Read Ithaca gears up for gas drilling by Krisy Gashler:

The Tompkins County Council of Governments — a group of leaders of every municipality in the county — has recommended that municipalities compile lists of resources like prime agricultural lands, unique natural areas, and waterways. The idea is for municipalities to send their lists to the DEC and ask to become “involved agencies” when the DEC is considering specific gas drilling permits.

“Becoming an involved agency would require the DEC to notify townships of potential drilling activity in advance, which is not the current situation, and would allow them to perform their own environmental assessments,” a council of governments documents states. “It is critical for towns to inventory natural resources and submit this information to the DEC once the new draft Environmental Impact Statement is released, meaning there is little time to collect this information.” (Read more)