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Otsego Lake is not only an icon of nature in America;

it is in part a reservoir, the source of drinking water for people in Cooperstown…

If we take a chance at poisoning the Glimmerglass, we would truly be putting at risk that which sustains us, both morally and physically.

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Otsego 2000 feels strongly that the draft New York DEC regulations governing horizontal hydraulic fracturing of natural gas wells in Otsego County and elsewhere in New York pose unacceptable risks to our water, environment, agriculture, and infrastructure.  They fail to safeguard our drinking water supplies, don’t take into account considerable seismic activity in our region, and don’t provide the necessary resources to local and county governments to prepare for the onslaught of heavy truck traffic, emergency response training, or wastewater treatment and disposal.  Nor is there anything approaching adequate staff resources within the DEC to monitor the potentially high number of wells across New York State.  In short, New York is not ready for high volume horizontal hydraulic fracturing of the Marcellus and Utica Shales.  Otsego 2000 has been waging a campaign to educate state and local leaders as well as citizens on the many adverse and irreversible impacts that this method of natural gas drilling can have on our region.  On this website you will find a number of informative documents, including:

Scroll down for additional documents and links:

  • Communities that have Experienced Hydraulic Fracturing Methods

    prepared for Otsego 2000, Inc., March 25, 2010

  • Unanswered Questions:  The Economic Impact of Gas Drilling in the Marcellus Shale

    by Jannette M. Barth, Ph.D. of JM Barth & Associates, Inc. March 22, 2010

  • Otsego 2000’s comments on the DEC’s draft GEIS governing gas drilling
    by Nicole Dillingham, December 31, 2009

      

Communities that have Experienced

Hydraulic Fracturing Methods

March 25, 2010, Otsego 2000, Inc.

 

The attached document prepared for Otsego 2000 is a compilation of memoranda derived from press reports which provide summaries of issues in seven communities across the country where horizontal hydraulic fracturing is being used as a means of extracting natural gas from underlying rock formations. The communities are:  Dimock, Pennsylvania; Dish, Texas; Shreveport, Louisiana; DeBerry, Texas; Pavillion, Wyoming; Farmington, New Mexico; and Silt, Colorado.  [25 page document]

 

Unanswered Questions:

The Economic Impact of Gas Drilling in the Marcellus Shale

March 22, 2010 prepared by Jannette M. Barth, Ph.D. of JM Barth & Associates, Inc.

 

Author Dr. Jannette Barth highlights the flaws in the economic impact studies being used to assert the potential financial benefits of gas drilling as proposed in New York State.  She asserts these existing studies document conditions and are based on assumptions that are not directly transferable to New York.  Dr. Barth encourages an independent and thorough economic analysis be done for policy makers before decisions with irreversible consequences are made. [15 page document]

 

Coalition Against Unsafe Gas Drilling

 

Whether our drinking water comes from private wells or surface reservoirs, all New Yorkers should have the right to safe drinking water and equal protection under the law.  In the flawed draft Supplemental Generic Environmental Impact Statement, the DEC (Department of Environmental Conservation) failed to prove that drilling will not damage our drinking water, will not destroy our roads, will not reduce our home equity, and will not affect our health. 

 

Otsego 2000, Sustainable Otsego, the Otsego County Conservation Association, and Advocates for Springfield have joined together to coordinate an assertive response to educate and defend against the threats posed by the rush to approve hydrofracking.

 

Otsego 2000 is collecting donations to contract with experts and attorneys to defend our homes, our water, and our health.  None of the funds targeted to this effort will be used for administrative purposes.

 

To donate by credit card, click on the “Donate Now Through Network for Good” button on the upper right side of this page.  Designate your contribution as “Gas Drilling” and 100% of your donation will be used to support this effort.

 

NYS DEC dSGEIS for NATURAL GAS EXTRACTION

OTSEGO 2000 RESPONDS:

COOPERSTOWN, NY. DECEMBER 31, 2009, Otsego 2000 provided extensive comments on the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation’s “Draft Supplemental Generic Environmental Impact Statement on the Oil, Gas and Solution Mining Regulatory Program Well Permit Issuance for Horizontal Drilling And High-Volume Hydraulic Fracturing to Develop the Marcellus Shale and Other Low-Permeability Gas Reservoirs.”

Two sets of comments were submitted to DEC. 

The first, “Comments of Otsego 2000 in Opposition to the dSGEIS for Gas Drilling in the Marcellus Shale” written by Board President Nicole Dillingham:

The second set of comments were written and compiled by the law firm of Zarin and Steinmetz representing Otsego 2000. 

For your convenience, a hardcopy of these documents can be viewed at the Cooperstown Public Library.

For additional information:

EPA Comments on NYS DGSEIS:

http://www.epa.gov/region2/spmm/r2nepa.htm#r2letters.

 

Region 3 hotline takes NYS complaints:  www.epa.gov/region03/marcellus_shale/tipline.html

 

NYC DEP Comments:

http://www.nyc.gov/html/dep/pdf/natural_gas_drilling/nycdep_comments_final_12-22-09.pdf

 

NYC DEP Consultant’s, Hazen and Sawyer Report on Potential Impacts to NYC Watershed:

http://www.nyc.gov/html/dep/pdf/natural_gas_drilling/12_23_2009_final_assessment_report.pdf

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OUR DAIRY INDUSTRY IS IN CRISIS:

Northern Otsego County
Dairy Farm Tour

Milk prices are the lowest they have been in 30 years. Many of our dairy farms are in danger of bankruptcy yet little is being done to salvage this vital local industry. Join us for a Northern Otsego County Dairy Tour Saturday, November 21, 2009 9:30 AM - 4PM Full day or half day This self - driven tour will visit four local dairy farms where local farmers will explain the current crisis and suggest how you can help our beleaguered dairy industry. Maps provided. For Reservations Call 547-8881. Sponsored by Otsego 2000 To learn more about the dairy crisis

 

MILK PRICE CRASH MAY SHUT FARMS!

Otsego 2000 Vice President, Nicole Dillingham calls for urgent action to protect family owned farms

Although the survival of family owned farms is a national issue, because of the state's broad-based financial problems, the threat is particularly severe in New York State.  Immediate action is needed to help our farmers.  Change must happen now or there will be disastrous consequences for our local farmers in the short term.  In the long term, there could be catastrophic damage done to the safety of our country's food supply and its independence.

The causes of the problem include:

  1. The dairy industry is heavily regulated.
  2. The global financial crisis has dried up the credit that our local farmers depend on to bridge the gap between the expenses to produce their products (seed, fertilizer and feed) and the revenue from the sale of their products.
  3. Milk prices have fallen steeply and are no longer set competitively.
  4. Unregulated milk substitutes are imported creating unfair competition.

Dillingham calls for short and long term solutions:

Short Term:

  1. Freeze prices at 2008 level.
  2. Temporarily suspend interest payments and foreclosures.
  3. Ban unregulated imported milk proteins until additives comply with FDA and USDA Standards

Long Term:

Establish a commission to recommend reforms to:

  1. Stabilize milk prices.
  2. Reduce volatility.
  3. Assure the safety of the milk supply.

Click here for the full commentary and a list of government officials you should contact.

 

OTSEGO 2000 responds to draft regulations from the DEC governing NATURAL GAS DRILLING

Concerned about environmental impact of horizontal high-water volume drilling, Otsego 2000 has issued a position paper outlining our concerns and suggesting changes to the proposed regulations.

Letter to the NYS Division of Mineral Resources: Dept. of Oil and Gas Regulation

Position Statement on Natural Gas Drilling in the Lake Otsego Watershed and Otsego County

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Otsego 2000 is a not-for-profit organization founded

in 1981 to protect the environmental, scenic, cultural

and historic resources of the Otsego Lake region

and northern Otsego County
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OTSEGO 2000                    
Mission Statement

Otsego 2000 believes that the Otsego Lake region is a masterpiece of nature, and that its surrounding landscapes, valleys, villages, and farms constitute a unique confluence of historic, environmental, cultural, agricultural, rural, and scenic resources. We believe that the long-term economic well-being of the region and the quality of life for its residents derives from these resources and their stewardship. Thus, we seek to protect these attributes for the benefit of present and future generations. As no place is an island, we extend our concern and programs to the region's larger setting in Central New York. We advance our mission through informed advocacy, public education, innovative projects, economic alternatives, and strategic campaigns.

 
Click here to make a contribution