The estimated population of Pulteney is about 1,300.
At times Sunday it looked like every one of them was crowded into the Pulteney Fire Hall to discuss the proposed plan to deposit contaminated wastewater in a former natural gas well.
More than 300 people came to hear a panel discuss the plan. Chesapeake Energy approached Pulteney officials last fall about the plan to dump the wastewater, which is generated from the hydrofracking process, into a well about a mile west of Keuka Lake.
See also: Natural Gas Task Force.
Mission
The mission of the Steuben County Natural Gas Task Force is to address natural gas development related impacts on County government operations and make best use of opportunities and to assist local governments or other agencies with impacts or opportunities when feasible and appropriate.
Background
Intensive natural gas drilling is likely in parts, or in all, of Steuben County over the next several decades due to the presence of Marcellus shale gas, and perhaps other “unconventional” gas resources, made available by high-volume hydraulic fracturing. If New York follows patterns seen in other states experiencing intensive drilling, we will see changes in population, land use, community dynamics, local economies, and government services demands, including law enforcement, emergency response, and human services. Such changes will alter the character of our rural area in both positive and negative ways.
See: Plan to send fracking wastewater near Keuka Lake is abandoned | stargazette.com | Star-Gazette
See: Plan to truck hydrofracking wastewater to Finger Lakes shelved, for now
