the former Extension director who came under fire from the CCSE for leading the same forum Wolinsky referenced.
“It starts with a whole group of people who have more money than you and I do,” Skoda told legislators.
Linking CCSE with Catskill Mountainkeeper, which has ties to the Open Space Institute and the Natural Resources Defense Council, Skoda accused local environmentalists of participating in a spin game, a NIMBY effort to ensure wealthy second homeowners from NYC will not have to contend with more traffic and development.
“And you know what? [Their] gang is succeeding,” he charged. “They have people believing their crap!”
He labeled as “bull” the notion that fracking pollutes water and stated that farmers have not only benefitted from drilling but have stayed on their land rather than moving to a retirement paradise.
Drilling, Skoda predicted, “will be the biggest farmland preservation program in Sullivan County.”
He sarcastically suggested that what he views as a group of “elite environmental manipulators” should promote the banning of automobiles instead, as cars and trucks kill more people every year than the gas industry.
Skoda’s comments proved to be the harshest of the afternoon, though Honesdale, PA, planner Tom Shepstone also linked CCSE to the Open Space Institute, which he said recently received a million loan from the state’s Empire State Development Corporation – questioning how much of that public funding went to projects other than economic development.
(CCSE, though not represented at the meeting, has already stated that it receives no public funds and relies on member donations.)
By meeting’s end, no anti-drilling sentiments had been expressed, save from Callicoon resident Liz Bucar. She identified herself as a moratorium supporter but actually got up to speak about the poverty in the county, asking legislators not to lay off personnel in next year’s budget.
Thus the focus stayed squarely on the pro-drilling side, which urged legislators to listen.
“You’ve been hearing from people calling themselves Catskill Mountainkeepers,” Bethel resident Cornelius Alexy said. “Today, you’re hearing from the Catskill Mountain owners.”

By Dan Hust

(NEW YORK, NY) After months of work organizing the New York Hydraulic Fracturing public meetings, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency today announced that the Syracuse meeting, originally scheduled for this Thursday, August 12th at the Oncenter Complex Convention Center, has been cancelled. The Agency now intends to hold a new public meeting on the study in upstate New York in September and will announce the location as soon as it is confirmed. 

EPA was forced to cancel this meeting following a conversation this morning with the Onondaga County Executive’s office, during which they expressed concerns about the ability to complete preparations for the meeting on such short notice. The last minute change to Syracuse was caused by Binghamton University taking several actions to dissuade EPA from holding the meetings at their campus including increasing the cost from ,000 to almost ,000. The Agency also reached out to Broome County officials in Binghamton to hold the meeting at the Arena and they pulled out of negotiations with EPA. The Agency searched a 40 mile radius from Corning to Ithaca to Courtland to Oneonta but no options were available for Thursday. Onondaga County officials did not feel they could arrange the necessary security for the potential protests and rallies outside the meeting itself, and EPA respects and understands their decision. 

From the beginning, EPA has been committed to ensuring that the public has an opportunity to express their opinions on the study. There are serious concerns about whether the process of hydraulic fracturing impacts drinking water, human health and the environment. To address those concerns and strengthen our clean energy future, EPA announced in March that it will study the potential adverse impact that hydraulic fracturing may have on drinking water and would be seeking input from people across the country. EPA has held had three successful meetings in Fort Worth, Texas, Denver, Colorado and Canonsburg, Pennsylvania, where more than 1200 participants attended, and the Agency is committed to holding a similar meeting in upstate New York.

TO EMAIL TO THE EPA ABOUT OUR CONCERNS, CLICK HERE

Thanks to the initiative and hard work of some of our friends in the Bainbridge Landowners Coalition we're glad to announce that banners are now available!

Show your support for developing NY's Natural Gas and make it clear that support for gas is strong and growing!

The banners are 4'x10' vinyl banners with reinforced grommets already in place to make displaying them almost anywhere a snap. They're surprisingly affordable and the more you buy the cheaper they are. Now all you gotta' do is order them and hang them in highly visible and well travelled areas!

Click here for pricing and ordering information.