Hydrofracking NEWS

Waste Without Borders: Fracking's Dirty Dilemma
Back in May, State Senator Cecilia Tkaczyk declared that the state was “under assault” from imported shale gas drilling waste. At that time she announced legislation that would ban out-of-state fracking-related hazardous waste products (including wastewater) from being imported into, treated or disposed of in New York. Federal and state governments exempt these wastes – which pose risks to human health and ecosystems – from the tracking regulations which govern the handling, storage, treatment and disposal of  other hazardous substances.

“The fact is we don’t know what’s in the waste coming into our state, we’re not sufficiently regulating the treatment of those wastes, and we cannot be certain that the treatment plants are adequately protecting our lakes, rivers and streams,” says Senator Tkaczyk. The fact that landfills and sewage treatment facilities in New York are accepting this waste before the Cuomo Administration completes its review and decides whether or not to open the state to high volume horizontal fracking influenced Tkacyzk’s decision to introduce the legislation, which ultimately did not reach the floor for a vote. “It makes no sense that we would accept hazardous wastes from other states while we are working to determine the environmental impact fracking would have on New York,” says Senator Tkacyzk. It is worth noting that New York is the only state that is importing fracking waste from other states while under a moratorium banning high volume horizontal drilling inside of the state.
Read more at Huffington Post GREEN

Marcellus Watch: Drillers go for broke in appeal of bans
In New York State, a municipality's established legal right to ban gas drilling within its borders stands as the final line of defense against an aggressive energy industry bent on setting its own rules.

Now that right is up for grabs.

The state's highest court, the Court of Appeals, agreed last week to hear industry challenges to drilling bans enacted in 2011 by the towns of Dryden and Middlefield. Those bans were passed under the towns' home rule authority to exercise land use law. Roughly 60 municipalities have passed similar bans and many more have passed drilling moratoriums.
Read more of the article by Peter Mantius at The Leader.

DEC official on fracking decision: 'There isn't a timeframe at this point'
ALBANY — A high-ranking official in the state Department of Environmental Conservation declined to estimate when a decision on hydraulic fracturing may come down, telling lawmakers Friday that there “isn’t a timeframe at this point.”

Anne Reynolds, the DEC’s deputy commissioner for administration, told the Assembly Environmental Conservation Committee that the agency continues to review comments it received on a 2011 draft review of fracking, a 1,500-page document known as the Supplemental Generic Environmental Impact Statement, or SGEIS.
Reynolds testified on behalf of the DEC at a hearing held by the legislative committee Friday. The state agency first started its review of fracking more than five years ago. Read more at the Democrat and Chronicle.

Chesapeake Energy Agrees To Pay $7.5 Million To Settle Royalty Lawsuit
The biggest natural gas driller in Pennsylvania has agreed to pay $7.5 million to settle a class action lawsuit alleging the company underpaid gas royalties to leaseholders.

Attorney Michelle O’Brien of the O’Brien Law Group, Moosic, said the settlement, reached Friday with Chesapeake Energy Corp.’s subsidiary Chesapeake Appalachia LLC, will benefit several thousand leaseholders who alleged they were wrongly charged fees related to process used to refine and transport natural gas extracted from Marcellus Shale. Read more at State Impact NPR.

VIDEO: Unearthed -- The Fracking Facade
The "Fracking Facade" seeks to set the record straight by exposing a flawed claim often abused in the sales pitch for promoting shale gas development across the world: "With a history of 60 years, after nearly a million wells drilled, there are no documented cases that hydraulic fracturing ('fracking') has led to the contamination of groundwater."




Fracking Away Our Water Supply
The state of Texas has become the prime example of what can happen when the natural gas industry is allowed to run roughshod over citizens.  The state is currently experiencing one of the worst droughts in modern times, and certain areas have already had to resort to water rationing.

But the dwindling supply of fresh water in Texas has barely slowed down the natural gas industry’s fracking activities.  Even as livestock are dying off, crops are withering, and citizens are having to purchase bottled water in order to quench their thirst, fracking companies are sucking fresh water out of the ground in order to satisfy their need to extract every ounce of natural gas from beneath the Texas soil. Read more at DeSmogBlog


Fracking 'threatens God's glorious creation'
The Church of England has told parishioners that fracking causes environmental problems and risks lasting harm to “God’s glorious creation”.

The Diocese of Blackburn has published a leaflet for its flock, telling them that for Christians, fracking presents “a choice between economic gain and a healthy environment.”

The church's decision to highlight potential downsides of fracking comes as Conservative ministers step up efforts to sell the technology to voters as an economic necessity.
Read more at The Telegraph (UK)

U. Tennessee gets no bids for fracking on its land
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — A proposal by the University of Tennessee to allow natural gas wells to be drilled on land it owns on the Cumberland Plateau has been halted.

The Tennessean reports the school put the brakes on the project, which was put out to bid in June and has received only one response: a no-bid.

CONSOL Energy Chief Operating Officer Randall Albert said in a letter that the company decided against the proposal because it didn't make economic sense for the company, but said the company would be interested in the proposal was restructured. Read more at SFGate.

FRACKING: What's in Your Water?

Drilling wastes from the Marcellus Shale contain radioactive materials, including Radium and Radon. The NY Dept. of Environmental Conservation permits 5 upstate NY landfills to accept out-of-state Marcellus drilling wastes, even though none of the landfills has a license to handle Radioactive materials. 

One landfill is in Angelica, NY and another is in the city of Niagara Falls. Landfill water leachate is sent to water treatment plants that are not equipped to remove Radioactive materials, posing a threat to public health.

Ingestion of Radium in water can cause leukemia and bone cancer. Inhalation of Radon gas is the primary cause of lung cancer in non-smokers.

Handling, monitoring, transportation and disposal of radioactive waste is much more costly to the gas drilling industry than dealing with waste that is not identified as radioactive.

Efforts by NY Senate Democrats to prohibit imports of hazardous Marcellus drilling wastes into New York have been blocked by Senate Republicans. 

Transportation and disposal in New York of radioactive drilling waste from Pennsylvania and other states should be prohibited to protect public health.

Read about the above and additional threats to our water in the excellent report by Peter Mantius entitled New York Imports Pennsylvania’s Radioactive Fracking Waste Despite Falsified Water Tests.

Fracking News

Treatment Plants Accused of Illegally Disposing Radioactive Fracking Wastewater
A Pennsylvania industrial wastewater treatment plant has been illegally accepting oil and gas wastewater and polluting the Allegheny river with radioactive waste and other pollutants, according Clean Water Action, which announced today that it is suing the plant.
“Waste Treatment Corporation has been illegally discharging oil and gas wastewater since at least 2003, and continues to discharge such wastewater without authorization under the Clean Water Act and the Clean Streams Law,” the notice of intent to sue delivered by Clean Water Action reads.
State officials also discovered that the sediments immediately downstream from the plant were tainted with high levels of radium-226, radium-228 and uranium. Those particular radioactive elements are known to be found at especially high levels in wastewater from Marcellus shale gas drilling and fracking, and state regulators have warned that the radioactive materials would tend to accumulate in river sediment downstream from plants accepting Marcellus waste. Read more at EcoWatch.


Fracking Debris Ten Times Too Radioactive for Hazardous Waste Landfill
A truck carrying cuttings from a Pennsylvania fracking site was quarantined at a hazardous-waste landfill and sent back after its contents triggered a radiation alarm showing the load was emitting 96 microrem of radiation per hour; the landfill rejects waste with levels above 10 microrems. The radioactive material from a site in the Marcellus Shale formation was radium 226, a common contaminant from the decay of uranium-238 that tends to accumulate in bone and can get into water. Officials said “everything was by the book in this case" because the alarm went off as designed; the fracking operators can now either re-apply at that landfill or take their deadly waste to an out-of-state facility that accepts it - and yes, they exist. The scariest thing here: Pennsylvania, which is currently studying radiation contamination associated with fracking wells, claims to be the only state that even requires landfills to monitor radiation levels.
Read more at Common Dreams. 

Radioactive waste rejected by Pa. hauled to Idaho
The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection says containers of radioactive drilling waste rejected by a southwestern Pennsylvania landfill have been hauled to a U.S. Ecology site in Idaho for safe disposal.
Read more Here.

Fate of 200,000 public fracking comments unclear 
ALBANY — New York's proposed rules for hydraulic fracturing drew an unprecedented response in January, when more than 200,000 comments were submitted by the public to the state Department of Environmental Conservation. Seven months later, the fate of those comments is unknown, with the DEC refusing to say whether it will respond to the concerns raised in the submissions or allow them to sit unanswered.
Read more at Press Connects. 

Oil and Gas Spills: Many mishaps among drillers, but few fines 
If Kristi Mogen causes a crash on the road, she knows she'll probably get a ticket and have to pay a fine. 
So she's frustrated that Wyoming officials didn't fine Chesapeake Energy Corp. for an April 2012 well blowout near her home outside Douglas, Wyo. The ruptured gas well spewed gas and chemicals for three days, forcing her and her neighbors to evacuate their homes.
Read more at EnergyWire News.


FRAC Act Re-introduced to Senate
Amid widespread fears that the boom in fracking for natural gas poses a growing array of environmental threats, some members of Congress are making a new effort to reverse a 2005 law that exempted the industry from regulation under the Safe Drinking Water Act. Read more at Environmental Working Group.

Ohio lawmakers who oppose fracking tax have gotten lots of money from frackers 
Oil and gas companies have been on a fracking spree in Ohio for a couple of years now, but they’re not bringing many jobs to the state, so Republican Gov. John Kasich has been trying to get them to give back in another way: via a fracking tax. Read more at Grist.

Methane leaks may burst natural-gas bubble
President Obama’s climate-change plan calls for a closer look at the scope of leaks from gas wells, pipelines and compressor plants. Depending on what is found, new regulations could be imposed.
Duke University researcher Rob Jackson trolled through Washington, D.C., searching for evidence that natural gas is not quite the climate champion President Obama claimed last month.
He was replicating a study he did in Boston, measuring leaks from creaky natural-gas pipes. In addition to being a possible safety risk, methane, the key component of natural gas, is 25 times as potent a greenhouse gas as carbon dioxide. And leaks may undercut much of the climate benefits of gas.
Read more at The Seattle Times.

Former Mobil VP Warns of Fracking and Climate Change 
Few people can explain gas and oil drilling with as much authority as Louis W. Allstadt. As an executive vice president of Mobil Oil who ran the company's exploration and production operations in the western hemisphere before he retired in 2000.
Allstadt has become an indispensable guide for one of the country's most powerful environmental movements, New York's grass-roots anti-fracking resistance. Recently he was elected a Cooperstown Trustee.
"The fracking that's going on right now is the real wake-up call on just what extreme lengths are required to pull oil or gas out of the ground now that most of the conventional reservoirs have been exploited - at least those that are easy to access," Allstadt said. Read more at TruthOut.


Gas drillers cancel lease with NE Pa. landowners
Two energy companies are pulling out of northeastern Pennsylvania, where a three-year moratorium on gas drilling has infuriated landowners who say it’s now cost them a windfall of more than $187 million. 
Hess Corp. and Newfield Exploration Co. sent a letter to landowners that notified them their leases are no longer in effect, according to the Northern Wayne Property Owners Alliance, which negotiated a master lease on behalf of more than 1,300 families and businesses. Read more at Ithaca Journal

Art installation brings you face to face with fracking 
Fracking hell or fracking bliss? Fracking Futures, an art installation at Liverpool's FACT gallery, gives visitors a chance to decide what they think of this controversial gas extraction technique. Its miniaturised fracking "rig" simulates the sounds, tremors and flames that a real one might produce, and appears to drill right through the gallery floor.
Read more at New Scientist.

Videos: Exclusive interviews of Josh Fox on The Daily Show
Part 1, "Gasland Part II" director Josh Fox disputes the idea that natural gas is a boon for the environment.  (06:39)
Part 2, Josh Fox argues that government regulatory agencies are in the natural gas industry's pocket.  (04:25)
Part 3, Fox warns against the natural gas industry's tendency to address engineering problems with PR solutions.  (04:30)

Incomplete Health Review Delays NY Fracking Decision

Health review needs “additional time”; Fracking deadline expected to be missed (UPDATED)
By Jon Campbell
February 12, 2013

The state’s top health regulator on Tuesday signaled he would need more time to complete his review of large-scale hydraulic fracturing, but the head of the Department of Environmental Conservation says it may delay a decision on fracking for weeks, not months.

State Health Commissioner Nirav Shah wrote in a letter Tuesday that his review of the health impacts of fracking will “require additional time to complete based on the complexity of the issues.”

With Shah’s review still incomplete, the DEC will not be able to issue a dense, lengthy environmental impact statement on Wednesday—a requirement if the agency wishes to meet a Feb. 27 deadline for its regulations. If the DEC misses the late-February deadline, it would have to reintroduce the rules and open them to public comment for at least 45 days.

But in a separate statement issued Tuesday, DEC Commissioner Joe Martens indicated his agency would move forward with issuing fracking permits without regulations in place—if the health review doesn’t turn up any major issues.

“If the DOH Public Health Review finds that the (Supplemental Generic Environmental Impact Statement) has adequately addressed health concerns, and I adopt the SGEIS on that basis, DEC can accept and process high-volume hydraulic fracturing permit applications 10 days after issuance of the SGEIS,” Martens said. “The regulations simply codify the program requirements.”

Shah wrote that his review will be completed “within a few weeks.”

Shah’s review was launched in late September, when he was tasked with determining if the DEC’s planned guidelines for fracking are adequate to protect public health.

In his letter to Martens Tuesday, Shah said his team is reviewing three outside, health-related studies that have been underway or are just being launched, including one by the University of Pennsylvania and another by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

He also revealed that he has extended agreements with three academic health consultants who have been assisting with his review. Last week, the three consultants revealed that their work had been completed several weeks ago.

“My team and I will be in Pennsylvania and Washington in the coming days for first-hand briefings on these studies and their progress, which will assist in informing the New York review,” Shah wrote in his letter to Martens.

Here is the Shah Letter to Martens

The original article was posted at Politics on the Hudson. 

Fracking Regulations: DEC gets Buried in Public Comments and Sued

~ Regulations elicit 200,000 comments and legal charges against DEC ~

Boxes of public comments delivered to DEC headquarters in Albany

Public Comments:
Groups opposed to shale gas drilling and fracking collected over 200,000 public comments in response to revised proposed regulations issued by the NY Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC). The combined effort of these citizen groups was remarkable given that the DEC restricted public comments to the busy holiday period from December 10, 2012 to January 11, 2013. The groups delivered many boxes of public comments at DEC headquarters on the last day of the comment period (click photo to enlarge).

Shown at the podium in the photo above is Sandra Steingraber, a biologist, author and founder of New Yorkers Against Fracking. She created a website, called Thirty Days of Fracking Regs, to help people compose comments on the DEC regulations and submit them. Using a clever "Advent Calendar" approach, each day, for the 30 day commenting period, she posted one regulation, which she translated into plain English and included some science relevant to that regulation. 

Public comments solicited independently by many other groups (listed below*) were also included in the over 200,000 responses. Comments from individuals, other organizations and elected officials have yet to be counted. 

- Protest: Governor Andrew Cuomo was silent on hydrofracking in his State of the State address on January 9, 2013, but anti-fracking protestors were not. Over a thousand protestors turned out to line the concourse of Albany's Empire State Plaza where lawmakers passed on their way to hear the governor's speech. The protestors expressed their views on fracking through chants and banners (see photos here).

- DEC Deadline: The DEC has a February 27th deadline to either finalize the planned hydrofracking rules or allow them to expire. State law mandates that the final environmental impact statement (the SGEIS) has to be released to the public first, at least 10 days in advance of the rules deadline. The DEC may have to signal a decision on hydraulic fracturing by February 13, 2013 if they hope to meet an end-of-the-month deadline for finalizing a set of proposed regulations, as reported here. Missing the regulatory deadline would require the state to restart the formal proceedings.

Legal Charges against the DEC:
The DEC did not hold a public hearing on the proposed regulations within 30 days of the publication date of the Notice, i.e., by January 11, 2013. It turns out that was illegal. This and other flaws are cited in a legal demand letter to the DEC and NYS Inspector General from the Community Environmental Defense Council, Inc. by David F. Slottje, Esq. and Helen H. Slottje, Esq.. The letter opens with the following statements:

This letter formally advises and notifies the Department of Environmental Conservation ("DEC") and the Office of the NYS Inspector General: (i) that the DEC has acted contrary to law and lawful procedure with respect to the matters described below; (ii) that the DEC's actions with respect to such matters were and are in excess of the DEC's jurisdiction and an abuse of the DEC's discretion; and (iii) that accordingly the DEC's actions as to such matters are invalid, null and void.

The full contents of the letter dated January 11, 2013 can be viewed here. 

Please consider donating to support the continuing efforts of the Community Environmental Defense Council.
______________________________________________________
* Groups submitting comments to the DEC included Thirty Days of Fracking Regs, Food and Water Watch, Catskill Citizens for Safe Energy, Frack Action, Artists against Fracking, CREDO, New Yorkers Against Fracking, 350, Sierra Club, Signon, Working Families Party, Center for Biological Diversity, Citizen Action, GreenPeace, Earth Justice, Delaware Riverkeeper Network, and United for Action

Public Comment Period on Hydrofracking Regulations

NY Governor Cuomo and his Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) released High Volume Hydraulic Fracturing Proposed Regulations for public review on December 12, 2012. Comments must be submitted by January 11, 2013.

Those concerned about shale-gas extraction by high-volume hydraulic fracturing in NY State need to get busy and submit comments on the proposed regs over the already busy holiday period.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from the governor and the DEC!

To clarify what's going on, DEC's Proposed Regulations for High Volume Hydraulic Fracturing are separate and distinct from the SGEIS Permit Guideline Proceedings that have already reviewed by the public and received over 80,000 comments in January, 2012.  The Proposed Regulations are also separate from the ongoing Health Impact Assessment, which really should have been completed first and used to inform the Proposed Regulations.

It's a busy time of the year! January 11th will be here in a flash. What's a concerned citizen to do? Here are a couple of suggestions to help you:

1. Visit the website 30 Days of Fracking Regs. There you'll find a list of dates from December 12 to January 10, each of which is linked to a specific regulation. Click on a highlighted date, and the regulation will be revealed (in red). Below it (in green) is an explanation of the regulation along with some aspects that you might like to comment on. Scroll down to "Submit Comment on this Regulation Below!" and follow the simple instructions to enter and submit your comments. 
2. Attend a comment party! Join the good folks at WNY Drilling Defense for a "Lots of Fracking Comments" Party! Pizza will be served too. Write your comments with the help of others present at the Party on Friday, December 21, 2012 at 7 pm at the Network of Religious Communities, 1272 Delaware Avenue in Buffalo. Visit Lots of Fracking Comments Party for more information.

Whether you follow suggestion 1., suggestion 2. or both, Comment Early, and Comment Often! 

Senator Grisanti announces legislative package aimed at protecting our environment with regards to hydrofracking

By Mark Grisanti, April 4, 2012

As Chairman of the Senate Committee on Environmental Conservation for these last sixteen months, I have advanced a number of reforms aimed at protecting the environment, from sponsoring New York’s Water Withdrawal legislation that ensures compliance with the Great Lakes Compact, to advocating for enhancing our Environmental Protection Fund.  Nonetheless, I have encountered no single issue as critical, controversial and important as high-volume hydraulic fracturing (HVHF).

I held a Public Hearing, attended and participated in a Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) hearing, as well as observed an Assembly hearing on this topic.  Further, held extensive meetings and discussions regarding hydraulic fracturing with stakeholders.

Since becoming Chairman, I have not advocated for or against hydraulic fracturing. I have taken the time to better understand the nature of this complex drilling operation, the extent of the environmental impacts as well as the potential benefits for the State’s economy.  I know that making an impulsive decision at the behest of one side or another would not be fair and would not produce the appropriate results.  Further, I eagerly await the DEC’s final decision on whether or not to allow HVHF.  

I am confident from my conversations with Commissioner Martens and from my reading of the draft Supplemental Generic Environmental Impact Statement (SGEIS) that if the finalized document and regulations allow for HVHF that the necessary protective measures will be included.  I commend Commissioner Martens for his leadership, and I thank him and his staff at the Department of Environmental Conservation for the work they have done over the last three years studying hydraulic fracturing and developing an effective regulatory system to guide its practice in New York State.  However, should the DEC ultimately decide to allow for HVHF I strongly believe environmental safeguards are needed.

We do not want to have our children be forced to drink bottled water because our water has been tainted nor do we want another Love Canal. However, we want to continue to search for economical environmentally safe national options for fuel and energy, to relieve our dependence on foreign entities.

My review of the draft SGEIS and discussions with stakeholders have led me to identify five additional measures I believe are necessary should HVHF be allowed to go forward:

*    Prohibit public owned treatment works from accepting wastewater associated with the exploration, delineation, development, or production of natural gas;(S6893)

*    Prohibit the use of wastewater for road- and land-spreading; (S6895)

*    Create an Oil and Gas Waste Tracking Program that is stronger than the tracking program proposed under the draft SGEIS; (S6892)

*    Strengthen the notification requirements for unauthorized wastewater discharges; (S6891)

*    Create a geographic information system to provide information to the public concerning gas and oil production. (S6894)

    Today I am announcing that I will be introducing a package of five bills that will address each of these measures as necessary steps to safeguard New York’s environment.

~~~
Cross-posted from Sen. Grisanti's website. Links to the bills were inserted.

NY State Won't Fund Hydrofracking Health Impact Study

By David Kowalski  

 

An Economic Impact Study was Funded Last Year

The $132,600,000,000 budget passed by New York State last week did not include funds for a $100,000 study intended to protect the health of NY residents from the fallout of high-volume hydraulic fracturing (hydrofracking) already seen in other states.

Many lawmakers, as well as the governor and the Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC), seem bent on moving forward on unconventional shale-gas drilling. Sadly, they ignored sound advice from 250 physicians and healthcare/scientific experts [1] who recognize the lack of a Health Impact Assessment as a major flaw in the DEC’s draft hydrofracking regulations.

Dr. Gina Solomon, a physician with the Natural Resources Defense Council, said health concerns include air pollution, potential contamination of ground or surface water with methane or chemicals used in fracturing fluids, fires or explosions, heavy truck traffic, and altered social conditions.
 
In a Senate Session on the 2012-2013 Budget last week, Senator Mark Grisanti (R-Buffalo), Chair of the Environmental Conservation Committee, spoke on the budget. He said that "in other states where high-volume hydraulic fracturing is occurring there are health impact studies that I believe that the DOH [Dept. of Health] to the advisory council is going to be taking a look at. It's very difficult to do a health study on high-volume hydraulic fracturing in NY state when it's not occurring here." [see video here]

Human health impacts deserve far more investigation than "a look." A proper study requires research and funding. Also, the fact that high-volume hydraulic fracturing is "not occurring here" in NY did not stop the DEC from hiring a consulting firm, Ecology and Environment Inc., to do an economic study at a cost of $223,000. That study [4Mb PDF] was in fact based primarily on the occurrence of hydrofracking in the neighboring state of Pennsylvania.

The Assembly Majority had already passed a bill calling for a health study. The $100,000 study would include research into other states' experiences with fracking. It would estimate costs of any health impacts to the state, insurers, employers and the health care system and include a long-term plan for monitoring and mitigating health impacts.

The Senate drafted a health impact assessment bill to fund an in-depth $300,000 study. Sen. Tony Avella (D-Queens), the bill's sponsor and a member of the Environmental Conservation Committee, said in a statement, "Before we allow companies to start drilling for gas and pumping chemicals near our watersheds, it is only reasonable that a study be conducted to provide us with more information about the hydrofracking process and the potential health impacts."

At the 2012-2013 Budget session last week, Sen. Avella introduced an amendment to environmental budget legislation that would have included a health impact assessment on hydrofracking. Avella said, "No matter which side of the aisle you are on, whether you are for hydrofracking or against hydrofracking, the very fact that we could do this process without analyzing the seismic or health impacts of hydrofracking, in my opinion is an absolute disgrace." [see video here]

Senator Avella, the Senate Democratic Conference, and the Assembly Majority should be commended for demonstrating their leadership and dedication to protecting the health and well-being of the people of New York. The bill (S.6772) sponsored by Avella is currently in the Environmental Conservation Committee chaired by Senator Grisanti.

Claire Sandberg, Executive Director of Water Defense, said, “One only need to look at the devastation wreaked by fracking in Pennsylvania to see that gas drilling cannot be done safely. There are perhaps hundreds of families just across the border who are without access to safe drinking water because of fracking-related contamination. How can we trust our elected officials who say we can regulate this inherently dangerous practice, if they don't even support basic funding to study its effect on our public health?"

A full assessment of its health impacts must be completed before a decision can be made about whether or not hydrofracking is permitted in New York.

Kate Hudson, Watershed Program Director at NY Riverkeeper said, "We would still call on the governor to take action. He is in a position to accept or reject any of the proposed change. We think this is way too important and we are going to continue to lobby the Legislature."

Dr. Sandra Steingraber speaks to the DEC about their recent Environmental Impact Statement (SGEIS) and calls for a comprehensive study on the Health Impacts of hydrofracking. Listen: 

Footnote:
[1] Experts included the Medical Society of the State of New York, the American Academy of Pediatrics of New York State, the NY State Nurses Association, the Academy of Family Physicians of New York State, and over 250 individual physicians and scientists.
 

Help Secure Air Monitoring by Signing Petition

By the Clean Air Coalition of WNY

[Click image to enlarge]

Air monitoring by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) in Tonawanda has been critical to diagnosing the air pollution challenges, holding polluters accountable and tracking progress to reduce dangerous emissions.
The DEC is considering shutting one of the two remaining air monitors in Tonawanda. We can't let that happen!

We are also asking for an air monitor to be placed on Buffalo's lower West Side to monitor harmful matter from diesel emissions in the neighborhoods.  It's not right that a known toxic hot spot is not being monitored by the state.

The Coalition has been knocking on doors in Tonawanda and the West Side collecting signatures on postcards that we will deliver to legislators.  We have also started an online petition to demonstrate support for this critical community need.  Will you take 30 seconds to sign the petition and pass it along to your networks?

You can sign the petition at: http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/secure-air-monitors-in-tonawanda-and-buffalos-west-side/

UPDATE:  New York State Assemblyman Sean Ryan called on the DEC today to install air monitoring equipment at locations on Buffalo’s west side.

Public Comment on NY Water Withdrawal Regulations

From the Sierra Club Atlantic Chapter: 
Tell NY DEC We Need More Time For Public Comment on Water Withdrawal Regulations! 

Comments on the proposed Water Withdrawal regulations are due Monday, January 22, 2012, and are intended to go into effect as early as February 15, 2012. However, the NYS Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) has held NO public hearings on them and does not intend to do so.

Both state law and the draft regulations mandate the issuance by the DEC of water withdrawal permits for withdrawals of 100,000 gallons per day or more, but DEC has not yet developed such permits -- they will not be available for consideration and/or comment by the public before they are issued.

The Sierra Club Atlantic Chapter is asking the public to tell DEC that we will not stand for a blatant lack of care and transparency when it comes to protecting our water!

Click here to Email DEC director Joseph Martens.

Hydrofracking: DEC Must Protect Our Drinking Water -- Take Action!

High-volume hydraulic fracturing, also called hydrofracking or fracking, is a method to mine natural gas from shale rock seams deep underground. The process requires horizontal drilling from a vertical well, uses millions of gallons of water mixed with sand and some toxic chemicals, and produces large volumes of flowback wastewater containing additional toxic chemicals and radioactive elements extracted from shale. Fracking wastewater is hazardous.

A moratorium has been in effect for the past three years while NY state considers permitting high-volume hydraulic fracturing. The NY State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) has produced a revised draft Supplemental Generic Environmental Impact Statement (SGEIS) that is currently under public review. The public is strongly encouraged to send comments on the SGEIS to the DEC, which must be received or postmarked by January 11, 2012 (see links and postal address below).

The SGEIS contains a surprising proposal along with a number of major gaps that the DEC needs to address.

The DEC SGEIS proposes that watersheds for New York City and Syracuse "should be off-limits to surface drilling for natural gas using high-volume hydraulic fracturing technology." This proposal amounts to an admission by the DEC that fracking and hazardous wastewater are threats to drinking water in these two watersheds. Given these threats, should fracking and hazardous wastewater be permitted in other State watersheds?

NY State Watersheds - DEC

We All Live in a Watershed is the title of a DEC webpage. A watershed is the land that water flows on the surface or underground on its way to a river, lake, stream or bay. The DEC defined 17 watershed basins in NY state (map, at right). The watershed basin for Buffalo and vicinity (blue area on left side of map) drains into Lake Erie and the Niagara River, both of which provide drinking water for the region.

All NY State residents have a right to clean water and deserve equal rights to protection from water pollution. What's good for NY City and Syracuse watersheds should apply equally to all watersheds in the State. Demand that the DEC protect all State watersheds from the threats of fracking and hazardous wastewater, not just NY City and Syracuse watersheds, in order to provide safe drinking water.

Fracking wastewater contains brine, radioactivity, carcinogens and other hazardous chemicals. In Pennsylvania, millions of gallons were sent to sewage treatment plants until it was found that the discharged water was contaminated. Some fracking wastewater from Pennsylvania was shipped to the City of Buffalo for treatment, but this is no longer permitted. Pennsylvania is now shipping fracking wastewater to Ohio for disposal in deep injection wells, a method that may be short-lived since it has been recently linked to earthquakes. NY geology is not suitable for injection well disposal. What is the DEC's plan for fracking wastewater disposal?

The DEC SGEIS does not describe a proven method to cleanup fracking wastewater. Disposal of the hazardous wastewater poses threats to NY drinking water, including watersheds in the state where gas drilling will not occur. The public needs to inform the DEC that they can not permit fracking in the absence of proven, cost-effective methods to remove all hazardous chemicals and radioactive elements from the wastewater. 

Additional gaps in the SGEIS have been pointed out by the Governor's Advisory Panel on High-Volume Hydraulic Fracturing. These include the absence of estimates on what resources will be needed by four major state agencies: Health, Transportation, Agriculture & Markets, and Public Service. The socio-economic analysis by a local firm, Ecology & Environment, highlighted the economic benefits but did little to quantify potential costs, according to some members of the Advisory Panel. The DEC directed the firm to also look at the cost on communities, the housing market and emergency services. 

Even more gaps in the SGEIS have moved over 21,000 people to sign a letter requesting that Governor Cuomo immediately withdraw the SGEIS in order to resolve documented fundamental shortcomings. You can examine the letter and additional gaps here. The public can sign the letter online.

At the very least, the DEC should Extend the Moratorium. High-volume hydraulic fracturing is a very complex process. It is a threat to clean water and to our health and well-being. There are too many unknowns that require further research, evaluation and time. The gas will still be there as a reserve.

The revised draft SGEIS document and related documents are here.

TAKE ACTION: Send comments to the DEC on the revised draft SGEIS by January 11:

• Electronic submission using a web-based comment form on the DEC's website. 
• Paper submission can be sent to:  New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, 625 Broadway, Albany, NY 12233-6510. Attention: rd SGEIS Comments. Please include the name, address, and affiliation (if any) of the commenter.

For earlier blog posts on various aspects of fracking, click here.

Treating Hydro-Fracking Wastewater at Niagara Falls: Not Now, Maybe Later

At a public meeting of the Niagara Falls Water Board on October 27, the third meeting in two months, speakers again raised concern about the Board's proposal to accept, treat and discharge hydro-fracking wastewater derived from shale-gas drilling into the Niagara River.

Wastewater from hydro-fracking (a.k.a. fracking) contains chemicals added before drilling as well as toxic and radioactive chemicals extracted from shale. Wastewater is pumped back to the surface into exposed pits [see image], and then pumped into trucks for transport to other sites for treatment. Treatment facilities in Pennsylvania, where drilling is ongoing, have proven ineffective in removing all chemicals, some of which are known to cause cancer and other health problems. Also, brine, far more salty than ocean water, can corrode treatment facility equipment and has turned up in drinking water.

The Niagara Gazette reported that Water Board Chairman Michael McNally informed the speakers at the public meeting of the Board’s position of not accepting hydro-fracking or any wastewater associated with it.

“The Board’s position is we are not accepting anything relating to hydro-fracking or any of its spoils,” he said. “But we appreciate your input as it gives us more information to work with."

In a followup report on the October 27 meeting, Water Board Executive Director Paul Drof clarified the Board's position on fracking wastewater.

“Right now, no facility in New York state is permitted to accept fracking wastewater,” he said. “Their edict is there is no one approved to take fracking water, so no one does. It’s not illegal because no one does it.”

“The treatment of trucked-in waste has been done in Niagara Falls over the last 20 years,” he said. “It’s something we do routinely. This is just another candidate for treatment. That’s all it is at this point.” Drof added that public input on the matter is appreciated as it gives the Board more insight into what actions they’ll take later. 

Canadians are also concerned about the possibility that fracking wastewater would be treated in Niagara Falls, NY, since the Niagara River borders their country and drains into Lake Ontario, which is a source of drinking water for millions of people in Canada.

The Council of Canadians sent a letter to the Water Board requesting they scrap the fracking wastewater proposal to protect the Great Lake. The Council is also advocating that the town council of Niagara-on-the-Lake take action to protect the Great Lakes Basin. A town councilor will introduce a resolution today calling for a moratorium on hydraulic fracturing and the treatment of fracking wastewater within the Great Lakes Basin.

An association of mayors on both sides of the Great Lakes is tracking the issue. "The position we've taken so far, until we get more information, is that nothing be done in terms of the hydro-fracking that could in any way contaminate the lakes, the St. Lawrence basin and the underground aquifers," said St. Catharines Mayor Brian McMullan, who chairs the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Cities Initiative.


A Niagara Falls Water Board spokesman said the Board is waiting for the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) to bring down rules on drilling shale and fracking water treatment. He added that it's not clear if the treatment plant will need costly upgrades to handle the fracking water, and it's possible the venture will be too expensive to pursue. 

Permitting by the DEC was intended originally to begin in early 2012 but it was further delayed last week. DEC Commissioner Joe Martens raised doubts that the state will be ready to issue permits next year. Martens said the Governor's Advisory Panel on High-Volume Hydraulic Fracturing will miss its planned report deadline since they still have no estimates on what resources will be needed by four major state agencies: Health, Transportation, Agriculture & Markets, and Public Service. 

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has only just begun developing national standards for treating wastewater discharged from gas drilling. They propose to complete the rules by 2014, and the time for passage into law is uncertain. Also, the discharge of treated water into the Niagara River, and other rivers that flow into the Great Lakes, creates a need for international agreements between the U.S. and Canada, which may extend the time frame even further.

So even if treating fracking wastewater at Niagara Falls were found to be feasible, affordable and safe, and even if a massive transportation plan could be developed to move billions of gallons of the hazardous wastewater to Niagara Falls, it could be a long time before the plan is actually carried out, if ever.
 
The agencies involved should not be rushed. They need to allow plenty of time for investigations, deliberations, and input from the public. The gas will still be there. The safety of our drinking water and the protection public health must come first, and they are unquestionably worth the time.

For earlier posts about Fracking at Re-ENERGIZE BUFFALO, click here.