Lopez said his philosophy toward natural resources is based on the idea of stewardship – “someone who uses resources wisely and protects them so they will be available for future generations. Resources should be used to feed, clothe and provide opportunities for our people, but it also means we don’t foul the nest.”
Regarding fracking, the DEC has been reviewing regulations for about three years now and have gone through successive versions. In addition, the Assembly held its own public hearings.
“The question still remains, of the regulations being proposed, do they meet that broad definition of stewardship that I described,” he said. “That’s still an open question.”
With thousands of pages of comments to go through, the DEC will review all the material, and “then we’ll find out where the governor stands, and whether he allows it or not. If he does allow it, what scale and where? There’s still a lot on the governor’s doorstep.”
Asked specifically for his position, Lopez said he believes “if it can’t be done safely, don’t do it. If it can be done safely, that has to be demonstrated, and there have to be clear, visible safeguards.”
Susan Rosenberg asked whether Lopez would support a continued moratorium. He said he would, but pointed out that it would require the governor’s support.
Paul Fowler warned that “if they contaminate your groundwater with methane, you’ve got a better chance of building a nuclear fission reactor than you have of decontaminating that water. You’ll contaminate a whole water table and wipe everybody out. It’s a really bad idea.”
Not all the speakers felt fracking was necessarily an environmental disaster waiting to happen. Russell Treutler cited a television demonstration he saw showing an oil company executive drank a glass of water with chemicals used for fracking. “Some of the chemicals used for fracking are not poisonous,” he said. Another speaker said fracturing takes place thousands of feet below the surface, “way, way below the water table.”
Lopez said that at hearings he had attended, “the issue was not depth, the concern is what happens with the disturbance of shallow bedrock formations as you’re drilling in, and if well casings fail.” He also cited the need to cap wells safely when the fracking was completed, as dormant wells could cause problems later.
The Department of Health is reviewing a study on fracking, and has amassed more than four thousand pages of information, said Susan Murphy, but the process is entirely behind closed doors. She asked Lopez if he would sign a letter from Barbara Lifton, a member of the Assembly Conservation Committee, expressing concerns about the fracking review process to Gov. Cuomo. Lopez said he’d not yet read the letter, and whether or not he signed it would depend on the specific wording.
Patricia Reynolds described conditions in Denning, Pennsylvania, where her sister visited recently. “The wells are polluted. They can’t drink the water. They can’t wash their clothes; they can’t take a shower. Can you imagine that in your house – if you had to bring in all of your water? They can’t sell their house because the well is polluted, but they still have the mortgage to pay.”
Lopez noted that several New York communities have adopted ordinances banning fracking, and some have been tested in court and held up while others are awaiting court action.
Gambling
Mark Knaust asked whether the Legislature plans to challenge the governor’s proposal to encourage casinos in the state. “The governor said he wants market forces to decide where casinos should go,” said Knaust. “He allowed that local residents will have a say in the site selection, but they will not determine the selection. Market forces have nothing to do with the awarding of a monopolistic franchise that is essentially a license to steal money.”
In New York State, “we have a phenomenon of three or four people in a room deciding matters for the rest of us,” Knaust said. “This phenomenon essentially turns the rest of our legislators into potted plants. Do you and your legislative colleagues intend on being more than potted plants on the issue of casinos?”
“The good news is that every one of you will have a chance to vote on this issue [casinos], Lopez said. What’s being proposed is a constitutional amendment, which must be approved by the voters. The Legislature passed legislation that just said there shall be seven casinos in New York State – period, no other language. I opposed the first bill because it doesn’t say where, it doesn’t say how, it doesn’t say who has a say in it; I felt it was unnecessarily devoid of detail.”
Some communities are fighting to have casinos, Lopez said. For instance, Ellenville and Sullivan County are pressing to have two possible casinos in southeastern New York. While he doesn’t favor casinos as an engine of economic development, Lopez said he can understand Cuomo’s point. “He’s trying to stop the leakage [of business from our economy], and I think it’s rather an odd way to stop the leakage, but I understand where he’s coming from.”
Lopez said he would not support placing casinos in communities that don’t want them, and he would insist on specifics on revenue-sharing and taxes.
Owners of pistols are almost certainly going to have to “do things differently”. They’re not going to be able to load their entire magazine, first off, since they probably have a magazine that holds more than 7 rounds.
It does impose a fee on any owning a grandfathered “assault weapon”, as they’ll almost certainly be charging for the background checks and registration of those weapons.