A Cornell University expert talked to members of the Tompkins County Council of Governments Thursday about the affects of nearby gas drilling. Elmira, for example, is noticing pressure on housing stock, along with some increase in sales tax revenue, according to Susan Christopherson, an economic geographer with Cornell's Department of City and Regional Planning. Further, there is job creation in Pennsylvania, but it's difficult to discern how many jobs because numbers may be inflated based on newest hires, rather than permanent positions. And of those, about 70 percent are going to in-state residents, according to Christopherson. Beyond that, she characterized job growth as "modest," and noted that many of those jobs would be terminated once drilling was finished. Of the other industries that will likely be affected by the drilling, tourism and the dairy industry are at the top in Pennsylvania, Christopherson said. There are still questions left unanswered, such as how long the drilling will last. The where, when and number of wells drilled will be affected by natural gas prices. For example, if prices and demand rise and more wells are drilled faster, the impacts will be greater, she said. It's also unknown how the recent federal approval of natural gas exportation will affect prices. It is also unclear who owns the Pennsylvania land where drilling is taking place and how money from royalty payments is being spent, she said. In most states with gas drilling and extraction, a severance tax helps offset costs. A similar tax could help in New York, although a 3 percent tax proposed by some appears inadequate for the state's need, she said. “Most of the governments are concerned about gas drilling and what its effects will be on our local way of life, our local quality of life and our economic development,” Herb Engman, Town of Ithaca Super¬ visor and chairman of the coun¬ cil said. “The Town of Ithaca thinks that our future lies with the educational industry, with Cornell University and Ithaca College, tourism, and agriculture and not with a short-term gas income.”

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