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. 

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.

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.