Chemung County Resident Speaks

Autumn tells her story. She is a landowner with an active well on her property. She lives in the town of Van Etten, NY, northeast of Elmira, population 1,518. The town has an area of 42 square miles. The median income for a household is $32,011, and about 12.5% of the population lives below the poverty line

In 1999, Autumn's parents signed a gas lease with Fortuna. A well was drilled in 2005. Autumn describes her town as a poor, rural area, and she believes, based on her personal experience, that the state, town, and county governments are grossly unprepared for what lies ahead. As for the people she knows, she says,

....almost every single person, if they felt that there was a choice between royalty payments and their water, they would choose their water.

Her message to the Department of Energy Conservation (DEC)is:

You are way in over your head.

Autumn believes that "We need to find alternative renewable sources of energy" if we are to survive on this planet. She laments the fact that neighbors who have lived side-by-side for years are no longer talking to each other. The need for money and fear for the future drive many friends to isolated lives. More community building is desperately needed to face the gas industry and the problems it brings everywhere it goes.

DEMAND ACCOUNTABILITY!