Greg Ball is a born outdoorsman; he’s been hiking and scouting the hills and valleys of the Hudson Valley since he was a boy. Sustainability initiatives and farmland preservation makeup one of the cornerstones of Greg’s political platforms.

There is no greater advocate for clean water, ecosystem microclimate protection, and farmland preservation than Greg. Some like to call Greg a “Hook and Bullet” environmentalist because he is both a hunter and a fisherman but also an avid protector of the natural environment.

Senator Greg Ball has been a leading advocate to protect our environment and drinking water from the ravages of “hydrofracking.” Even against great opposition within his own party, Greg has demanded that the legislature and the Governor take immediate steps to protect New Yorkers from the potentially devastating effects of hydraulic fracturing.

After touring Pennsylvania to see firsthand the implications of “fracking”, Senator Ball called on Governor Cuomo to tour Pennsylvania as well, and asked the Governor to tour communities that have been ravaged by hydrofracking to see firsthand what could happen in New York without the proper regulation. Ball also called on Governor Cuomo and the legislature to further extend the public comment period on hydrofracking in New York to 180 days.

Senator Ball is leading a bi-partisan coalition of legislators concerned with hydrofracking and has drafted the “Property Owner’s Bill of Rights”, which would set tough, new standards for hydrofracking in New York.

The Property Owner’s Bill of Rights (S5879) includes the following measures:

• Mandatory water and soil testing by an official government third-party for presence of chemicals used during the fracturing process prior to drilling.
• All fracking companies must sign a Presumption of Causation Agreement with the State of New York.
• Mandatory full reimbursement to property owners by negligent gas companies for 150% of the real estate’s market value of property, based on estimates prior to drilling, and 100% of the cost for full remediation of soil and water. The company will also be accountable for full reimbursement of the land owner’s legal fees.
• Mandatory full remediation of soil and water, and free medical monitoring for life. All settlements are not to be taxed.
• Allow local governments to enact or enforce certain laws and ordinances relating to oil, gas and solution mining.
• Mandatory adherence to an environmental impact assessment process, similar to New York’s SEQR Process, to assess the impact to the environment from hydraulic fracturing.
• Mandatory disclaimers and warning statements on lease documents about the risk of contamination of soil and water, as well as the potential health effects, related to hydraulic fracturing spills.

The genesis of the bill came in the wake of an August 2011 tour Senator Ball took to Bradford County, Pennsylvania with Oscar-nominated filmmaker Josh Fox. There, Senator Ball witnessed first-hand the negative effects that hydrofracking can have on communities.

On the tour, Senator Ball met with several families who suffered 90% devaluation of their property value following the contamination of water wells due to hydrofracking. Among them was Craig Stevens of Silver Lake Township, Pennsylvania.

Greg Ball is a leading grassroots advocate fighting to protect our vital watershed, promote strict clean air initiatives and championing the preservation of natural areas and wildlife. As an elected leader, Greg Ball is evaluating policy solutions for energy efficiency, renewable energy, and smart growth with local and state leaders and working hard to implement them.

In the Senate, Greg continues to fight for us in Albany to ensure that our “special environmental nooks and crannies” will be protected for generations of New Yorkers.