TOWANDA, Pa. — As he weighs perhaps the most contentious decision of his administration, whether to allow drilling for natural gas upstate, Gov. Cuomo need look only a few miles south of New York’s border to see the fierce debate playing out in real time.
Here in this old industrial town and surrounding Bradford County, the benefits of fracking — a controversial method of extracting natural gas from shale rock underground — are clear.
Concrete well pads, drill rigs and pipelines are spread across the hills and farms, bringing an influx of jobs, workers and money. Water and equipment trucks are frequent sights on the roads. Towanda’s once-quiet motels and restaurants are often packed.
“It’s been a blessing straight from God himself,” said County Commissioner Doug McLinko.
Sitting atop the gas-rich Marcellus Shale formation, Bradford is the most drilled county in Pennsylvania with more than 900 wells created since the state gave the green light to fracking nearly a decade ago.
“When the 2008 recession hit, we didn’t even feel it,” McLinko, a 56-year-old Republican, said as he stood across the street from a 829-megawatt, gas-fueled power plant now being built.
The plant, one of many visible signs of the gas boom’s impact, has brought nearly 500 construction jobs to Bradford.
But less than 40 miles west, in the Susquehanna County town of Dimock, is the other face of fracking. There, residents like Ray Kemble claim their water has been poisoned by methane and other chemicals as a result of the drilling.
“You couldn’t pay me to drink it,” said Kemble, 58.
State environmental officials determined that poorly constructed concrete well casings led to the contamination. Cabot Oil and Gas paid $4.1 million to settle the case but admitted no wrongdoing.
Kemble, however, has kept up the fight and his property, complete with a tattered U.S. flag flying upside down and giant water tanks in his driveway, has become a ground zero of sorts in the fight against fracking. He has been visited by celebrities like Yoko Ono and Susan Sarandon.
“They made my life hell and now it’s my turn to make their life hell,” said Kemble, whose living expenses are subsidized by environmental groups.
The process of fracking requires drillers to inject sand, chemicals and water into the ground at very high pressures to break up the shale and release the natural gas.
With a large swath of upstate New York sitting atop the Marcellus and Utica shale formations, proponents of fracking argue it would bring desperately needed jobs and revenue to economically depressed communities upstate.
New York placed a moratorium on fracking in 2008 to develop regulations. In 2011, the Cuomo administration released a draft plan to allow fracking in limited areas outside the watersheds of New York City and Syracuse.
But the plan languished as environmental groups staged protest after protest demanding a permanent moratorium. Cuomo eventually ordered the state Health Department to study the possible public health impacts of fracking.
Initially expected to take only a few weeks, the study has dragged on for more than a year. Many believe Cuomo delayed a decision until after he won reelection in November, which he denies. He now says he expects the study to be completed by the end of the year.
In its 2011 plan, New York estimated fracking would create up to 53,969 jobs and generate as much as $125 million a year in state tax revenue.
In Pennsylvania, gas drilling accounts for almost 229,000 jobs, according to state estimates. The industry has generated nearly $2.2 billion in tax revenues and $800 million in fees since the mid-2000s.
In Towanda, Williamsport and communities across northern Pennsylvania, fracking has had a trickle-down effect, boosting small businesses and lifting land values.
“It’s helped the economy tremendously, ” said Fawn Vanderpool, whose family operates three hotels and a restaurant in Bradford County that are often filled with gas industry workers.
The biggest benefactors have been land owners who signed leases with gas companies and reap big royalty checks, said Timothy Kelsey, co-director of the Center for Economic and Community Development at Penn State University.
“I have bankers tell me they’ve had farmers walk in and pay off loans they never expected to see paid off,” Kelsey said.
Critics argue that the the economic benefits to Pennsylvania are overstated and are outweighed by the danger to public health. Fueling those concerns was the recent disclosure by environmental officials of at least 243 cases of possible groundwater contamination caused by gas drilling.
Sandra Steingraber, a biologist and co-founder of Concerned Health Professionals of New York, said studies from other states have shown a higher incidence of cancer, leukemia and other ailments in areas near fracking.
“There are a lot of studies that are like a trail of breadcrumbs,” Steingraber said. “It is unthinkable now to move forward based on what we know.”
Whatever he decides to do, Cuomo is likely to be criticized. Polls show voters split on the issue.
“This is not a win-win,” said Marist University pollster Lee Miringoff. “This is an issue where the pressure cooker is already turned up and the lines are drawn between economic development and the environment.”
