This Thursday evening, December 2, the Davenport Firehouse will host a panel on the risks of natural gas drilling, open to residents of Delaware County and surrounding areas. Speaking at the event will be:
-Lou Allstadt, former executive VP of Mobil Oil Corporation. An article in the Daily Star this summer paints Allstadt as somewhat of a reluctant opponent of horizontal drilling with hydrofracturing in the region.
-Ron Bishop, lecturer in chemistry at SUNY Oneonta. Bishop has been active in educating New Yorkers about the risks of natural gas drilling, and submitted extensive comments on the DEC's proposed natural gas regulations last year.
-Wes Gillingham, program director of Catskill Mountainkeeper, whose organization has been among the groups calling for a statewide drilling moratorium.
From a post about the event on Facebook:
Delaware County Friends, Neighbors, Residents and Businesses should try to attend this informational meeting. We all need to know all we can about gas drilling as it will have a profound effect on our communities. We all need to prepare and our town boards need to know what is needed to protect our communities. Whether you are a friend or foe of gas drilling, we all need to be aware...
Meanwhile, in Albany, a drilling moratorium bill that was passed by the state Senate in August is still languishing in the Assembly. The governor has called special legislative session that will begin at 3pm today, and although the moratorium bill isn't on the governor's agenda, its supporters are hoping that the Assembly will gavel into regular session and take it up.
A petition asking the Assembly to pass the moratorium has gathered over 50,000 signatures, and today and tomorrow, gas drilling opponents will be gathering in Albany to put pressure on the Assembly to act on the bill.
*Update: In an earlier version of this post, I goofed and wrote "November 2" as the date of this Thursday's meeting in Davenport. Typo now fixed.
