VOICES FROM THE SOUTHERN TIER
They were hosting presentations in church basements, meetings in coffee shops. They were educating their neighbors about the danger that fracking posed. Many of these groups were talking about banning the practice entirely.
I live on 36 acres in Horseheads, New York, which is in the Southern Tier of the Finger Lakes and 10 miles from the Pennsylvania border. I became involved with the fracking fight when a deceptive landman convinced us that the edge of our property would be a good place for a pipeline from a well down the road. We did not know anything about fracking, but soon learned a lot about it as we watched them digging under our stream and wetlands. I was already a water activist, and I became quite concerned about pollution and the huge amounts of water that would be used. White trucks started multiplying in the area, and the red containers started showing up in the center of our town. Trains brought in sand and silica dust to uncovered warehouses. We felt like there was an invasion. A number of concerned citizens got together and created People for a Healthy Environment. PHE organized speakers at town and county legis- latures, bringing in experts. We planned many events to spread the word about fracking and protested many projects in the region. We knew we couldn’t let these projects pass and endanger our communities even further. Bonnie Chollet Anti-fracking activist and member of People for a Healthy Environment
Finger Lakes, NY
The Utica and Marcellus shale plays contain vast amounts of oil and gas, which came into the crosshairs of frackers starting in the late 2000s.
PHE meeting in 2019. Bonnie sits in the front row, fourth from left; Leslie, featured on the next page, sits second from left.
Map of the Marcellus and Utica shale plays in New York via the Energy Information Administration (March 2010)
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People Power vs. Fracking 10
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