Date: Wed, 26 Oct 2011 21:12:54 -0400
From: Jeffrey Starkweather
Subject: Why was a county meeting turned over to a gas industry spokesperson to disparage the views of citizens
This is in response to David Morris’ account of how his boss, County Chair Brian Bock, turned a county commissioners’ meeting into a circus that allowed an out-of-state spokesperson to insult and disparage citizens for their legitimate environmental and safety concerns about the possibility of hydrofracturing for shale gas (“fracking”) in Chatham. (Morris happens to be manager of Brian Bock’s pizza parlor in Cary and he is not a registered voter in Chatham County.)
I became upset at what was occurring at this meeting, not because I disagreed with the speaker (which I did), but because of his condescending dismissal of the legitimate concerns of residents. After he concluded his hour long sales job, I became appalled at the manner in which Chairman Bock allowed him to treat other citizens who rose to ask him questions.
I did not interrupt anyone asking or answering a question. I raised my hand and was given the mike and asked the following unanswered question: Why did the county board majority invite a long-time developer/builder from New Jersey with a financial self interest in fracking to speak for an hour and half in support of fracking, especially when there was no proposal on this issue before the board? Lewis Fromkin, of Fromkin Energy, claims to have partnered in managing and soliciting investors for oil and gas drilling in several states.
I posed this question because the board majority has not invited any state or local experts on the impacts of fracking to address them. Moreover, with the exception of Commissioner Sally Kost, none of the other commissioners have attended any of the numerous county and areas information forums about fracking put on by groups who have no financial stake in this industry or technology. Sally Kost, to her credit, attended the following forums: a gas lease awareness forum put on jointly by Agriculture Extension and Rural Advance Fund International of Pittsboro, a half day forum at the community college put on by Clean Water NS, and a public hearing before the State
Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) seeking citizen and local government input on their impact study. The DENR input session was attended by a large contingent from Chatham, including Kost, Representative Joe Hackney and Senator Bob Atwater. The Clean Water forum’s expert presenters included two Pennsylvania farmers who had hand-on experience with the negative environmental, traffic and economic impacts of fracking and a Duke scientist who has documented methane contamination in nearby private wells. Our other County Commissioners were conspicuously absent from these information sessions.
To inform themselves about fracking they instead chose to invite a gas industry salesperson to address the board. He gave a wholly self-serving presentation and then completely dismissed, distorted and derided the mounting documented scientific evidence and concerns about environmental and human health dangers of fracking raised by others. For example, Fromkin repeated the following misleading industry claim: “In 60 years and more than one million mills, not a single case of drinking water contamination has been linked to hydrofracking.” Excuse me. The type of fracking technology used for extracting shale gas deep in layers of sedimentary rock formations through horizontal drilling was not even commercially viable until 2003. As of June of this year, the National Resources Defense Council reports that there were at least 37 incidents in nine states where federal or state environmental officials suspect fracking was the cause of water contamination.
What was more disturbing was the condescending and demeaning manner in which Fromkin treated sincere and worried Chatham residents. He belittled their environmental concerns. He claimed critics of fracking were making money off their challenges. Given that Fromkin makes his living off gas exploration, isn’t this calling the kettle black.
He essentially said those in the fracking business are the only experts whose word your trust. What planet has this guy been living on. Didn’t the oil industry and their government backers/regulators assure us that deep ocean off-shore oil drilling was perfectly safe?
But what really made me most angry was how Chairman Bock allowed Fromkin to turn our public meeting into a talk-show circus where he used every pitchman’s trick in the book to attempt to make fun of and humiliate ordinary citizens who wanted to find factual answers to their deep felt concerns. All that those concerned with fracking had asked the commissioners to do at an earlier meeting was to pass a resolution supporting the Governor’s veto of a bill that would fast track approval of fracking in North Carolina. We asked the commissioners to encourage the state legislature to slow down the process to allow a complete and objective study of the potential benefits and costs of fracking, something DENR has been asked to do, although without sufficient funding or in way too short a time period.
I believe the vast majority of residents of Chatham and North Carolina prefer a conservative get-the-facts first approach before we rush into an unproven technology. Likewise, I believe most residents would prefer to wait and see how this new technology plays itself out in terms of costs and benefits as drilling occurs in other states and communities who have volunteered to try it. If, after a sufficient number of years it proves safe for the environmental and human health and brings more economic prosperity than harm to the affected communities, then we can decide if it appropriate for Chatham given our agreed upon natural resource and placed-based economic development strategy. This resource is not going anywhere.