|
|
|
The Town of Wayne officially enacted a moratorium on natural gas drilling Tuesday night, becoming the first municipality in Steuben County to pass a temporary ban on the process known as hydrofracturing.
Wayne Town Supervisor Steve Butchko said the Town Board unanimously passed a one-year moratorium on drilling – commonly known as fracking. No opposition to the ban was raised during a public hearing before the vote, Butchko said.
“This was not so much pro-fracking or anti-fracking,” Butchko said. “Our primary purpose is to review our land use agreement and make sure we’re protected.”
Butchko said Wayne’s location is unique in the county, since it is located between Keuka and Waneta lakes. The lakes are fed by two separate sources, with Keuka Lake’s source the St. Lawrence Seaway and Waneta Lake in the Susquehanna River Basin.
The two lakes and other geological differences in the town mean drafting new land use regulations is essential, Butchko said.
While oil-drilling moratoriums are new in Steuben, other municipalities – including Dryden, in Tioga County – have had their moratoriums challenged in court by the natural gas industry.
Butchko said he doesn’t expect a legal challenge, since the one-year ban was drawn up with the professional and legal assistance and is intended only to analyze the effect hydrofracking would have on the town.
The moratorium will give the town time to study the issues without pressure from oil dilling applicants, he said.
Whether the pressure from drillers will come is anyone’s guess.
While there is drilling in the Marcellus Shale in Pennsylvania, New York’s Department of Environmental Conservation has said it will take several months to review public comments made during its lengthy environmental review.
And with natural gas prices at an all-time low, drillers have moved to Ohio now to drill for propane.
Wayne is one of several municipalities in Steuben considering bans in order to review its existing land use regulations, according to Mark Schlechter, a local attorney who opposes hydrofracking.
“This is really a very conservative approach,” Schlechter said. “It’s like with the adult bookstore laws. This gives the towns the time to make zoning changes, look at their (regulations) and comprehensive plans, and make whatever changes are needed.”
Currently, the villages of Bath and Hammondsport, and towns of Fremont, Pulteney and Urbana also are studying drafts of moratorium resolution that would give them time to adjust their land use laws, Schlechter said.
Other municipalities are also considering moratoriums, Schlechter said.
The Town of Wayne officially enacted a moratorium on natural gas drilling Tuesday night, becoming the first municipality in Steuben County to pass a temporary ban on the process known as hydrofracturing.
Wayne Town Supervisor Steve Butchko said the Town Board unanimously passed a one-year moratorium on drilling – commonly known as fracking. No opposition to the ban was raised during a public hearing before the vote, Butchko said.
“This was not so much pro-fracking or anti-fracking,” Butchko said. “Our primary purpose is to review our land use agreement and make sure we’re protected.”
Butchko said Wayne’s location is unique in the county, since it is located between Keuka and Waneta lakes. The lakes are fed by two separate sources, with Keuka Lake’s source the St. Lawrence Seaway and Waneta Lake in the Susquehanna River Basin.
The two lakes and other geological differences in the town mean drafting new land use regulations is essential, Butchko said.
While oil-drilling moratoriums are new in Steuben, other municipalities – including Dryden, in Tioga County – have had their moratoriums challenged in court by the natural gas industry.
Butchko said he doesn’t expect a legal challenge, since the one-year ban was drawn up with the professional and legal assistance and is intended only to analyze the effect hydrofracking would have on the town.
The moratorium will give the town time to study the issues without pressure from oil dilling applicants, he said.
Whether the pressure from drillers will come is anyone’s guess.
While there is drilling in the Marcellus Shale in Pennsylvania, New York’s Department of Environmental Conservation has said it will take several months to review public comments made during its lengthy environmental review.
And with natural gas prices at an all-time low, drillers have moved to Ohio now to drill for propane.
Wayne is one of several municipalities in Steuben considering bans in order to review its existing land use regulations, according to Mark Schlechter, a local attorney who opposes hydrofracking.
“This is really a very conservative approach,” Schlechter said. “It’s like with the adult bookstore laws. This gives the towns the time to make zoning changes, look at their (regulations) and comprehensive plans, and make whatever changes are needed.”
Currently, the villages of Bath and Hammondsport, and towns of Fremont, Pulteney and Urbana also are studying drafts of moratorium resolution that would give them time to adjust their land use laws, Schlechter said.
Other municipalities are also considering moratoriums, Schlechter said.
