Marcellus Shale Press Coverage

Binghamton, NY (WBNG Bingamton) Local leaders and members of a statewide coalition raise the alert about any possible hydrofracking demonstration project.

The coalition has received more than 2,300 signatures on a letter to the Governor.

They're concerned about any potential planning to site a a natural gas drilling test using hydraulic fracturing somewhere in the Southern Tier.

A letter is on its way to Governor Cuomo asking him to oppose test runs of hydraulic fracturing in the Southern Tier. As our Elyse Mickalonis tells us, Binghamton Mayor Matt Ryan says the residents shouldn’t be treated as guinea pigs and more research needs to be done before fracking is allowed in New York.

A group that includes Binghamton Mayor Matt Ryan is sending a letter to Governor Cuomo calling for him to oppose any fracking test- demonstration project in New York State.

Walter Hang, President of Toxics Targeting said 2,300 people signed the letter. According to Hang, the letter is critical of a plan to use a parcel of land to test drill, even before the state might decide to lift the morotorium on fracking.

"These letters are very, very powerful. They're very detailed and they have incredible support from elected officials, scientists, civic and environmental organizations," said Hang.

Advocates against hydrofracking fear the Southern Tier will be used as a testing ground. Photo by AP.

Toxics Targeting, an environmental database website, has released a letter with more than 1,600 signatures requesting Gov. Andrew Cuomo block a feared three-year hydraulic fracturing test project in the Southern Tier, as well as continue to review the potential environmental impact.

Hydraulic fracturing, or hydrofracking, is the process of blasting a mixture of water, sand and chemicals to break up rock and release natural gas.

"Pressure on Gov. Cuomo continues to build regarding the fate of Marcellus Shale gas extraction in New York," said Toxics Targeting President Walter Hang. "That is why we must make absolutely sure that no wretchedly bad compromise deals are struck to provide political cover for the powers that be."

The three-year hydrofracking demonstration described by the organization – but not widely publicized elsewhere – involves the Department of Environmental Conservation issuing permits for no more than 100 wells annually in the Broome, Tioga and Chemung counties. The wells would be monitored in a few major areas and would be a test to whether hydrofracking is safe.

A moratorium on hydraulic fracturing is still in place in New York State. But now a group of Tioga County landowners are exploring an alternative to the controversial drilling technique. Our Melissa Kakareka has more.

Landowners in Tioga County say they will start applying to the DEC for permits to start fracking for natural gas, but the process is called propane fracking.

This uses liquefied petroleum gas, not a water and chemical solution, to break up rock and release gas underneath.

It's not hydrofracking which is currently banned but under review in New York State.

Tioga County (WENY) - Deep shale hydrofracking could be coming to the Southern tier a lot sooner than a lot of people think. A company has come up with a way to do it without using millions of gallons of water.

And a group of about two-thousand local land owners, called Southern Tier Energy Partners, signed an agreement with 2 companies that want to start drilling in a matter of months. The Method is known as LPG Fracturing. It uses gelled liquid petroleum gas instead of chemically infused water and sand.

The leadership of a group of landowners in Tioga County, New York has reached an agreement with gas drillers to begin developing the Marcellus Shale using liquid propane as a fracking agent.

Brokers of the deal, between eCorp, GasFrac Energy Services, and the Tioga County Landowners Association, believe that fracking with natural gas is not included under a New York state moratorium that prevents drillers from using high volume hydraulic fracturing. The moratorium was put in place in 2008 due to environmental concerns, pending the completion of a review by the state DEC.

COOPERSTOWN -- In the summer of 2010, residents of the Otsego County town of Pittsfield said they noticed a tanker truck equipped with nozzles spreading what they later learned was natural gas well brine on town roads.

They said they had a number of questions, including: Who permitted it and why? Where was the brine from? Did the liquid being spread pose a potential health hazard?

State DEC commissioner Joe Martens' comments that some fracking permits could "conceivably" be issued before the end of 2012 have unleashed a flood of reaction from all sides of the fracking debate.

Pro-frackers say it's further proof New York is ready to drill.

Others don't see how the DEC could get through the 45,000 comments it just received on it's latest environmental impact statement, or SGEIS, by the end of the year.