Archive: Opinions

Lansing did nothing about hydrofracking for years, instead taking a wait and see stance.  The justification was to let other municipalities take the lead in creating anti-fracking ordinances or outright bans, to see whether they were challenged in court, and then to take a safe road by duplicating successful strategies from other towns.

Now in the eleventh hour the Town is poised to pass a moratorium on fracking to give it time to do the work other towns have been doing all along.  I think the Town is right to do this.  Better late than never.

A recent survey showed that the majority of Lansing residents don't want drilling in the town, and this week's public hearing on the moratorium yielded an unusually high number of people who were willing to speak out in favor of the moratorium.  Most of the public hearings I attend attract virtually nobody.  This one nearly filled the Town Hall, and 19 residents and all five town board members spoke in favor of a moratorium, with only one opposing it.

Realistically it is unlikely that Lansing will be first in line for gas drilling.  Another year or more isn't going to throw any kind of a monkey wrench into the drilling companies' plans.  As one resident noted Wednesday, low gas prices illustrate that there isn't an urgent demand for new gas drilling.  So I can't think of any argument that makes sense against taking the time to make sure the town is protected from damage that could destroy its economy at a time when it is preparing for a burst in development.

One of the challenges the town faces is to delay gas drilling without impacting the Cargill mining operation.  Cargill has been a great piece of the Lansing community for many years, contributing to countless local causes.  While town officials believe a moratorium on heavy industry will be more defensible in court, the real target is hydrofracking. 

Whether it is late in the game or not, Lansing must protect itself against potential consequences of hydrofracking.  Minimally the town has to take stock of the condition of the roads and environment so they can gauge whether any damage has been done if drilling does come to the area.  Some mechanism for retribution must be put in place beforehand, in case damage is done.

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