I'm a Broome County resident thanking you for your editorial on fracking ("The gas industry's hot air," June 4).
The gas industry promises financial growth for Broome County. Unfortunately, the immediate financial gains (lodging, restaurants, asphalt suppliers, truckers, etc.) will be short-lived. Drilling jobs will not be numerous for locals.
In the long term, it will be the gas companies, land leasers, lawyers, water suppliers/purification companies and oncologists who benefit from hydrofracking.
The state Department of Environmental Conservation and Environmental Protection Agency have become political organizations rather than policing agencies. This does not give one faith in their ability to effectively enforce the state's proposed "strict gas drilling regulations."
To think they can enforce standards at each drilled well when they are so understaffed boggles the mind, yet serious consequences will ensue from mismanaged drilling.
Broome County is no stranger to industrial pollution, being the home of the IBM chemical plume. With IBM's legacy, I can't understand the overwhelming welcome for the gas industry by Broome County's political powers except for one word: greed.
Let the technology catch up to the greed. The current risks are too great for too many to benefit a few.
Carol Butkiewicz
Binghamton