I was going to use my first diary entry here to introduce myself to the community and talk about why I believe I am the best candidate to represent New York's 29th district in Congress, but that will have to wait for next time. On Friday afternoon, the news made my case for me – and illustrated the clear choice that voters here will have in November.
If you live around here (Western New York & the Southern Tier) you're probably familiar with the issue of drilling for gas in the Marcellus Shale - a geologic formation that runs from southwestern New York through Pennsylvania, Ohio and West Virginia.
Energy companies and their political allies have been pushing to open up this area for natural gas drilling using a technique known as hydraulic fracturing – also called hydrofracking – an extraction method that injects water and chemicals into the rock layer to release natural gas.
Supporters claim that the process is perfectly safe, that the gas reserves are sufficient to justify the cost, and that the risk of any sort of accident or leak is virtually nonexistent - and in the event of an accident, they have safety technology in place to prevent a leak or spill. If any of this is starting to sound familiar, the next sentence won't come as a surprise either.
On Friday afternoon, a natural gas rig drilling in the Marcellus Shale in northern Pennsylvania blew-out.
The Pittsburgh Channel:
Natural gas and drilling fluids spewed for about 16 hours on Thursday night and Friday morning after the operators lost control while they were preparing to extract gas from fractured shale...
And if this wasn't sounding enough like the evening news, here's the AP:
David Rensink, the incoming president of the American Association of Petroleum Geologists, said gas well blowouts are very rare and can be very dangerous to control, since a spark can set off an explosion.
Typically, a blowout preventer — a series of valves that sit atop a well — allows workers to control the pressure inside, he said.
Just such a device figured into the massive oil spill off the coast of Louisiana. The oil rig's blowout preventer was supposed to shut off the flow of oil in the event of a catastrophic failure but failed to do so.
My opponent, Republican politician Tom Reed, has made it clear that he wants to open up New York's 29th District to exactly this kind of drilling.
I served in the Army in the Middle East, and I've seen firsthand the cost of America's dependence on foreign oil. I believe we must pursue every possible means to develop new energy sources here at home – but not at the expense of damaging our own environment. If we can verify safety and absolutely ensure that the environment is protected, then I would be open to looking at gas drilling. However, that is not the case today, and it is certainly not the case with current techniques like hydrofracking.
With the ongoing BP oil spill disaster in the Gulf of Mexico, it should be clear that industry-funded assurances of safety aren't good enough.
But here again, my opponent is solidly on the side of the oil and gas companies.
Less than a month ago, Mr. Reed was asked directly whether his support for drilling in the Marcellus Shale had changed as a result of the BP oil spill. It hadn't.
From the Olean Times Herald:
One visitor spoke up and wanted to know how government could stop environmental incidents like the recent BP oil spill from happening again.... Again citing the Marcellus Shale, Mr. Reed explained the need to punish those who violate safety and environmental codes. Still, he feels the positives of oil exploration outweigh any negatives.
If there is one major take-away lesson from the BP oil disaster, it's that after-the-fact punishments and broadly-written regulations might look great on paper, but they do very little to help clean up the damage after a spill. While northern Pennsylvania dodged a bullet when Friday's blow-out miraculously didn't turn into a giant fireball, there is no reason to think we have anything other than luck to thank for that.
And the same people who have assured us that such blowouts won't happen are the same ones who have also promised that the secret industry formula of hydrofracking chemicals won't cause any damage to underground aquifers – and absolutely would not harm the Finger Lakes.
Ultimately, elections are about choices. And as this incident has shown, voters here in the 29th District have a choice between a representative who will continue backing the oil and gas industry despite a near-disaster on our own doorstep, or we can vote to put safety and responsibility first.
If you agree, please take a minute to visit my website at www.ZellerForCongress.com to learn more. You can also click here to contribute via ActBlue.
I am looking forward to being a part of this community, hearing your thoughts and suggestions, and discussing Marcellus Shale, energy and other issues with you over the coming months – and after the election as well.
Matt Zeller
Democratic candidate for Congress
New York's 29th District