Location: Sullivan County Community College, Seelig Theatre
112 College Road, Lock Sheldrake New York 12759
Times: 1:00-4:00 PM
6:00-9:00 PM
Below are the rules...it is suggested these be ignored, and instead the meeting should be turned into an Occupy Movement style protest/sit in as we here in Sullivan County make it absolutely clear that we do not want Hydraulic Fracturing in our communities.
Public Hearing Procedures (Designed to LIMIT Public Involvement)
Because of the significant interest (opposition) in the draft SGEIS and draft regulations for high-volume hydraulic fracturing, the following procedures will apply at the public hearings to ensure that as many speakers as possible have an opportunity to verbally provide comments at the hearings: (They fail to mention that PUBLIC OFFICIALS are given first preference to speak at these dog and pony shows.)
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Each speaker will have three (3) minutes to comment. An audible reminder will be given when there are thirty (30) seconds remaining. All speakers should be respectful of the time limit so that as many comments as possible can be heard. (God FORBID the hearing should last past nine, or for multiple days, or that more than four hearings be held for the entire stater of New York...again, we are witnessing a Dog and Pony Show of the worst kind and it is imperative we show up in LARGE NUMBERS)
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A visible timer will be displayed at the front of the room to allow each speaker and the audience to see how much time is remaining. Please be ready to speak when your name is called. (Funny how they use the term "PUBLIC HEARING" to limit and curtail our First Amendment rights to redress.)
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Any person who has registered will be allowed to speak, if time is available, on a first-come, first-serve basis. However, it will not be possible for anyone to speak twice if other speakers have not yet had an opportunity to speak. This includes afternoon and evening hearings in the same location as well as subsequent hearing locations, unless all other commenters have had an opportunity to speak. (So if you are a stakeholder with kids, a stakeholder who has a job that sees you get off late afternoon, still having a long commute, and cannot get too this hearing before say 7:00 PM, your voice should not be heard on this important issue?)
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Time allotted to one person will not be transferable to another speaker. (This is all but criminal...if five citizens who are uncomfortable speaking wish to have their words spoken by a proxy, it should be allowed...Industry is allowed a spokesperson all the time, so are public officials, and additionally the time clock rarely if ever applies to them.)
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If the total time for all the speakers who have signed up is less than the available time, the time for each speaker will be increased.
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Elected officials and federal agency representatives will be allowed to speak at the beginning of the meeting since these speakers' comments represent the concerns of the constituents that elected them or the federal agency they speak on behalf of. (It is NOT unusual for these elected officials or their "proxies to use up an hour or more of these meetings.)
Speakers will be seated in the front row in the order that they arrive. The first 8-10 speakers will be seated in these rows and should come up to speak when called by name. When there are 2-3 speakers remaining, additional speakers will be called to fill the row.
If you live, work, play or drive through Sullivan County, if you are a citizen in surrounding counties who has not been granted a hearing on this issue that will affect ALL CITIZENS of New York, it is imperative that you grab a protest sign and show up for these two meetings. If we have any hope of stopping this railroad before it gains more steam, today is the day. We must let our voices be heard, and the best way for this to happen is through the exercise of our First Amendment Right to protest at and in the meeting.
