The town of Alfred has so far
enacted a moratorium only. I thought it would be interesting to find out more
about a town that started with a moratorium but went on to enact a ban. I was
curious about their process, so having read that the town of Jerusalem, in
Yates country, at the north end of Keuka lake, had recently moved from a
moratorium to a ban, I called up Daryl Jones, Town Supervisor and asked if I
could interview him.
On Monday Feb. 17, I met with
Supervisor Jones in the town offices. Daryl, a soft-spoken man in his early
sixties, was eager to share his experience. He was quick to point out that the
whole effort was the collective hard work of many people. As he spoke he struck
me as thoughtful, logical, and unemotional, that is, until the subject of water
came up, then his face reddened and he spoke with passion and concern.
GM: Please tell me something
about your background.
DJ: I have lived in Yates
County all my life and Jerusalem almost 40 years. I was away for four years in
the Air Force and was happy to return. I retired from the County Sheriff’s
office and have been on the town board since 1998 and Supervisor since 2004.
GM: How would you describe
your town?
DJ: We have a population of
about four thousand. We’re the largest town in the county running from Penn Yan
to a half mile south of Branchport. We have twenty miles of lake frontage, Keuka
College, lots of grapes, dairy farms, not a lot of industry – just a tight knit
community.
GM: When did you first become
aware of hydrofracking?
DJ: A concerned group in the
community attended a town board meeting about a year and half ago, and asked us
to look into it.
GM: What happened next?
DJ: We formed a committee.
The committee was made up of town volunteers, representatives from the zoning,
planning, and town boards, and myself. We did a lot of research… weighed the
options, pro and con. We contacted anybody and everybody who knew something
about this issue. I was getting daily e-mails. Some of our committee members
took it upon themselves to go to Dimock, Pa. [where, because of hydrofracking,
many homeowners now have polluted water wells and receive water deliveries from
the EPA] and other towns. A few officials from Torrey [Yates Co.] took a guided
tour in Pa. from Chesapeake Gas [a major gas corporation currently drilling in
Pa.] but they only show you what they want you to see on those tours and don’t
give you the whole story. My doctor’s family lives near Williamsport, Pa. and
they are just in turmoil. The roads are clogged with heavy truck traffic, truck
after truck after truck and the roads are all tore up and it will be this way
for years.
GM: How did you move from a
moratorium to a ban?
DJ: The committee met two to three
times a month and had informational meetings with the public. One at Keuka
College was packed beyond capacity. We had three speakers…Tony Ingraffea [a
Cornell geologist and one of the developers of the modern hydrofracking process
who, nevertheless speaks out against it.] Steve Coffman [author and founder of
The Committee to Preserve the Finger Lakes] and Scott Cline [spokesman for the
Independent Oil and Gas Association of New York.] [Go to You Tube and type in any of their names to watch various lectures.]
After the presentations we handed out a short written survey our committee had
created. Then it was clear how people felt. Over 95 % were against fracking.
Helen and David Slottje [lawyers who worked with the Alfred planning board to
draft the moratorium] were then brought on, pro-bono, to help us revise our
zoning ordinances. We also got comments from several attorneys who live in the
community. We met with the Mennonite community, they are large landowners, and
addressed their concerns. We also sent some questions and a copy of the zoning
draft to the Association of Towns. At that point I decided it was time to bring
it to the town board for a vote.
GM: At this point I would
like to tell my readers that before the actual vote you made the following
statement: “Most important to me was the research… that presented facts that
fracking as it is currently done is not safe. It’s not safe for the waters we
drink. It is not safe for the crops we grow and the produce we eat. It is not
safe for the livestock we raise. And it is not safe for the waters of Keuka
Lake in which our children and grandchildren swim, fish, and play. Research
proved without a doubt that property values, agriculture and tourism would
suffer if fracking came to our town… This research and the strong preference of
our residents, our taxpayers, the people who elected me to office bring me to a
clear conclusion: Hydrofracking drilling…is not worth the risk in the town of
Jerusalem.” And then what happened?
DJ: We had a vote and it was
4 to 1 to adopt the new zoning law.
GM: You could have taken a
wait and see attitude and left it up to the DEC to protect you. But I gather
the town board didn’t trust them to do that.
DJ: [Daryl paused, hesitated,
sighed. It seemed he didn’t care to comment] The town has the ability to home
rule. As far as I am concerned home rule is the deciding factor.
GM: I understand the
complexities of this issue; many of us struggle to pay our taxes and leasing
can be an attractive proposition to some in both our towns. What do you say to
the people who see fracking as their economic salvation?
DJ: You are going to maintain
your property at the expense of the town? If we allow it and it pollutes your
neighbor’s water, or our lake, your property will not be worth anything along
with everybody else’s…it won’t be worth a darn thing.
GM: Once you had educated
yourself about hydrofracking was there one thing that you found the most
threatening?
DJ: It’s the danger to the
water. The noise is going to last till the drillers leave, the roads can be
rebuilt and repaved… it all comes down to the water! Where would we be without
the water? We wouldn’t exist without it! They are using millions of gallons per
well and what are they mixing with it that they don’t have to divulge! What
guarantee is there that the water will be safe when it goes back to our water
source? Right now it’s a big experiment! I can’t imagine what would happen to
this town and this county if our lake is polluted.[He groaned.] We would
basically be a ghost town!
At this point we concluded
the interview. Daryl gave me copies of their survey and amended zoning law to
bring back to the Alfred Town Board.
Driving home to Alfred,
through Pulteney, I took a route that took me high in the hills overlooking beautiful
Keuka Lake. I passed a flat farm field with a truck parked by the side of the
road and some men standing together in the field. On the side of the truck the sign
said Chesapeake Gas.
Daryl Jones, Town Supervisor, Town of Jerusalem, New York
Moratoria and Ban update:
This week: St. Johnsville (Montgomery
Co), Manheim (Herkimer Co.), Springwater (Livingston Co.), Starkey (Yates Co.);
all have enacted one-year moratoriums.
Minden (Montgomery Co), Palatine
(Montgomery Co.), Dolgeville (Herkimer Co.) Italy (Yates Co.); all have formal
action pending towards a moratorium or a ban.
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