water & natural resources

ABOUT INDUSTRIAL GAS DRILLING IN NEW YORK STATE

New York’s Southern Tier and Catskills are home to small towns, family farms, scenic rivers and irreplaceable open spaces, as well as the drinking water supplies of millions of New Yorkers. But beneath this natural beauty lie trillions of cubic feet of gas, trapped within the rock of the Marcellus and Utica Shale formations.

The gas industry is eager to drill in New York State. Drilling companies propose to use a dangerous technique, called high volume, horizontal hydraulic fracturing or “fracking,” to extract the gas. Fracking endangers our drinking water and could turn parts of New York State into industrial drilling zones.

Each time a new well is drilled, 2 to 8 million gallons of water laced with toxic chemicals are required. With thousands of wells proposed, that means billions of gallons of water will be used every year! Withdrawing this volume of water from local waterways and aquifers could devastate sensitive habitats and drinking water.
Recent events in Pennsylvania show how dangerous fracking can be when it’s not properly regulated. Click here to learn more, and here.

WHAT'S HAPPENING NOW?

The public comment period on the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation's revised draft proposal to guide fracking closed on January 11, 2012. More than 40,000 New Yorkers sent the agency comments on the state's fracking proposals. Click here to read the 'Top 10' flaws we identified in the state's fracking proposals. The agency is now reviewing New Yorkers' comments and is expected to release a final Supplemental Generic Environmental Impact Statement and regulations to guide industrial gas drilling in 2012. The state's Fracking Advisory Panel is meeting to advise Governor Cuomo and the Department of Environmental Conservation about the resources necessary to oversee fracking, as well as its likely costs to municipalities.

What is Environmental Advocates’ strategy to protect New York from drilling dangers? Here’s what we’re working on now, on our own, and as part of the statewide New York Water Rangers coalition:

Continue to participate in the state's Fracking Advisory Panel. Our executive director, Rob Moore, was assigned to the panel in July 2011. Rob has been an outspoken critic of the state's fracking plans.

Working to keep the New York State budget for 2012-2013 free of fracking-related revenue or related resources.

Helping advance legislation that will:

                  *close a loophole in state law that exempts fracking waste from treatment as hazardous waste;
                  *require an independent health assessment of fracking's dangers before permits are issue; and
                  *give local governments the power to decide if, where, when and how fracking takes place in their communities.

Working with a broad coalition of groups to make sure they are informed and up-to-date on events in Albany.

Keeping members informed. In the last month alone, Environmental Advocates and our New York Water Rangers partners delivered more than 12,000 comments criticizing the state's fracking proposals.

Continue to coordinate the efforts of the New York Water Rangers, a media campaign designed to educate New Yorkers about the dangers of industrial gas drilling.

Last Updated on Friday, 03 February 2012 08:53