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Lansing Drilling Committee Chairman Larry Beck presented initial findings to the Town Board last week.  He said the committee found that Lansing is very much behind other local towns in preparing for the possible consequences of gas drilling, and urged the board to update its comprehensive plan, zoning, and land use ordinances.  On Tuesday the committee will ask residents to tell the Town what they really think by filling out a quick survey after voting on Tuesday.

"The main reason for doing this is to get a sense of how Lansing residents feel about this major issue that is going to be facing the Town in the next few months," says committee member Rachel Bean.

About 20 volunteers who will be outside each of Lansing's polling stations on November 8th with the one minute survey.  Bean says that while other towns have just asked whether residents want to ban drilling, the Lansing survey will be more friendly to people of differing opinions.  In addition to the polling places the committee plans to make the survey available on its section of the Town Web site.

"We have decided to conduct a survey that asks three simple questions," says Bean.  "'Are you in favor of gas drilling?  Are you in favor of Lansing taking steps to change its local laws to address any risks that may come with gas drilling?  Or are you in favor of banning gas drilling as it's being proposed by New York State?"

The committee plans to provide the survey results to the Town Board, and to make more information available to the public.  They plan to use their section of the Town Web site to post information on their activities and what they learn.  They have organized a meeting on November 16th at 7pm at the Middle School Auditorium in which Tony Ingraffea will speak.  Ingraffea is a recognized expert in gas drilling.  Residents will be able to ask questions at the meeting and learn more details about the process and potential impact it could have on Lansing.

The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) is currently holding a consultation period for state residents and interested parties present their views on the prospect of horizontal gas drilling in New York.  That is scheduled to end in December.  Bean says that means that drilling permits could be applied for as early as January.

"I think the important thing is even if something doesn't happen, what we need to insure is that if something does... that we are properly prepared for that," Bean says.  "So I don't think that we can just assume that drilling won't occur.  We must take into account that our comprehensive plan and our land use laws factor that it could take place, and properly control that."

She argues that even if drilling does not occur in Lansing the ancillary activities will almost certainly impact the Town.

"In particular things like road use could have a significant impact on the costs that the Town has to incur to maintain roads," she says.  "At a time when town budgets are being squeezed from many directions, I like to understand what the risks are and what those costs could be.  And as a resident who is paying taxes I am concerned about how we can insure we are not going to be paying a significant amount more in our taxes because of gas drilling coming into the town."

Ulysses, Dryden, Danby, and the Town of Ithaca have floated zoning ordinances that essentially ban drilling.  They have addressed issues such as gas storage, the use of gravel, water access, and road use.  The Dryden ordinance is already being challenged in court, and Town Councilwoman Kathy Miller says that town officials feel they have a strong case. 

Miller is the Town of Lansing delegate to the Tompkins County Council of Governments (TCOG), which has a Task Force on Gas Drilling. She is also the Town of Lansing liaison to the Lansing Gas Drilling Committee.  Miller has been advocating for a proactive approach to drilling issues, but the other board members have preferred a wait and see approach.  They say they want to see how the case comes out to guide their own ordinances in a way that will not invite expensive lawsuits.  But Bean says that there is not much time because permitting could be allowed in less than two months.

"We don't have widespread heavy industry in this town," she says.  "We do have heavy industry in the salt mine and the power plant, but they are localized.  If we have gas drilling it could potentially be more widespread within the town.  The idea is, how do we update our comprehensive plan to address that, and also our land use ordinances.  I know they have already started to talk about road conditions.  Hopefully they will introduce road use laws.  They are a way of insuring that if there are heavy trucks that can do damage, that the cost of maintaining the roads is not bourn by the Town alone.  I think the main thing is for the Town as a whole to understand what it would like to do with this opportunity, but potentially, also, risks of gas drilling coming into the Town."

Bean says Tompkins County has been taking steps to introduce road use laws for their roads and other towns are also introducing regulations.

"The downside of Lansing not doing something equivalent is that if we don't have anything in place then we could be a path of least resistance," she says.  "So we need to insure that our preparedness is comparable with other towns in the area.  However that decision falls, there are many things that we need to think about.  The main thing at the moment are to think about all the things that could, can, and will happen if gas drilling goes ahead, and think about Lansing can insure that it's prepared for that."

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