Otsego County Democrats Urge Cuomo to Ban Fracking

Hydrofracking is one of the more controversial issues that Central New York is dealing with.  And there are citizens in Otsego County that are taking strong action toward banning it altogether.  The Otsego County Democratic Committee sent a letter to Governor Cuomo a few days ago urging him to ban hydrofracking in Otsego County.

"If fracking comes our communities are going to be transformed. So it's not one single issue among many issues, it's the single issue," says Adrian Kuzminski.  Adrian Kuzminski is the founder of Sustainable Otsego, a group that aims to promote sustainable practices in the county, and the group says fracking is not sustainable.  When fracking became an issue, it became the group's focus. 

Kuzminski says back in 2008 his group, among with other concerned citizens, held various public forums around the county to discuss hydrofracking and its potential effects.  After the forums, came surveys that targeted registered voters.

"The response has been 70-80% opposed to hydrofracking in Otsego County," says Edward Lentz, Chairman of the Democratic Committee, "Most of the people in Otsego County are well-informed, because there's been a lot of effort both on the part of the pro-frackers and the anti-frackers."

6 towns in Otsego County have already banned hydrofracking.  Bolstered by the survey, and victorious elections with candidates opposed to fracking, the Democratic Committee drafted a letter to Cuomo.

"We want him to be aware how we as residents of Otsego County of Central New York feel about high volume hydrofracking in our communities number one," says Lentz, "and number two and we want him to know that it will be more difficult to get support for democratic candidates if we let hydrofracking happen in our community under a Democratic administration."