Governor: VETO Natural Gas Moratorium Bill

Dear Governor Paterson:

I am writing to express my strong opposition to A.11443-B (Sweeney)/S.8129-B (Thompson) and to urge you to veto the bill, which proposes an immediate moratorium on the issuance of natural gas drilling permits for any oil or natural gas wells requiring hydraulic fracturing.

The bill is substantially flawed. As written, this bill is job killer as it would:

(1) Bar existing safe drilling that has been going on for many years in New York, and;
(2) Result in the loss of 5,000 jobs, because producing companies would go out of business and their employees would be forced out of work.

The impact of this bill would be catastrophic for Upstate! This measure would prohibit ALL drilling where hydraulic fracturing is used. Hydraulic fracturing was and is currently safely used in thousands of shallow, low-volume wells common throughout Western New York and the Southern Tier.

The Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) issued 580 new permits in 2009, and new wells were drilled in Allegany, Cattaraugus, Chautauqua, Chemung, Chenango, Cortland, Erie, Genesee, Madison, Otsego, Seneca, Steuben, Tioga, Wayne, and Wyoming Counties. More than 90 percent of those wells were hydraulic fractured in their development! The vast majority of the wells permitted would not have been developed were it not for hydraulic fracturing.

These wells were developed safely and carefully - under a very stringent regulatory process administered by the Department of Environmental Conservation - and drilling companies' record of environmental stewardship in New York is we can be very proud of!

Governor Paterson – we need your help, as the Legislature wouldn’t listen!! Please veto A.11443-B/S.8129-B. Many Upstate jobs are at risk from this terrible bill, which based on rumors, falsehoods and bad science. Please support the protect the future of safe natural gas exploration in New York .


Thank you.