To the Editor:
A group of residents from Central New York boarded a bus in Syracuse at 6 a.m. and Canastota about one half hour later to arrive in Albany for a public hearing with the Commissioner of the DEC, Joseph Martens.
We wore blue to signify water and carried bottles of water to be poured into a large container and given to the Governor. The audience flexed their fingers to simulate rain falling.
The hearing started at 9:30am. Many Senators and Assembly members asked the Commissioner questions on several issues, the most were about hydraulic shale gas and oil drilling and issues connected with the drilling, water use and contamination dangers, disposal of flowback water, disposal of the waste generated from the drilling, and health problems caused by this process.
Madison County was not represented at this hearing. Assemblyman Bill Magee attended the hearing, but passed on asking any questions. Senator David Valesky did not attend, and also did not attend as scheduled at a meeting in Cazenovia on Jan. 29. The thousands of citizens of Madison County and the State of New York deserve to be better served on this critical issue.
I felt that the Commissioner had trouble giving solid answers and had quite a bit of trouble speaking.
Miriam Barrows, Erieville