Helping to protect landowners right for the extraction of Natural Gas.

Helping to protect landowners' rights for the extraction of Natural Gas.

Tuesday, April 26, 2011

Important Message From The JLCNY

Dear Coalition Leaders, Landowners, Union Leaders, Workers, Business Leaders, and Natural Gas Supporters Everywhere,

Please circulate this email and the included link to a very important video to any and all fellow pro-gas supporters.

Recently the NYS Senate Environmental Committee prevented bill S.425 from passing to the senate floor. The bill, sponsored by Sen. Krueger, was called by some "a gratuitous proposal". When taken at face value it was aimed at creating a law requiring hydraulic fracturing chemicals to be revealed despite voluntary disclosures and requirements in the SGEIS to disclose such chemicals. Upon closer examination it was redundant legislation. The reasons for sponsoring this bill had little to do with the actual chemicals and varied from exaggerated and inaccurate claims about radiation, to providing copies of the NY Times article, to allowing more time for economic revival to take place in upstate without allowing Natural Gas development.

Please watch the video linked to near the end of this email to understand just how far the anti-gas protestors and certain politicians will go to stop you and your communities from enjoying the benefits of safe and responsible gas development! Following this result Sen. Krueger issued the following statement:
Statement from Senator Krueger on Frac Fluid Disclosure Bill (S.425) Failing to Move Through Environmental Conservation Committee

“Once again, an important bill has fallen victim to the intellectually dishonest debate that unfairly pits environmental issues against job creation. My bill (S.425), which today failed to pass through the Environmental Conservation Committee, would implement common sense measures by requiring gas companies to disclose all chemicals used in their hydraulic fracturing fluids and would ban the use of any substances deemed carcinogenic. However, instead of taking critical steps to ensure basic safeguards are put in place to protect all New Yorkers, my Republican colleagues have decided to stall this bill under the false pretense that it will hurt jobs in the upstate area.

“Let me be clear: the need for job growth and creation in Upstate New York is very real, and much needs to be done to help those areas suffering most from our struggling economy. However, as my Democratic colleague Senator Bill Perkins said, this is not the way to do it. If we are not good stewards to our environment, and allow practices that poison our water supply and in turn our communities, then all other issues are moot. What good does job creation do for a community, whose members are so sick they cannot work? In these circumstances only one group wins: the big gas companies, who have reaped the benefits of our land without paying any of the consequences of their actions.

“I applaud my Democratic colleagues who voted in favor of this bill, which would have brought this issue to the floor for further debate. I only wish that just one of the six Republican on the committee, particularly Senators Marcellino and Johnson, whose districts in Long Island would suffer tremendously from the contamination of New York City’s drinking water, would have voted aye and thought more of their constituents and less of big business interests.

“I remain confident that common sense will prevail, and hope to successfully bring this bill back through the Environmental Conservation Committee. But in the meantime, I hope all New Yorkers from Upstate, Downstate and Western New York realize that this is not an issue of jobs vs. the environment; this is an issue of health and transparency vs. big business interests and secrecy.”

Fortunately, there were just enough senators who understood the facts and were not swayed from defeating the bill in committee.

The good news is that the JLCNY did play a role in having the bill defeated. The factual information we provided to key senators helped them to understand the issues and to make the sound decision to rely on the science based efforts of the DEC and the SGEIS. Going forward, as a way of further educating our members on the NYS Legislative process, we have included a video of last week's Senate Environmental Conservation Committee meeting. Keep in mind that our Albany consultant monitors and engages in all the legislative processes relating to drilling and the Marcellus Shale.

This is a victory that points out the value of donating to support our efforts and to support pushing ahead for more such victories. Please watch the video (to save time skip ahead to the 8:30 mark) to see how getting our message across helps make victory possible.

http://polhudson.lohudblogs.com/2011/04/12/senate-republicans-say-democrats-hydrofracking-bill-unnecessary/

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GEbQpf7zqTc&feature=player_embedded


This is a perfect example of the why we need to have a strong presence in Albany. But having a strong presence in Albany requires time, effort, and money. Please donate today so we can prevail in the capitol!

Sincerely,
Dan Fitzsimmons, President
Joint Landowners Coalition of New York, Inc.

DF/brc

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