In-Depth Fracking

Reader Groundhum sends the coverage of a Pulteney town hall meeting which covered the topic of a proposed wastewater disposal well which would be located in an abandoned gas well about a mile from Keuka Lake. The well would store over 600 million gallons of chemical slurry used in hydrofracking operations to mine gas from the Marcellus Shale.

The Penn Yan Chronicle-Express has meeting coverage and a backgrounder on the proposals. The Finger Lakes Times also has a story, which repeats Eric Massa's opposition to the well. It adds the Town of Syracuse as another opponent, because they are concerned about contamination of Syracuse's drinking water.

Groundhum also sent an announcement from the Keuka Lake association, which says "The proposed site is alarmingly close to Keuka Lake and we are horrified that it would even merit preliminary consideration."

One of the concerns mentioned in the stories is the tanker truck traffic along the Keuka Wine Trail. The disposal well is capable of handling 180,000 gallons of wastewater per day. Tankers carry between 5000-9000 gallons each, so this means at least 20 tanker truck runs per day, every day, for 10 years.

Comments

The Dundee Observer also had a front page article on the Pulteney meeting. It's about time that the dangers of hydrofracking are getting on people's radar. The primary concern of our elected officials should be protecting the environmental quality of this area and protecting the health of the people who live here. Kudos to Eric Massa for taking the strong stand that he has.