Tuesday, March 22, 2011

GAS SEMINAR: Sat - March 26 - The Gas Company & You

THE GAS COMPANY AND YOU
9:30 AM Saturday March 26, 2011
STUAC Theater at Morrisville State College

What is compulsory integration? How are gas pipelines regulated and sited? What should I look out for in a lease? These questions and more will be addressed at a public meeting: THE GAS COMPANY AND YOU on Saturday March 26 from 9:30 – 11:30 AM at the STUAC Theater at Morrisville College.

Madison County Citizens for Safe Energy (CSE) promotes implementation of best practices for safe natural gas development in Madison County and is sponsoring the event. The guest speakers, Ken Holden and Jane Welsh, both attorneys, and Dave Palmerton, an environmental services consultant, will address the topic and answer questions.

Please join CSE in its efforts to secure a safe and prosperous future for Madison County.

Thursday, March 17, 2011

Congratulations - ENDLESS TRAILS!!!

Congratulations to....

David and Pam Williams of Endless Trails Farm who have earned the 2011 Conservation Farm of the Year designation from Madison County Soil and Water Conservation District.

Soil and Water Conservation District News.

(Brookfield, Hamilton, NY – March 2011) The Madison County Soil and Water Conservation District welcomes all area farmers, friends and conservation enthusiasts to a complimentary luncheon in celebration of Endless Trails Farm, LLC, owned by David and Pam Williams for being awarded the prestigious 2011 Conservation Farm of the Year for Madison County.

This special day will take place Thursday, March 24, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the White Eagle Conference Center in Hamilton, which will highlight local grass-fed meat from Sunnybrook Farm, owned by Dan and Melissa Williams.

This 31st annual conservation award embodies the hard work, commitment and passion of the Williams family that founded the Endless Trails Farm in 2003 on the premise of turning the land back to an all-grass system, highlighting the farm’s interest in agri-tourism opportunities and in the words of Pam, “preserving a local treasure.”

The town of Brookfield farm encompasses 336 acres of certified organic land intertwined with woodlands, horse trails, hedgerows, ponds and riparian areas adjacent to Pleasant Brook and the Brookfield Trail System.

The grasslands are in hay production and a planned 30-paddock grazing system that feeds a 55-head cow/calf beef herd, 20 yearlings and 30 head of custom-grazed organic dairy heifers.
It is also home to a thriving agri-tourism venture featuring a six-bedroom guesthouse, accompanied by an enclosed 12-horse stall barn, outdoor event pavilion, wagon and sleigh rides with the caveat of eating beef directly from the farm.

Since 2003, the family has maintained a steady, long-term approach to implementing common-sense conservation practices that include a comprehensive nutrient management plan, a grazing management system, more than 30,000 feet of fence, 4,000 feet of waterline, spring developments, reinforced stream crossings, watering facilities, animal walkways, wetland and wildlife habitat enhancements and riparian buffers with more than 2,000 trees planted.
These measures have enhanced water quality throughout the property, with program funding and technical assistance from the Natural Resources Conservation Service, the Farm Service Agency, the state Agricultural Environmental Management Program, the Madison County Soil and Water Conservation District and the Upper Susquehanna Coalition.

“In the beginning we joked about calling it the ‘Endless Work Farm’ but realize now how fruitful the journey has been to meet our longterm goals and create an enjoyable environment for ourselves, our customers and our community,” said Dave and Pam. “Receiving this award just enhances all the sweat equity put forth on behalf of protecting and conserving our local resources for future generations.”

To join for the luncheon to honor the Williams family, call the Madison County SWCD office at (315) 824-9849 to secure your reservation.

Saturday, March 5, 2011

GAS: NY Times Series: Waste Water Treatment Failure to Regulate by EPA & PA

Below is a link to the NYTimes series on gas drilling in Central NY with excellent interactive slideshows that explain the procedure and issues... takes 5 minutes! Definitely worth the INVESTMENT in understanding this hot topic.

Part 3 of the series, ("Drilling Down"), focuses on the Gas industry's efforts to undermine studies of the "hydrofracking", "waste water" treatment, and environmental laws in neighboring PENNSYLVANNIA.

Due to its political $influence$, the Gas industry does not need to comply with our most basic anti-pollution laws that regulate most other heavy industries and were written to protect air and drinking water from radioactive and hazardous chemicals. For example, Coal mine operators that want to inject toxic wastewater into the ground must get permission from the federal authorities. But when natural gas companies want to inject chemical-laced water and sand into the ground during hydrofracking, they do not have to follow the same rules.

WASTE WATER TREATMENT Pennsylvania officials have acknowledged that sewage treatment plants are not able to treat drilling waste fully before it is discharged into rivers, sometimes just a few miles upstream from drinking water intake plants. Pennsylvania, has staunchly resisted calls to stop issuing permits to treatment plants handling drilling waste.

Drillers throughout the country are watching Pennsylvania to see whether the EPA/federal agency will overrule the state’s decisions on how to dispose of drilling waste. The central question on this issue: Should drillers in Pennsylvania be allowed to dump “mystery liquids” into public waterways? Under federal law, certain basic rules govern sewage treatment plants. At their core, these rules say two things: operators have to know what is in the waste they receive, and they have to treat this waste to make it safe before discharging it into waterways. We need to watch developments in PA to see our future... http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/04/us/04gas.html?ref=drillingdown&pagewanted=all