By a vote of 5-to-2 on Monday night, the Cooperstown village board rejected a proposal to sell water to Barber & Deline, a subcontractor of Covalent Energy of Arlington, Va.
The water, from Otsego Lake, Cooperstown's reservoir, would have been used to help drill for natural gas in Maryland, Springfield and Cherry Valley.
Large quantities of water, often mixed with chemicals, are pumped under high pressure deep into the ground to fracture the shale that holds natural gas.
According to village Mayor Carol Waller, who favored the sale, Covalent was seeking 300,000 gallons for its projects. The firm has drilled for gas in Springfield and Cherry Valley.
The proposal was approved last week by the village Water Board, but before a price was set at Monday's village board meeting, trustees entertained a motion to deny the sale.
Five trustees _ Milo Stewart Jr., Jeff Katz, Grace Kull, Lynne Mebust and Neil Weiller _ voted not to sell the water.
Village Trustee Eric Hage and Waller opposed the motion.
``There is opposition to the sale,'' Waller said. ``People are worried about trucks on our roads and other issues, but the company is going to get its water somewhere else now, and this won't stop the drilling.''
If gas drillers need to transport water through Cooperstown, the village is powerless to stop them, she added.
Covalent President Jonathan Kelafant said his firm has an agreement with the town of Cortland to buy water for its projects, including a well in Maryland to be drilled at 316 Shutter Road.
``We'll have the water,'' he said, adding that he would have preferred to obtain it closer to where it will be used.
``If the environmentalists are worried about the carbon footprint of the operation, it seems silly to have us truck water in from so far away,'' he said.
Katz, Cooperstown's deputy mayor, said he voted against the sale after listening to concerns voiced by residents.
``I think that how the water is going to be used is a valid criterion for deciding whether to approve a sale,'' he said. Katz also noted that former Mayor Wendell Tripp cautioned village officials against becoming a commercial water vendor without thoroughly examining where that might lead.
Katz said Monday's vote does not mean that Covalent and other firms are barred from seeking village water in the future.
Among those speaking against the sale Monday was Adrian Kuzminski of Fly Creek, a member of Sustainable Otsego.
``I'm glad the village board had the foresight to stop this sale,'' he said.
``The federal and state governments aren't going to save us from the environmental degradation that drilling can entail,'' Kuzminski continued. ``It's up to local governments to step up now and insist on local control of our resources.''
According to Robert Parmerter, a member of Maryland's town planning board, a gas industry representative spoke to the Maryland town board last week about the pending project in that town.
``He seemed to do a good job of answering everyone's questions,'' Parmerter said.
Kelafant said his firm is awaiting permits from the state Department of Environmental Conservation and soon will be ready to drill in Maryland.
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