Urgent! Natural Gas Drilling Rules Hearing

URGENT! PUBLIC HEARING ON GAS DRILLING SOON!!!!
Please comment- we need to do something!!!!!

(VIDEOS that show drilling effects posted at the bottom of this email!)

The DEC or Department of Conservation has just released new rules that would allow drilling for gas just north of the city in the catskills- which also happens to be the watershed region for all of NYC's water-

The new rules include:
the disclosure of chemicals used in each well
buffer zones around the reservoirs and aqueducts in the watershed
special approval for wells within 1,000ft of tunnels carrying nyc drinking water
presence of state inspectors during some phases of operations

Full article:
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/01/nyregion/01drill.html?_r=1&scp=1&sq=nys%20drilling%20regulation&st=cse



"According to New York City Department of Environmental Protection, the entire West-of-Hudson portion of the New York City Watershed (supplying 90% of drinking water to over half the state’s population) sits on top of part of the Marcellus Shale, a large mineral reserve deposit 6,000 – 8,000 feet beneath the earth’s surface. Oil and gas companies have known about this shale reserve for decades, but the technology to extract natural gas from it has only recently become available. The Marcellus Shale spans across at least five states. To extract natural gas from the mineral reserve, oil companies plan to use a process called “hydraulic fracturing.”

Fracturing involves injecting toxic chemicals, sand, and up to a million gallons of water per well under high pressure directly into shale formations deep below the earth’s surface. This toxic brew, along with any natural gas, is then extracted, or leaked to the surface. Whether any toxic discharges will flow into New York City’s drinking water supply is uncertain.

Riverkeeper calls for gas drilling to be banned within the NYC Watershed and all other sensitive water supply areas. "

Full Link-
https://my.pratt.edu:8443/uPortal/tag.54751087df602b18.render.userLayoutRootNode.uP?uP_root=root&uP_sparam=activeTab&activeTab=3

It probably comes as no surprise that I more than completely agree with you- i feel like there are some good base measures included in the new DEC rules, but overall it is totally inadequate- and leaves the areas where drilling is set to take place very vulnerable.

Here is an article about a recent spill that the Pennsylvania environment officials are trying to clean up 8,000 gallons of dangerous drilling fluids after a series of spills at a natural gas production site near the town of Dimock last week.

"The spills, which occurred at a well site run by Cabot Oil and Gas, involve a compound manufactured by Halliburton that is described as a "potential carcinogen" and is used in the drilling process of hydraulic fracturing, according to state officials. The contaminants have seeped into a nearby creek, where a fish kill was reported by the state Department of Environmental Protection. The DEP also reported fish "swimming erratically."

The incident is the latest in a series of environmental problems connected to Cabot’s drilling in the Dimock area. Last winter, drinking water in several area homes was found to contain metals and methane gas that state officials determined leaked underground from Cabot wells. And in the spring, the company was fined for several other spills, including an 800-gallon diesel spill from a truck that overturned.

Neither Cabot Oil and Gas nor Halliburton immediately returned calls for comment on Monday. A Halliburton spokesperson sent an e-mail referring any questions to information on the company’s Web site."

http://www.propublica.org/feature/frack-fluid-spill-in-dimock-contaminates-stream-killing-fish-921

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More Articles

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1- Natural Gas

http://topics.nytimes.com/top/news/business/energy-environment/natural-gas/index.html?8a&scp=1-spot&sq=&st=nyt

The above is a sort background article about Natural Gas.

2- http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/07/business/07gas.html

This article shows the business side of natural gas vs coal with carbon capture and storage- I find it good to read articles from many different perspectives- to see what the motivation is beyond the environmental and social conerns that I tend to focus on and value most….this is very much an article about market first.

‘Natural Gas Hits a Roadblock in New Energy Bill- “Those influential lawmakers, from both parties, say that new technologies under development to capture and bury emissions of coal are a better bet than gas for long-term solutions to climate change”’.

‘“The Senate is more open to natural gas as a transition fuel than the House was,” said Senator Charles E. Schumer, Democrat of New York, “but the senators from the coal states who are crucial votes are going to want first consideration for coal.”’

3- State Issues Rules on Upstate Natural Gas Drilling Near City’s Water

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/01/nyregion/01drill.html

“The prospect of gas drilling in upstate New York has stirred strong opposition from a coalition of environmental groups, city politicians and residents, who fear that expansive operations of this sort could contaminate the city’s drinking water. But it has gained firm supporters upstate who say the economic benefits of a new gas boom far outweigh any potential risks, especially given the weakness of the economy.”

“Under the new rules, for example, drillers would be required to disclose the chemical fluids used for each well. Buffer zones would be created around reservoirs and aqueducts in the watershed. Wells drilled within a 1,000-foot corridor of underground tunnels that carry drinking water to New York City would require special approval, and in some cases, state inspectors would have to be present during some phases of operations.”

“We need to have a zero-risk policy here, and it is not appropriate to allow drilling in such a unique and extraordinarily valuable resource,” said Kate Sinding, a senior attorney at the Natural Resources Defense Council. “The record in other states is so abysmal, and it doesn’t take much to do better than other states.”

4- New Way to Tap Gas May Expand Global Supplies

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/10/business/energy-environment/10gas.html?_r=1&th=&adxnnl=1&emc=th&adxnnlx=1255267320-X7a3tV4/ZVYJ7pJqiZglzQ

This is about the potential to increase world’s reserves of natural gas anywhere from 50 to 160%- I think the issues we have been following upstate will become part of a larger global debate very soon…


Here are some youtube videos I found-

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fLn4zh6Eadw (THIS ONE IS CRAZY!!!! WATCH IT!!)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U01EK76Sy4A&feature=related (more tap water on fire)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NKTK_VnGcBs&feature=related (news coverage of tap on fire)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dUy7J7NF02M (I like this one a lot- it's a good overview)

http://lauraflanders.firedoglake.com/2009/07/20/hydraulic-fracturing-and-the-natural-gas-bonanza-obamas-moral-failing-on-honduras-and-the-spirit-of-humanity-in-gaza/

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QefLQKLb5co&feature=related
Arlen Specter on Natural Gas Drilling in PA Drinking Water - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EHj90ZqImGY