Picente: Oneida County Hosts Hydrofracking Forum April 21st at MVCC in Utica

Oneida County Executive Anthony Picente Jr. today announced that he is scheduling an educational forum on hydrofracking to provide area residents with the opportunity to hear both sides of the issue.

The event will be held at Mohawk Valley Community College’s theater in the IT Building on Saturday April 21 from 10 a.m. until 1 p.m. Doors will open at 9:30 a.m. The theater holds up to 450 people, and in the event of overflow the event will also be aired in the Alumni College Center, adjacent to the IT Building.

The forum will feature experts from both proponents of the hydrofracking process as well as those who are against it. Jeff Monanski of WIBX’s First Look will be the moderator. Speakers will include:

• Thomas Schmitt, who has years of experience in the field of energy and natural resources
• Adam Schultz, an attorney who is involved in cases before the state Department of Environmental Conservation’s Division of Mineral Resources, the division responsible for the Environmental Impact study and permitting that will allow hydrofracking of horizontal wells in New York.
• Paul Hartman- Director of State Government Relations for Chesapeake Energy.
• Ed Wade Jr. of the Wetzel County Action Group
• Christine Bonfili of the Wetzel County Action Group
• Bill Hughes of the Wetzel County Action Group

Picente noted that the forum will ensure that all sides are heard and that civility rules. “We will be enforcing civility out of fairness to speakers and listeners so that even if people in the forum disagree, we remain civil and respectful.”