NY LANDOWNERS DECRY REPEATED NATURAL GAS DEVELOPMENT DELAYS Landowners Believe Governor Cuomo has Betrayed Long-time Residents

October 1, 2012 Binghamton, NY The Joint Landowners Coalition of New York (JLCNY) issued the following statement regarding the latest in a four-and-one-half year series of delays regarding natural gas development in New York State: Our 77,000 NY landowners believe the delay announced on Friday, September 28, by the Department of Conservation (DEC) to restart the rulemaking portion of the SGEIS signals nothing more than serial delay tactics on the part of the Cuomo Administration, which it seems has turned its back on the farmers, taxpayers, long-time residents, retired folks and other community members who may not have Hollywood cache, but who nonetheless deserve honest, fair treatment by their elected government. In August, we learned that the Governor was asked to delay the release of the SGEIS until after the November elections. It was hard to believe our Governor would entertain those requests since the Governor and DEC assured us that the SGEIS would be completed by summer. The Governor was also on the record for wanting to keep the focus on science rather than politics. He told Fred Dicker I think its actually better that we do it when the Legislature is not here, because I dont want a political discussion. Then we began to see the implementation of his delay strategy. First, the Governor, through the DEC, announced that it asked the Department of Health Commissioner Nirav Shah to address questions about how shale gas development will affect public health. Drilling opponents have been calling for health assessments for years along with a laundry list of other studies in their delay to kill strategy. The Governor tried to convince us this would help defend lawsuits but we still wondered why this announcement came at such a late date in the four- year SGEIS review process. Most currently, Friday we learned that the Governor expects to begin a new rulemaking process rather than try to meet a November 29, 2012 deadline to complete a regulatory overhaul, a process that will restart the torturous public comment period and waste even more taxpayer dollars. This will represent a significant delay. Our message to hypocritical opposition activists is this: If you are part of the Hollywood elite calling for delays in New York, you should be pleased that you have the Governors ear. Unfortunately, the Governor has turned his back on the landowners in New York and simply doesnt care that we are struggling to pay the highest real property tax rates in the country, recovering from two devastating floods and watching as our communities decline, businesses flee and we bleed jobs such as the recent loss of 575 jobs expected from Sikorskys departure in Big Flats. We are baffled about how our state can ignore the biggest economic opportunity we will see in our lifetimes while we struggle to survive during the largest recession since the Great Depression. We hope Commissioner Shah is also considering the health effects of unemployment and poverty.

Governor Cuomo has promoted catchy ads like New York Works For Business and programs like Recharge NY. The reality is that nothing is new or recharged in New York. The DECs recent announcement simply demonstrates that New York continues to be closed for business as we drain the life out of upstate New York. Perhaps Fridays announcement of more delays should come as no surprise- it is simply politics and business as usual in the Empire State. About The Joint Landowners Coalition of New York The mission of The Joint Landowners Coalition of New York (JLCNY) is to foster, promote, advance and protect the common interest of the people as it pertains to natural gas development though education and best environmental practices. JLCNY gathers and provides factual, objective information about safe and responsible natural gas development to landowners and community members. Contact: Susan Oliver, JLCNY, 703-216-4078 or susanboliver@verizon.net, www.JLCNY.org