Here’s the latest update: While New York dittles around, Pennsylvania is producing natural gas from the Marcellus Shale formation. Right now. Today. Film at eleven.

The above is the sum total of what’s happened over the past several months with regard to drilling natural gas in Broome County and surrounding regions. There is a (surprisingly) somewhat accurate story in today’s Press & Sun-Bulletin: N.Y. environmental wrangling driving gas firms to Pa. It doesn’t take a genius to figure out if you slap steep regulatory hurdles on business, and if you tax business to death, business goes someplace else to do business. Which is what has happened with the northeast versus the south for the past 20 years. History is now repeating itself with Marcellus Shale formation drilling. New York politicians just do not get it.

Yes! I hear the bleating now. “We have to be sure it’s SAFE to drill! We can’t contaminate our water supply!” Of course. No one wants Love Canal 2 in Broome County and surrounding areas. I personally take comfort that a full review is now taking place to ensure that our water supply, and the environment in general, will be protected. My point is, review your guidelines, ensure the processes that will be used are safe, and GET ON WITH IT. Energy prices are going down–there’s less incentive to drill now than several months ago. But, energy companies have spent a lot of money to lease land, and they know sooner or later energy prices will go up again. So they’re in the mood to drill right now, even with the dip in energy prices. Too much timidity and downright antagonism on the part of some in New York is driving energy companies across the border into Pennsylvania to do their drilling.

Let’s face it, many so-called environmentalists are only interested in stopping drilling period. And they will use every excuse in the book to do it, including scary stories of people’s water being poisoned and fish dying and birds falling out of the sky. Recognize the tactics for what they are: tactics. There’s no legitimate reason why the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) can’t wrap up their review and start granting permits to drill within a month or two–certainly by spring. It is now rumored the review process will go well into next year–possibly fall. How unfortunate. Meanwhile, energy companies are saying “forget New York” and they’re busy drilling, and hitting it big, in PA. Good for PA! They have some common sense south of the border and that common sense will profit them.

It’s time for the DEC and Governor Patterson to stop dittling and start doing–before yet another golden opportunity passes New York by.

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