Towns may try carrot approach with drilling companies

Instead of focusing solely on setting up a legal framework in which to regulate the gas drilling industry, local leaders have been told they should consider working with gas companies to come up with mutually advantageous agreements.

At a recent session of the Tompkins County Council of Governments, Brett Chedzoy, a member of the Schuyler County Task Force on Energy Development Issues, said he has visited existing Fortuna Gas drilling sites in Pennsylvania and found the experience enlightening.

"If you talk to industry, they're not really trying to hide what they are doing," Chedzoy said. "If you ask, they are usually willing to share information."

Many are also willing to cooperate with municipalities to come up with long-term agreements that outline expectations and remediation, Chedzoy said, and he encouraged town supervisors and board members to make the effort.

"I don't think that all of the solutions lie in coming up with local bylaws," Chedzoy said. "Whatever measures you come up with, I think the success of that is going to depend largely on how much you involve the industry."

Town lawyers have been trying to decipher the mixed messages contained in the 809-page draft impact statement regarding the powers of local governments to regulate drilling activities since it was published by the Department of Environmental Conservation in September.

TCCOG members are considering pooling resources to commission one lawyer to draft bylaws that could be tailored for individual municipalities and have identified a 2004 Town of Lansing law that could be the framework. But such efforts are proving complicated and costly, and Chedzoy suggested they could get around any uncertainty by directly negotiating with the gas companies.

"If companies voluntarily enter into agreements then it doesn't matter what the DEC says you can and cannot do as a municipality," he said.

He argued that such agreements could provide long-term leverage more effective than simple bonding or mandated compliance, as companies will not want to risk future projects by not cooperating.

Danby Supervisor Ric Dietrich said it was something he'd consider, and other TCCOG members expressed interest in drilling site visits.

The group may also host a presentation by environmental engineering firm Spectra Environmental Group, which sometimes acts as an intermediary, testing roadways and geology to establish baseline measurements for permitting, and is often hired by drilling firms as protection against future lawsuits. TCCOG members were told they could also benefit by ensuring their roads are not undervalued and that alternative routes or sites are considered.