CITIZEN POWER ALLIANCE

After taking a crash course in Fort Worth, Texas, Broome County officials are working to develop a set of ground rules that will pre-empt problems associated with the natural gas rush locally.

The rules will address noise, road damage and legal rights associated with seismic testing, while nurturing the economic prospects of the Marcellus Shale, a multibillion-dollar natural gas reserve under the Southern Tier.

Broome County Attorney Joe Sluzar, who is coordinating the effort, has been taught by those in the know. He recently visited Fort Worth, where residents have lived through five years of the natural gas phenomenon.

Now, Sluzar is passing those lessons on to other local government officials searching for ways to manage legions of prospectors and drilling companies advancing up the Appalachian Basin to tap the huge Marcellus.

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