Are politicians trading in hot air for natural gas?

Frontiersman editorial board

As the election cycle comes to an end today, a few things will be resolved. Borough voters will know if they have a new mayor or not, a few assembly seats will be decided and the questions surrounding the validity of a few bond issues will be settled. One thing that is likely not to end after the ballots are cast and counted is the debate over coal-bed methane development in the Valley, and the politicization of that issue.

For several months now, CBM development has had several lives. It's lived as a property rights issue, with land owners voicing concerns over how extraction of the subsurface resource will affect the value and appearance of their property. It has been a social issue, with several heated town meetings and the coalescing of several diverse groups to tackle the challenges. It has also been a political issue, as one Valley senator faced much opposition to his role as a consultant to Evergreen Resources, and a Valley representative took some heat for drafting a new regulation bill with the help of Evergreen.

As the campaign season reached its climax, new accusations surfaced, and they, too, seem politically motivated. Senator Scott Ogan, whose controversial relationship with Evergreen finally ended with his resignation from the company last week, has accused Borough Mayor Tim Anderson, who is running for re-election, of using the CBM issue to throw political curve balls at his constituents.

Ogan has said that Anderson once supported the arrival of Evergreen in the Valley, but now has come out against Evergreen in an effort to garner favor with his constituents. Ogan contends that Anderson changed his mind about the resource development company after he discovered there was popular opposition to Evergreen.

In fact, Anderson's change of heart seems more driven by his opposition to certain provisions in HB 69, the house bill signed by Rep. Vic Kohring, and partially penned by Evergreen. That bill greatly streamlined the regulations pertaining to methane extraction, and it also allows the Department of Natural Resources commissioner to override local control if it is determined the state's need outweighs local regulations. It's actually the local control issue that has raised Anderson's blood pressure -- as it should. Anderson had never really come out strongly on either side of the issue, and he's always said he supports responsible development. When HB 69 elbowed the borough and local municipalities out of the regulation equation, every local leader should have stood up and shouted about it. That's why we elected them -- to protect our local rights and defend them against encroachment from others who are more concerned with quantity of resources than with quality of life.

Many of our Valley politicians have long run on their conservative laurels. With that in mind, it is curious that they are so quick to allow an outside corporation write our regulations and to allow state government to supersede local government. Anderson shouldn't be the only one upset by that.