Warwick passes zoning laws banning fracking

WARWICK — The Town of Warwick board held its second regular meeting of the month two days early in order to vote on two local laws about hydraulic fracturing before the governor ruled on whether to allow the controversial method in New York.

The state, however, missed the deadline again reportedly because the health commissioner asked for an extension to complete his review of the impacts on public health.

Hydraulic fracturing, also known as fracking, is the drilling process used to extract natural gas from shale formations.

The board voted 4-0 with one abstention to pass both laws, one that prohibits fracking waste byproducts on town roads and the other prohibiting heavy industry altogether.

One abstention
Councilman Mickey Shuback abstained from the voting, saying in an interview that he felt too many laws were being passed and the town’s planning department already had zoning protections in place that would stop a fracking permit from ever being issued.

The councilman was also offended by the behavior of those opponents of fracking who jeered a supporter of it while the man was speaking at the public hearing on Feb. 11 at Town Hall.

A ‘conservative approach’
Supervisor Michael Sweeton, who had been saying that he believes fracking is incompatible with the town’s comprehensive plan, made a statement before the vote that clarified his position:

“I firmly believe that extracting natural gas is the best hope that this country has to break our dependence on foreign sources of energy and has the potential to revitalize manufacturing in America.”

Nonetheless, Sweeton said he has concerns about the permitting process proposed by the state Department of Environmental Conservation and wants to take a “conservative approach to ensure the town and its residents remain in control of how our town develops to allow this promising technology to evolve and to review what safeguards the state puts in place to safely permit high volume hydraulic fracturing.”

In other news
Warwick Valley High School Crew Club will hold their annual regatta on May 15 at the Thomas P. Morahan Waterfront Park from 2 until 8 p.m.

Boy Scout Bryan Currao will construct a lacrosse wall at Union Corners Park as part of his Eagle Scout project.

The next regular meeting of the town board is scheduled for Thursday, March 14 at 7:30 p.m. in Warwick Town Hall, 132 Kings Highway.

- Birgit Bogler