MDN received the following email from the Central New York Landowner’s Coalition encouraging New Yorkers who want to see gas drilling to get on the phone and call to express your opposition to (yet another) bill that would kill drilling in New York. MDN encourages those of like mind to call.
LAST-MINUTE BILL NEEDS YOUR CALL
SNEAKY “ANTI-GAS” BILL MUST BE STOPPED
OPPOSITION’S ATTEMPT TO SNEAK A BILL THROUGH: NYS Senator Antoine Thompson has just introduced a bill to the NYS Encon Committee, which he chairs, that would ban any hydraulic fracturing activity in NYS for one year – which is certain to be followed up by subsequent moratoriums in future years. THIS BILL HAS THE SAME LONG-TERM AGENDA AS THE OTHERS AND IS NOT A COMPROMISE!!! If this passes, we can forget about leasing for years to come and we can be certain that any gas company who might be waiting for the DEC to release the SGEIS will give up & head elsewhere.
WE HAVE BEEN SUCCESSFUL SO FAR: Our rally, emails and phone calls have derailed the bills that would all-out ban or impose a 2-3 year moratorium on gas drilling in NY. We can defeat this bill if we all work together! And with one full week left before the Albany Politicians go to summer recess, this week requires our biggest push ever.
WE NEED 125 CALLERS FIRST THING MONDAY MORNING:
Because it’s too late to email or write letters, your coalition committee will be calling and we need 125 additional callers after 9am on Monday to voice your opposition to this moratorium with us. The Encon committee meets Monday afternoon, so it is best if your call reaches them by then. WHEN YOU HAVE CALLED, EMAIL US AT chenangogas@gmail.com and let us know. We’ll keep the website updated with our tally for the day.
HERE ARE THE NAMES WITH THE “TALKING POINTS” BELOW.
Name
Albany Phone
Thompson, Antoine M.
Ph: 518-455-3371
Oppenheimer, Suzi
Ph: 518-455-2031
Schneiderman, Eric T.
Ph: 518-455-2041
Parker, Kevin S.
Ph: 518-455-2580
Serrano, Jose M.
Ph: 518-455-2795
Perkins, Bill
Ph:518-455-2441
Stewart-Cousins, Andrea
Ph: 518-455-2585
Foley, Brian X.
Ph: 518-455-2303
Marcellino, Carl L.
Ph: 518-455-2390
Leibell, Vincent L.
Ph: 518-455-3111
Johnson, Owen H.
Ph: 518-455-3411
Little, Elizabeth O’C.
Ph: 518-455-2811
Young, Catharine M.
Ph: 518-455-3563
Padavan, Frank
Ph: 518-455-3381
TALKING POINTS:
POSSIBLE CONVERSATION: (Not everything below needs to be mentioned. The main thing is the first sentence!)
“Good Morning (afternoon); I am calling to express my full opposition to the bill being presented by Senator Thompson to the Encon Committee further delaying safe Natural Gas Drilling in NY. Our New York State DEC has successfully monitored, studied and regulated hydraulic fracturing in our state for nearly 2 decades. In additional to this, they have put thousands of man hours into their current SGEIS which will make New York the safest state in our nation for natural gas development. Also, the federal EPA has already studied hydraulic fracturing on numerous occasions and has never found a single instance of underground water contamination by this drilling process. And with the current EPA study, there was never a federal consideration of a ban. This bill appears to be a mere political ploy to create an additional, needless moratorium before the DEC’s latest regulations are even being released. I am asking that you trust the scientists of the DEC who have already created a safe track record for drilling in NY. We have already been forced to wait 2 years so I respectfully ask that this committee not create needless long-term delays to this essential economic push for upstate NY.”
Many additional talking points are posted on the website of the Joint Landowner’s Coalition (www.jlcny.org). Don’t worry about being eloquent – JUST CALL EVERYONE ON THAT LIST!! We can’t count on anyone else to call for us – you need to pick up the phone and do this for yourself, your family, your community and your state.
Counting on YOU!
Brian Conover
