Published: July 24, 2008 09:26 am         

Village decides not to sell water to gas driller

By JIM AUSTIN


Cooperstown Crier





The board of trustees decided

Monday night it would not sell

300,000 gallons of water to be used

in exploratory gas well drilling.

The water board last week recommended

the trustee go ahead

with the sale of water after the village

was approached by a company

subcontracted by Covalent Energy

to provide the water for wells it

plans to drill in the towns of Cherry

Valley and Maryland.



Covalent now plans to get its

water from the city of Cortland.

``It’s really about our role as

stewards of the lake,’’ said Trustee

Neil Weiller. ``My big problem is if

we start selling water how you say

no.’’



Deputy Mayor Jeff Katz said

that the issue is not just the sale of

the water.



``How it is used is a legitimate

reason to deny,’’ he said.

``Whether we do it or not, they’re

going to do it,’’ Trustee Grace Kull

commented. ``As a steward of the

lake, I’d rather not see the water

used that way.’’



``Personally,’’ said Trustee Lynne

Mebust, ``I don’t see an upside for

the village.’’



But Trustee Eric Hage was in

favor of making the sale.

``I believe we should make the

sale. I don’t believe in symbolic

votes,’’ he said, adding that it would

require thousands of miles of trucking

to get the water from another

source. ``I don’t think it enables

them or sets a precedent.’’

Hage and Mayor Carol Waller

were the only two to vote in favor of

selling the water.



Prior to taking the vote, the

board listened to comments from

the public, which were largely

against the sale of water.



Martha Clarvoe, President of

the Otsego County Conservation

Association, said her organization

believes there is sufficient reason

for concern about the long-term

consequences of gas drilling and

urged the board to take a precautionary

role and not approve the

sale.



Bowerstown resident Paula Di

Perna said there are too many uncertainties

with gas drilling and

the risks are not worth the costs.

Groundwater, she said, can’t be

cleaned up once it is contaminated.

``If gas was ever found under Otsego

Lake, I would put myself in

front of the drill,’’ Di Perna

told the trustees.



Fly Creek resident Adrian

Kuzminski, representing

Sustainable Otsego, said the

situation doesn’t seem to offer

many benefits and called

the village the only line of

defense.



``Say no to what seems to

be a very marginal offer,’’ he

said.



Former Mayor Wendell

Tripp told the board the village

is not in the water business

and that the water department

is a public utility.



``This is not a retail business,’’

he said. ``I emphasize

that you are not retailers,

you are public officials.’’

Village resident and Water

Quality Coordinating

Committee member Carl

Good said he was concerned

about the impact of additional

truck traffic on village

streets, which are already

not in great shape.



Long-time Water Board

member Dr. Theordore Peters

said that gas drilling is

not the issue. ``This is not going

to stop gas drilling. I

would let them get their initial

water here. I feel we can

address the traffic,’’ he said.

Following their decision,

the trustees also voted

against a proposed water

sale policy from the Water

Board.



Weiller, a member of the

water board, said he now recognizes

there is more that

needs to be considered in formulating

a policy governing

the sale of water.



``It’s more than just rates,’’

he said.