Q&A with Jerry Simmons: ‘Scare tactics’ nourish worries about natural gas development

‘Scare tactics’ nourish worries about natural gas development

Q: You recently penned an open letter to the people of New York in your organization’s monthly newsletter. Why did you choose to address concerns over natural gas exploration there?

A: Our Appalachian chapter has New York members. They have been incredibly frustrated for about a year and a half with the moratorium on drilling while there’s been a reassessment on the state’s environmental impact study on the effects of horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing. Our concern is we want the citizens of the state to understand the benefits. Natural gas is the state’s No. 1 source of electricity generation. Most of the gas comes from somewhere else. My point is if they have a known resource sitting underneath them, why don’t they develop it? Obviously, for royalty owners it’s a good thing. But it’s a good thing for a lot of folks.

Q: Where did this opposition to horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing begin?

A: The opposition first came out of the Rockies. They have for years been trying to get the oil and gas industry shut down in this country. I’ve known about some of them for 25 years now. They got to New York and Pennsylvania and started telling people some things that are not true.

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