Elected Officials to Protect New York Letters to Albany:

• June 2, 2012 - Our first letter, still gaining new signatories, calls on Governor Cuomo to continue the de facto moratorium on fracking until its full effects on residents, communities, and the environment can be more fully studied.
• October 2, 2012 – Southern Tier Electeds Letter to Governor – Responding to a small group of town supervisors from the Southern Tier, we request an in-person meeting with Governor Cuomo on behalf of the countless constituents we’ve spoken to.
• December 3, 2012 - EOPNY Letter to Cuomo, Martens, and Shah – In this writing, we express our concerns with the release of proposed regulations without the completion and release of DEC and DOH’s internal health review.
• December 21, 2012 - Letter to Gov. Coumo and Commissioner Martens on Comment Period - We express our concerns that the 30 day comment period from December 12- January 11 does not allow adequate time for municipalities and local governments to meet and draft comments on the proposed regulations and call on the Governor and Commissioner Martens to extend the comment period to 90 days.
• January 10, 2013 – Assembly Hearing Testimony.  Elected Officials to Protect New York Founder and Town of Caroline Deputy Supervisor Dominic Frongillo shares developments in his town and beyond and shares three key points on the proposed fracking regulations.  Also, Steering Committee Member and Town of Rochester Supervisor Carl Chipman expresses concerns over fracking’s impact on roads and traffic and the regulation formation process overall.
• January 28, 2013 – Response Letter to Commissioner Martens – We address the State’s decision-making process for fracking and respond to the Commissioner’s recent letter to us, pointing out a number questions that remain unanswered in the State’s SGEIS process.
• February 6, 2013 – EOPNY Letter to Governor Cuomo – This letter expresses concerns that allowing ten to forty wells as a demonstration project, despite best attentions, could result in legal actions to open other areas of the state to fracking. (Also Available in Word Format)
• February 8, 2013 – Elected Officials to Protect New York releases a comphensive memo detailing questions that remain unanswered relating to the municipal, economic, health, and environmental costs of fracking and sharing our perspectives as elected leaders of cities, villages, counties, towns, and other municipalities in the state.  (Also Available in Word Format)

As elected officials who represent communities across New York, we believe the State’s review of fracking has significant shortcomings, and there are worrisome gaps in the current studies and understanding of the impacts of hydraulic fracturing.

We are concerned about hydraulic fracturing’s potential impacts on public health, local governments, first responders and law enforcement personnel, and the effects of drilling on property values and home mortgages, existing businesses and economies, and local community character. We are concerned about the lack of studies documenting the cumulative environmental impacts of fracking on our communities, water resources, air quality, and greenhouse gas emissions. We are concerned about the lack of safe alternatives for wastewater disposal. We are concerned about seismic activity, unsafe radiation levels, farm and ecosystem fragmentation, and insufficient DEC staffing.