Partnership adopts gas position

Environmental protection urged

By FRITZ MAYER

MONTICELLO, NY — When it came out with a full-throated endorsement of gas drilling a year ago, there was some blowback. This time the endorsement is more nuanced.

The Sullivan County Partnership of Economic Development (SCPED) has adopted a policy regarding gas drilling in the county. It was unveiled by the partnership’s president and CEO, Tim McCausland, at a meeting at the government center on September 3.

McCausland read it into the record: “The SCPED believes strongly that if government and industry can collaborate to properly protect and preserve our environment, the development of the natural gas industry in Sullivan County could create substantial economic benefits for our landowners and communities, and while direct economic impacts are vital, the industry must also strive to produce a) a business model that is local and sustainable and b) policies that result in a meaningful shift toward energy independence.”

McCausland went on to say that while he was researching experiences in communities where drilling in the Marcellus Shale is already underway, he found that some companies, especially the big ones such as Cabot Oil & Gas and Chesapeake Appalachia, have not done a “great job” in terms of using local businesses and labor in the drilling operations.

By way of an example he cited an experience in Susquehanna County, PA, where some residents, when they heard the drilling was coming, purchased a number of water tanker trucks that they hoped could be used in the drilling. The purchases were financed by the local bank. But a few months later, the bank owned the trucks because the driller was not going to use them.

McCausland said the larger companies often have contracts for services that stretch out into the future. He said the Partnership would, as much as possible, try to encourage drilling companies to use local businesses.

Lawmaker Ron Hiatt said he didn’t think the county had much leverage to induce the companies to hire locally.

McCausland said it would be tough, but, he added, that some companies are better than others, and that some communities had experienced some success in that area in the past.

Lawmaker David Sager suggested that the partnership reach out to land groups that had already formed in the county and are in the process of negotiating agreements. He said the groups might be willing to add the use of local businesses and labor into their agreements.

time, quite simply, for these companies to do their fair share.”