Water is our most Precious Resource

Wednesday, February 23, 2011

My statement to the DRBC last night

I'm Meg Montgomery, a Liberty resident.

To anyone who cares at all for facts, there is a mountain of proof and testimony that illustrates beyond a shadow of a doubt how insanely dangerous hydrofracking is, to our water, our environment, and to our very way of life.

Hydrofracking is a Weapon of Mass Destruction. It's just one WMD in a much larger war on the democratic process and the people of this great country.

The economic purpose of hydrofracking is to funnel trillions of dollars into the hands of the plutocrats, who don't pay taxes. It's political purpose is to destroy the health and livelihoods of those within its range, rendering them powerless, or dead. This is the express purpose of the Halliburton Loophole.

In a time when we have the technology to quickly and safely transition to a Renewable economy, instead we're battered by the blind greed of the 2% who want to squeeze every last drop of fossil fuel out of the ground, every last penny out of OUR pockets, and to destroy our Constitutional Liberties.

If you, the members of the DRBC, pave the way for hydrofracking in the Delaware River Basin, which supplies drinking water to almost 20 million people in NY, NJ and PA, you will be willing accomplices to a terrorist attack the likes of which this country has never seen.

Sunday, February 20, 2011

DRBC Hearings This Week!

the Delaware River Basin Commission (DRBC) is holding public hearings on their proposed natural gas development regulations in Liberty, NY, Honesdale, PA and Trenton, NJ (details below). It is critical that we show up in force to give testimony and let the DRBC know how concerned we are about what they plan to do.

The DRBC is the federal/interstate government agency responsible for managing the water resources within the 13,539 square-mile Delaware River Basin, which supplies drinking water for 17,000,000 people. The Delaware is the longest free flowing river in the eastern United States and its waters have been designated for special protection by the federal government. Last year, Americans Rivers designated the Delaware as the most endangered river in the United States because of the threat of gas drilling.

The regulations that the DRBC is proposing will determine under what conditions permits can be issued for gas drilling in the Delaware River Basin. So far the DRBC has ignored urgent pleas from elected governmental officials and scientific experts not to release their regulations until the science from a planned cumulative impact study and the study being done by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) can be completed. This is just one of many shortcomings of the regulations under consideration. To learn more about this issue click here.

There are two locations in our area that will both be having meetings on February 22nd. Please plan to attend the one that is nearest to you.

Feb. 22 - Honesdale High School Auditorium, 459 Terrace Street, Honesdale, PA

Feb. 22 - Liberty High School Auditorium, 125 Buckley Street, Liberty, NY

Feb. 24 - Patriots Theater at the War Memorial, 1 Memorial Drive, Trenton, NJ

Note: The hearings will be held from 1:30 PM to 5:00 PM and 6:00 PM to 9:30 PM at each location. To testify you must register one hour prior to the beginning of each session (12:30 PM and 5:00 PM). Testimony is limited to two minutes and will be scheduled on first-come basis. The DRBC anticipates that they will be able to hear 75 people at each venue, so please come early.

Written comments will be accepted through the close of business March 16, 2011 by either electronic or paper submission. CLICK HERE to link to the DRBC website to conveniently comment or write to The Commission Secretary, DRBC, PO Box 7360, 25 State Police Drive, West Trenton, NJ 08628-0360. All comments need to include the name, address, and affiliation (if any) of the commenter. Paper submissions will also be accepted at the three public hearings.

The DRBC has continued to act unilaterally without appropriate concern for the will or interests the region's residents. It is critical that we come out in numbers, voice our opposition to their plan and show the DRBC how important this is to our community.

Wednesday, February 9, 2011

Frack Attack: A Love Song to the World

Well, it's February already and the city of Buffalo has voted to ban hydrofracking. SLAM! Great news! But, the gas industry is still building the gas pipelines through the state, and there's rumblings and grumblings about what's going to happen in NY in a few months when the Hydrofracking Moratorium ends. Can this new administration hold steady against the gas industry, that's throwing millions of dollars around trying to discredit Josh Fox, the writer/director of the wildly successful documentary Gasland? They're also going all out to try to dismantle the EPA, btw.

What's happened in NY state has been unprecedented, but the reality is that hydrofracking is spreading like a bad disease - Ohio and France are the latest casualties that I'm aware of. How can we protect our drinking water?

Being a musician, it occurred to me that perhaps one of the most powerful ways to spread the word about what's happening is through music, so I sat myself down and wrote a tune called Frack Attack. I hooked up with 3 of the strongest organizations who have educated the citizens and pressured the legislature, and I'm donating half of the profits to them (Catskill Mountainkeeper, Catskill Citizens for Safe Energy, and Un-Naturalgas.org. (Lest you think I am greedy or selfish for only giving half, be aware that most of the other half will go to administrative costs, taxes, and if anything is left, to the musicians who so selflessly gave their time and talents to this song!)

We had the final recording session last weekend and we're now in the process of mixing and mastering. I'm going to release Frack Attack on Monday - Valentines Day - and I sincerely hope that you'll help spread the word. The website is www.frack-attack.com. I'm opening it up to musicians to remix, so there will be many versions to choose from over time!