CITIZEN POWER ALLIANCE

BINGHAMTON — The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's two-day hearing on its study of the hydraulic fracturing process is finally coming to the area this week, but it will be just as much a test in time management as it is an opportunity for the public to speak its mind.

Four-hundred people will have the opportunity to speak to a panel of EPA researchers during the Monday and Wednesday sessions at The Forum in Binghamton. A couple of thousand more are predicted to attend, with landowners, environmentalists and industry representatives expected to have a large presence both inside and out of the venue.

The speakers will have to be quick; each one is limited to just two minutes.

"Honestly, the two minutes is a bit of a shock, especially when they have a digital clock up front and it's counting down as you're speaking," said Earthworks Marcellus Regional Organizer Nadia Steinzor, who spoke at the EPA's previous meeting on the study in Canonsburg, Pa. "It's a bit unnerving."

(Click to read the entire article)