Council of Governments Session to Investigate Natural Gas Drilling Options The Tompkins County Council of Governments (TCCOG) will hold a special information meeting next week to provide municipal officials the opportunity to learn about what municipalities can do to address issues related to the extraction of Marcellus Shale.
The special meeting will take place Monday March 30, beginning at 7:00 p.m., at the Ithaca Town Hall, 215 N. Tioga Street, Ithaca. Kimberlea Rea, Esq., of the firm Bosworth, Gray & Fuller, Bronxville, New York, and Mark Millspaugh, P.E., of Sterling Environmental Engineering, Latham, New York will discuss what proactive steps local governments can take and how municipalities can react to issues that arise regarding the pending drilling and natural gas extraction from Marcellus Shale. The public is invited to listen and learn, but the meeting’s focus will be to inform and answer questions from local officials. Caroline Town Supervisor Don Barber, who chairs the Council of Governments, cites the relevant section of New York State Environmental Conservation Law (Section 23-303 (2)), which states: “The provisions of this article shall supersede all local laws or ordinances relating to the regulation of the oil, gas and solution mining industries; but shall not supersede local government jurisdiction over local roads or the rights of local governments under the real property tax law. “This section of law would tend to indicate there is little action local governments can take related to this issue,” Supervisor Barber adds. “This special meeting will describe the legal avenues available.” For more information or questions, contact Supervisor Barber at 539-3395 or 539- 6928. Media contact: Caroline Town Supervisor Don Barber, TCCOG Chairperson, 539-3395 or 539- 6928. ------ Marcia E. Lynch Public Information Officer -- ---------------------------------------------------- Gay Nicholson, Ph.D. 607-533-7312 (home office) 607-220-8991 (cell) 1 Maple Avenue Lansing, NY 14882 [email protected] Sustainable Tompkins Program Coordinator www.sustainabletompkins.org _______________________________________________ For more information about sustainability in the Tompkins County area, please visit: http://www.sustainabletompkins.org/ RSS, archives, subscription & listserv information for: [email protected] http://lists.mutualaid.org/mailman/listinfo/sustainabletompkins Questions about the list? ask [email protected] free hosting by http://www.mutualaid.org
