Carlisle residents will tinker with a proposed ban on hydrofracking in the hopes the town board will approve the law.
Carlisle Supervisor Larry Bradt last Wednesday asked Kurt Pelton and Mick Bello to work on the law and report back to the board.
Mr. Bradt's action followed another round of debate between pro- and anti-ban factions, with each side holding its own.
Carlisle board members have discussed a fracking ban for months. They commissioned anti-fracking expert David Slottje to write a ban for the town, but board members defeated the ban in January.
The issue's resurfaced since then, especially when the pro-ban Carlisle Concerned Citizens polled town residents about a ban. A heavy majority responding said they favored a ban.
The debate resumed Wednesday night, with Councilman Bob Smith, who's been against the ban all along, pointing to the recently-released Environmental Protection Agency report about fracking.
The report doesn't describe hydrofracking to be as bad as critics claim, Mr. Smith said.
He also argued that there's little underground gas in Carlisle and that a ban violates private property rights.
Others countered that the fragile underground karst makes water contamination more likely if fracking occurs.
"This is not a good industry for us," Mr. Bello said. "It would mean the end of agriculture."
Councilman Dave Laraway said he agreed with arguments from both sides but would feel safer if Carlisle enacted a ban.
"We're stewards of the land," he said. "Don't take a chance. If this board doesn't pass a ban, am I responsible [for what may happen to future generations]?"
At Carlisle's June meeting, Mr. Laraway said he wanted two amendments added to the ban: that it won't affect farming and that it won't prohibit landowners from fracking for water.
Mr. Pelton and Mr. Bello, both members of Carlisle Concerned Citizens, will make sure the ban addresses Mr. Laraway's concerns.
They'll also work on a request from Councilman Mary Tillapaugh, who asked that an appendix be removed from the law.
After the meeting, Mr. Pelton said he and Mr. Bello will work with Mr. Slottje on the law and return the results to the board.