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How does all of this affect counties further west, specifically along the Twin Tiers? We've just had our offer accepted for a property just north of there...in Penn Yan. But my husband works in Elmira and we had been considering numerous properties throughout the Twin Tiers region...Corning, Horseheads, Elmira, Watkins Glen, Addison, etc etc.
I've seen thickness maps that would tend to indicate that the big target area of Bradford and Susquehanna counties in PA continues on into Tioga and Broome counties in NY, but appreciable thickness remains under Chemung, Steuben, Allegany, and probably Schuyler, Tompkins, and southern Cortland, not sure about Chenango, Otsego, Schoharie.
Some of the areas around Seneca and Cayuga lakes and also along the northern fringes of the Marcellus Shale might not be initial targets due to the lack of overburden making less rock between the fracking and the complaining. So it may be a long while before Cayuga, southern Onondaga, Madison, southernmost Herkimer, Ontario, Livingston, Genesee, etc. would be drilling targets.
It is also possible that if drilling remains shut down in the NY City watershed that the same logic would apply in other unfiltered watersheds, such as Syracuse's (Skaneateles Lake) - the watershed extends into southeastern Cayuga and northwestern Cortland counties.
There are shale layers other than (and deeper than) the Marcellus, which due to current technical limitations are not yet targeted for exploitation, but very likely will be in the future. Just because an area is outside the Marcellus doesn't mean it doesn't have exploitable gas under it that may be targeted at some time.
My feeling is that money/power will always trump caution/wisdom. I fear that no matter what the pols tell you, eventually upstate will resemble the raped country side that many areas in PA have become. We will fight it, but as honeychrome has pointed out, the lure of fast cash to poor farmers is too strong, and the influence of the gas industry too pervasive to hold out for long.
Now we're worried...lol. Our new home is in the town of Penn Yan. Yates County, just north of Keuka Lake. Should I ne concerned that far north? It's just north of Schuyler County...
*City-Data may strip out the url- just do a google image search.
But also note, this is just the Marcellus. There is also the Utica shale and other, deeper gas-containing formations which will be targeted in the future.
Attached is a photo on where the original Neversink was located. The entire was lost to eminent domain, and the residents were forced to move elsewhere with great loss to their properties. That village is now where the current Neversink Reservoir is located.
This has stopped me from buying a home in the Finger Lakes region. You just don't know what's going to happen. I find it more than a little ironic that the state has so many environmental regulations which really handcuff businesses and farmers, but if there's something the state wants to do or promote like the gas drilling, then it's somehow pushed through no matter how strong the objections, or great the evidence of danger/contamination is. This is also an area which depends on tourism for their economic livelihood, as it has many beautiful small towns and villages, wineries,etc, and all that would be ruined if they drilled there. they just finished going through a huge rigamarole with state legislators to get the giant trash trucks coming from downstate and New Jersey to be re-routed from historic, rural Route 90. Perhaps if there is enough outcry over the noise, pollution,etc. in PA, it can be stopped. After all, there's a lot of oil offshore of California and other places, but because of the "enviromental concerns" they don't drill.
It's interesting to see the concerned replies of the downstaters, out-of staters, etc... Here's a thought..esp for you environmentally concious types from the "city" and long island. Let's return upstate to a more nature centered state of being. We can start by shutting off the upstate water, and reclaiming the resevoirs in the Catskills that send you all the water you can use. But, why stop there. Tear down all the hi-po elec transmission lines that ruined our properties to feed downstate. And of course, shut off, dig up and reclaim the land used for the millenium pipeline...and shut off the gas flow to...surprise...downstate. We won't even get into the waste haulers that bring your nastiest stuff upstate. Hey...I could keep going w/this..tear down all the cabin/mcmansions that you folks have built in the Catskills and the Adirondacks. You do want to view a wilderness uncluttered by these monstrosities?...right?......................and on and on....
If someone has a good thickness map for NYS, please post...
Thank you so much for this link! I have been looking for something to show me what areas are affected. I'm just horrified to see it's the bottom half of the state. I've done a lot of reading about what has happened in PA and WV. PA was very high on my wish list of places to relocate to. I'm from Upstate NY and now in SC and I seriously NEED to go back North! NY's taxes were a killer, but the state is beautiful and has much better weather. Yes, I dislike snow, but winter doesn't last nearly as long as summer here. Our a/c has been on since mid-April and it will be on until Thanksgiving. Last Halloween it was 80 degrees. I've never seen kids sweat on Halloween before!
This shale mess has really made me stop and think about where to move back north. We want acreage so we can grow food, animals, flowers, and have a business. Sadly, it's looking like our dream of the Finger Lakes is not to be had because of this environment disaster waiting to happen. WV has already blown off the top of a mountain for this! That will NOT grow back!
Quote:
Originally Posted by lumpofclay
Attached is a photo on where the original Neversink was located. The entire was lost to eminent domain, and the residents were forced to move elsewhere with great loss to their properties. That village is now where the current Neversink Reservoir is located.
There are dozens of towns like this in the Catskills from the watersheds being built for NYC. It's sad reading about what is below the water. There's a lot still there. The Great Sacandaga Lake is like this also.
Does anyone know if this mess goes into Ohio also?
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NYC Watershed
