Northern Pennsylvania hasn't run out of gas, but lots of rigs are moving west to seek much more valuable oil. Chemung County (NY) is feeling the shift, even as the rest of the state is doing better:
The county's sales-tax revenue fell 1.84 percent between 2012 and 2011, the worst drop off in the state and one of only four counties to have negative growth. The others were Essex, Schuyler and Schoharie -- all small, rural counties...
Chemung County had, for several years, led the state in sales-tax growth because of natural-gas drilling across the border. Declining demand for natural gas and the closure last month of the Sikorsky Aircraft Corp. plant in Big Flats has hurt the county, Santulli said.
"What a difference a year and a half makes," [Chemung County Executive] Santulli said. "We went from leading the state in sales-tax growth and room-tax growth, and we missed our sales-tax budget number by $3.3 million" this year.
Think there's a rush to drill here now? There really isn't, and we should use the breathing space to find more dependable and less damaging ways to make a living here.
Posted by simon at January 15, 2013 9:52 AM in
Whew. I always said the drilling was mostly a land-flipping scam. We may have escaped the permanent environmental damage which hit Pennsylvania.
I suggest we build a microchip fabrication plant. I have reasons to suggest this. :-)