CITIZEN POWER ALLIANCE

Broome County and City of Binghamton officials announced Tuesday an agreement to bring the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's final public meeting on its multi-million-dollar hydraulic fracturing study to The Forum on Sept. 13 and 15.

The announcement brought weeks of uncertainty surrounding the meeting to a close. Originally slated for Aug. 12 at Binghamton University, a contract dispute led the EPA to move the event to the Oncenter Complex in Syracuse just three days before it was set to take place. The next day, the meeting was postponed after Onondaga County officials expressed concern about coming up with a security plan on short notice.

The reason the fracking forum will not be on consecutive days is because September 14 is primary day in New York and organizers wanted to avoid the potential conflict.

Broome County officials had been negotiating to bring the meeting back to the Binghamton area since the postponement. A representative from Plexus Logistics International, a firm hired by EPA contractor The Cadmus Group, was in town early last week to tour venues and meet with county and city officials, but an agreement hadn't been finalized until Tuesday.

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