The Canandaigua Town Board unanimously passed a moratorium on natural gas and petroleum activities — including high volume hydraulic fracturing — Monday night during a public hearing at the Town Hall.
The moratorium would ban hydrofracking — the controversial natural gas drilling method — for 18 months. The moratorium would give the town additional time to update the Town Code to protect the health, safety and welfare of its residents, said Kevin Reynolds, the Chairman of the town’s Environmental Conservation Board.
It would also give the board more time to sort through both the pros and cons of the issue.
“There is much (about hydrofracking) that’s unknown — not good or bad, it’s just unknown” said board member Terry Fennelly. “We’re trying to methodically move through this and understand what legal authority we have.”
Fennelly added that to review the facts and to look at both sides of the issues, could take several months.
Most of the residents present at the meeting were anti-fracking and raised concerns about what will happen after the 18-month time period of the moratorium.
“We can issue an extension (to the moratorium),” said Town Supervisor Sam Casella. “That’s why we extended it by more than a year in the first place.”
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