Coming to a kitchen sink near you: hazardous flammable tap water as frack drilling comes to New York State and oil and gas companies continue their "gold rush" for natural gas. The unconventional gas extraction method used is called hydraulic fracturing, horizontal drilling or "fracking." During the process over 500 chemicals, along with thousands of gallons of water, are injected deep into the earth to fracture rock and release natural gas deposits. Local ground water systems are often contaminated. Oil and gas companies are currently exempt from disclosing the chemicals they use (many of which have been found to be known neurotoxins and carcinogens) because of a 2005 Energy Bill loophole masterminded by Dick Cheney and passed by congress under George W. Bush. Fracking is totally unregulated by the EPA. Oil and gas companies are targeting New York's southern tier counties including Thompkins, Sullivan, Delaware and Ulster counties. Hinchey: Feds Should Immediately Take Action to Protect Drinking Water from Radioactive Hydrofracking Waste, Congress Must Untie EPA's Hands, Eliminate Natural Gas Industry Exemption from Safe Drinking Water Act "Congress must take action to untie the hands of the Environmental Protection Agency, allowing it to assert proper oversight of the full life-cycle of the hydraulic fracturing process by repealing the egregious exemptions that this industry enjoys from our nation’s most important environmental safeguards. I will be introducing legislation in the near future to do just that. Hinchey Comments to DRBC: Liberty, NY - Congressman Maurice Hinchey (D-NY) submitted formal comments to the Delaware River basin Commission (DRBC) to reiterate his call for a suspension to the current rulemaking process with regard to hydraulic fracturing in the Delaware River Basin. Hinchey says the DRBCs current rules fail to consider the implications of a recent report that revealed 32 million gallons of diesel fuel was used in wells in 19 states despite industry claims to the contrary. In his comments submitted in writing, Hinchey urged the DRBC to go back to the drawing table, draft new rules and then initiate a new public comment period. Read Congressman Hinchey's comments to the DRBC below: February 22, 2011 Dear Commission Members: I appreciate the opportunity to submit these brief comments in response to the Commission's Draft Natural Gas Regulations for the Delaware River Basin. The potential development of many thousands of new natural gas drilling sites will have a profound impact throughout the Delaware River Basin, and it is critical that the Commission carefully consider all public comment and response to the draft regulations. Unfortunately, I do not believe that the draft regulations adequately address the risks posed by natural gas drilling, and I would urge the Commission to suspend the current rulemaking process due to a lack of scientific data as well as recent revelations concerning previously unreported hydraulic fracturing practices. I have serious concerns about the impact that natural gas development projects will have on the water resources of the Basin. Over 15 million people, including New York City and Philadelphia residents, depend on the water resources of the Delaware River Basin. The Basin is home to several designated units of the National Park System and includes the special protection waters of the Upper Delaware. As such, the Commission needs to take every precaution necessary to make sure that the vitally important water and other natural resources are not harmed in any way. That's why I continue to believe that a cumulative impact study on water resources is required to provide the proper scientific data and framework needed to develop comprehensive and effective regulations. Unfortunately, no such study was conducted prior to the issuance of these draft regulations. In addition, the House Energy and Commerce Committee recently released the result of its investigation into the composition of hydraulic fracturing fluids, finding that oil and gas service companies injected more than 32 million gallons of diesel fuel in wells in 19 states, despite an industry pledge not to do so. The Commission's draft regulations do not address the possible use of diesel fluid, which needs to be incorporated into any final regulations promulgated to cover hydraulic fracturing in the Basin. While the scheduling of three public hearings is a positive step in ensuring that communities throughout the Basin have a full opportunity to comment publicly on this important topic, this limited number of public meetings needs to be expanded and the comment period extended by an additional 90 days based on the importance and complexity of this issue. I would therefore reiterate my earlier request to the Commission to urging it to consider additional public hearings in New York State and other areas that will be impacted by the final regulations for natural gas drilling so that those in Sullivan County who cannot be here today have an opportunity to comment publicly. I appreciate your consideration of these and other public comments and hope that you will expand the opportunities for additional public meetings such as this. Sincerely,
Headlines A Dot on the Map, Until the Earth Started Shaking 11 Month MORATORIUM on Frack Drilling PASSED: August 4, 2010 Article: Raise drilling fees, Talisman urges NY In its eagerness to tap New York state’s massive Marcellus shale gas deposit, Calgary-based Talisman (TLM-T17.54-0.48-2.66%) is urging the state government to slap higher fees on industry to finance a more effective regulatory system. Talisman – one of the largest leaseholders in the state – faces a prolonged moratorium on drilling. New York’s Senate passed legislation last week that would prohibit drilling until next May to provide time to assess the environmental impacts of the gas boom in neighbouring Pennsylvania. The state’s lower house is expected to take up the bill in September. In a bid to ease residents’ fears, a senior Talisman official suggested Tuesday that the state should follow the lead of Pennsylvania, which increased drilling permit fees to $4,000 (U.S.) per well from $100 and plowed the most of the revenue back into the regulatory system. Mark Scheuerman, the company’s director of government affairs in the U.S., said the state of New York is missing out on a financial bonanza by blocking the development of the Marcellus deposit. He said the company has 13 wells on state-owned land in Pennsylvania which will pay $12-million to government coffers, and expects to double the number of wells on state land. “We’re not saying we need to trade the economic equation for any unreasonable risk as far as impact at the surface or to other environmental locations,” Mr. Scheuerman told reporters on a conference call. He said state officials should identify “off-budget” ways to increase funding so that the Department of Environmental Protection “has the wherewithal not only to turn around permits in a commercially acceptable time frame as we need as a business, but even more importantly to exercise their prime directive to being solid environmental stewards.” Across the United States, the natural gas industry is locked in a high-stakes battle with critics who say local water resources are threatened by the intensive drilling and hydraulic fracturing techniques needed to tap massive shale gas deposits. Shale gas has been described as a game changer in the North American energy market, with huge production depressing natural gas prices and prompting electric utilities to increase their reliance on the relatively cleaner burning fuel. Talisman is one of the biggest players in the Marcellus shale play, which extends from West Virginia to New York. A recent study by Pennsylvania State University geologists said Marcellus has the potential to be the world’s second largest producing gas field. The company is spending $1-billion this year to develop its Marcellus acreage but exclusively in Pennsylvania after it was forced to shut down drilling in New York due to the state’s de facto moratorium. It is now producing 190 million cubic feet per day of gas in Pennsylvania and expects to increase that to as much as 300 million cubic feet per day by the end of the year. Faced with aggressive opposition to development in New York from several quarters, Mr. Scheuerman participated in telephone news conference with industry officials on Tuesday in advance of an expected hearing by the federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), which had been scheduled for Thursday in Syracuse. The EPA has launched a major study on the effects on water sources from shale gas development, and has held a series of raucous public hearings where some landowners have complained loudly about contamination resulting from gas development. On Tuesday, the agency postponed the hearing in Syracuse after a conference centre said it was facing security concerns from the anticipated large crowds. Industry officials insisted Tuesday that companies have for decades been safely using hydraulic fracturing techniques, which shoot chemical-laced water under tremendous pressure to crack the rock and allow the gas to escape. Brad Gill, executive director of the Independent Oil and Gas Association of New York, repeated the industry assertion – backed by a 2004 EPA study – that there has not been a documented case in which hydraulic fracturing resulted in contaminated ground water. “Ample evidence already demonstrates the safety of hydraulic fracturing,” he said. However, the industry officials conceded that have been problems arising from poorly cemented wells, from methane migrating into water tables, and from surface spills of waste water. Rachel Triechler, chairwoman of the Sierra Club’s shale gas task force in New York state, said there is plenty of circumstantial evidence that hydraulic fracturing has contaminated ground water, but tests are not usually done before the drilling occurs, making it hard to state conclusively the source of the pollution. And there have been well-documented cases of surface pollution, she added. ### Learn more about Fracking:
Image: © Copyright 2010 Pro Publica Inc., Fracking Exemption from Clean Water Storm Water Eliminated! Hinchey Congratulates Arcuri on Passing Amendment in Committee to Eliminate Fracking Exemption from Clean Water Act Storm Water Runoff Rules, July 2, 2010 Washington, DC - Congressman Maurice Hinchey (D-NY) today released the following statement regarding Congressman Michael Arcuri's (D-NY) successful effort to pass an amendment that would eliminate the special exemption that natural gas drillers have from the Clean Water Act's storm water runoff rules. The amendment was offered during markup by the U.S. House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee of H.R. 5629 - "Oil Spill Accountability and Environmental Protection Act of 2010." The special exemption for natural gas drillers was carved out in the 2005 Energy Policy Act, which Hinchey strongly opposed and voted against. "I congratulate Congressman Arcuri for his successful committee amendment to eliminate the exemption that natural gas drillers have from the Clean Water Act storm water runoff rules. The inclusion of his amendment in the Oil Spill Accountability and Environmental Protection Act of 2010 represents the first successful effort to eliminate the special exemptions that were created for the industry in the 2005 Energy Policy Act, which I strongly opposed. "This is a very positive sign for those who are concerned with the harmful risks to water resources posed by the hydraulic fracturing drilling process that is currently unregulated by the federal government. I look forward to working with Congressman Arcuri to ensure that this important amendment is made law, and I will continue working to pass additional legislation to close other loopholes and special carve outs that exempt big energy companies from the safe and clean drinking water rules that New Yorkers rely on for the security of their health and the protection of their homes and property." Congress must get rid of the Unconventional Gas Drilling or Fracking StatementUCDW is following the issue of unconventional gas drilling closely. We believe every NYS resident’s water should be protected. At our monthly meeting on November 9, 2009, UCDW membership voted to support the Executive Committee of the Atlantic Chapter (New York State) of the Sierra Club resolution calling on the NYS legislature to enact a BAN on Unconventional Gas Drilling in NYS. The Atlantic Chapter of Sierra Club resolution: “WHEREAS extensive environmental and health damages would be caused by horizontal drilling and high pressure hydrofracturing gas extraction techniques due to the contamination of water, soil and air by the toxic chemicals used in drilling and fracturing, and the naturally occurring toxic chemicals brought to the surface from deep in the ground, “WHEREAS these environmental and human and animal health damages will have damaging economic consequences on residential property values, and on the state’s tourism, agriculture, forestry, winery, real estate development and educational businesses, “WHEREAS the infrastructure costs of building and repairing roads, water treatment facilities, and other public services would far exceed any economic benefit to local communities, and “WHEREAS it is yet to be proven that the green house effects of the production and use of natural gas produced by horizontal drilling and hydrofracturing are any less than those of the production and use of coal when the life cycle emissions of natural gas production and the higher impact of methane as a green house gas are taken into account. “Be It Resolved that the Atlantic Chapter of the Sierra Club calls on the New York State Legislature to enact a ban on permitting gas wells that use horizontal drilling and hydro-fracturing to release gas from tight sand and shale formations such as the Marcellus.” Hinchey outlines 11 steps he says are needed before Marcellus Shale Drilling is permitted Hinchey proposed 11 steps he believes should be undertaken before drilling is permitted in New York: * A cumulative impact analysis of natural gas drilling in the Marcellus formation to understand the full impact of drilling; READ FULL STORY AT MIDHUDSON NEWS Dec 2009 Ulster County Democratic Women (UCDW) joins New York State environmental organizations, and others, calling for Governor Paterson to withdraw the dSGEIS and order DEC back to the drawing board on their review of potential gas drilling in New York's Marcellus Shale. Due to the influence of powerful oil and gas companies, as well as our current economic woes, this process has been fast-tracked. Undue haste risks damage to our very air, water, health and communities that we can't afford. And our state will face necessary and costly future clean ups. All the above must be done honestly and transparently, using current science and techniques. This review must be deliberate, not hasty. On behalf of UCDW membership, JoAnn Chamberlain
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UCDW's Frack Fact Sheet - Got Water? RESOURCES DEC NYS map of active Marcellus wells ACTION Send Frack Action Letter to NYS Legislators Write to Newspapers and your representatives in government Join No Fracking Way on Facebook VIDEOS:
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