Town’s Gas Drilling Moratorium Blocked

Some town of Chenango residents are protesting a move by the Broome County Executive's administration to block a local, one-year moratorium on hydraulic fracture drilling for natural gas.

A group of citizens and environmentalists gathered November 2nd at the New York State Office Building in Binghamton to demand Executive Debra Preston back off on a move that would force a vote on a moratorium to be a 'super-majority' instead of a simple 2/3 majority in town council.

Under the county directive called a 239 Review Denial, the town council would have to have at least a four to one vote in order to pass the moratorium.

Preston's re-election campaign has called the protest a calculated effort to boost challenger Tarik Abdelazim's campaign a few days before election day.