the [green] capitol insider

August 22, 2011

FRACKING FRACKING FRACKING!

The last two weeks have been busy on the fracking front. In our last issue of The [Green] Capitol Insider, we asked you to call on Governor Cuomo and Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) Commissioner Martens for no less than a 180-day comment period and statewide public hearings on the state’s guidelines for gas drilling using hydraulic fracturing, or “fracking.” We’re still waiting for a response!

However, we have some good news to share: more than a few New York State legislators have joined our appeal for a longer public comment period—because 60 days is not enough time to review the state’s 1,000+ page document.

Last week, state lawmakers—including New York State Environmental Conservation Committee Chairs Senator Mark Grisanti and Assembly member Robert Sweeney, Senators David Carlucci and Andrea Stewart-Cousins, and Assembly members Robert Castelli, George Latimer, Barbara Lifton, Jack McEneny, and Sam Roberts—joined the New York Water Rangers and more than 70 organizations concerned about the dangers of fracking to call on Governor Cuomo and Commissioner Martens for an extended comment period with statewide public hearings.

These lawmakers and environmental groups aren’t just kicking up dirt. The fracking guidelines are technical, complicated, and long (more than 1,000 pages!). And the revised draft of the guidelines is seriously flawed.

The 60-day comment period proposed by the DEC simply does not allow for thorough or meaningful public participation on a document that could profoundly affect all of New York’s communities.

Read about it in The New York Times here.

Read more from Gannett here.

And watch a video about it featuring Katherine Nadeau, Environmental Advocates of New York’s Water & Natural Resources Program Director, here.

The DEC’s preliminary revised draft fracking assessment was released in July. The complete revised draft is expected to be released for public comment and review in late summer or early fall. And we’ll keep asking for a 180-day comment period and statewide public hearings for as long and as often as it takes.

About New York’s Fracking Advisory Panel…
Also last week, the state’s fracking advisory group appointed by Governor Cuomo met behind closed doors with DEC Commissioner Martens.

The panel—which includes Rob Moore, Environmental Advocates of New York’s Executive Director, as well as other environmental and business leaders—is charged with developing recommendations to ensure the DEC and other agencies properly oversee, monitor, and enforce fracking activities. In the panel’s first meeting, the group focused on the “green” side of fracking by discussing the necessary financial resources to fund government oversight.

About AG Schneiderman's Subpoenas to Frackers…
Last but not least, New York State Attorney General Eric Schneiderman sent subpoenas to at least three energy companies.

He’s asking the companies to come clean about the prospects for their natural gas wells. Environmental Advocates supports this effort. The gas industry has a long track record of playing fast and loose with the truth on everything from their safety records to the economic impacts of fracking. By taking these companies to task regarding how they report oil and gas reserves to investors, the Attorney General is fighting to keep the gas industry honest and, in doing so, will protect our drinking water and communities from fracking's documented dangers.

Click here for more about the fracking subpoenas.

And here.

To frack a gas well, millions of gallons of water, sand, and toxic chemicals are pumped deep underground at high pressure. This fractures the rock that has trapped the gas for millennia and allows it to escape. From start to finish, gas development that relies on fracking is an industrial process that threatens our water. State after state, from Wyoming to Pennsylvania, has documented its dangers. New York can’t afford to put short-term gas profits ahead of the long-term health of our water and our communities.

EVENT SPOTLIGHT: PUBLIC HEARING ON FRACKING

On Tuesday, August 23, State Senator Greg Ball is hosting a public hearing to examine the risks of gas drilling by means of hydraulic fracturing, or “fracking.” Senator Ball is holding the hearing to build awareness about fracking and solicit testimony from experts to determine the public policies needed to protect the health and welfare of New York’s water and communities.

Environmental Advocates of New York will be there to testify, as will many of our allies.

Will you show your support by attending? We want to fill the room with concerned New Yorkers and show Senator Ball that we do NOT want to rush into fracking.

Click here for more details.

Thank you for your support! We’ll see you at the hearing!

LYING ABOUT RGGI

They’ve done it before, but this time, out-of-state polluters and the Astroturf groups who love them traveled all the way from New Jersey to Somerset, NY (about an hour outside of Buffalo) to talk trash about the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI). RGGI is the 10-state effort to cut climate-altering pollution from power plants.

Contrary to ongoing attacks by these industry-funded folks, RGGI is benefiting New Yorkers from Buffalo to Long Island (and beyond) by reducing pollution, creating new jobs, and reducing consumer utility bills.

But climate skeptics from Americans for Prosperity (AFP) continue to spread falsehoods about RGGI and still claim that the regional climate effort forced the company Ocean Spray to leave New Jersey for Pennsylvania. This is false, and PolitiFact went so far as to get Ocean Spray to say so, publicly.

Now, AFP is saying that power producer AES is being forced out of business by RGGI. AES doesn’t say so, but who cares about facts? Not AFP.

AES hasn’t commented on AFP’s RGGI claims, at least not yet. But on an earnings call last winter, Paul Hanrahan, CEO of AES Corp., the group's parent company, noted the troubling “earning profile” from its New York plants, driven by the “decline in power prices relative to the price of coal.” He did not mention RGGI.

Here’s What You Need to Know About RGGI

RGGI is reducing pollution from power plants. Emissions from power plants in the RGGI region have dropped significantly since the program was formulated, falling 34 percent below the regional cap in 2009 and 27 percent below the cap in 2010. According to the New York State Energy Research & Development Authority’s data, the decline in emissions was primarily caused by decreased power generation from fuel oil and coal and increased generation from clean, renewable energy sources and natural gas, as well as increased investments in energy efficiency. The economic downturn was one factor driving this trend, but not the dominant one.

While RGGI is not exclusively responsible for the decline in emissions, the program creates a revenue stream for clean energy and with it the long-term market certainty that encourages investments that reduce pollution.

RGGI is investing in New York State. New York has no coal mines, and thus every dollar spent on coal flows out of the state. RGGI funded investments in energy efficiency and renewables keep money in the local economy, boosting economic growth and creating jobs. When consumers save money on their energy bills, they have more to spend on goods and services offered by New York businesses. Recent analyses found that every $1 of RGGI funds invested in energy efficiency generates $5.90 in additional economic output, and efficiency investments to-date will create more than 6,500 job years of employment.

Since it was established through the end of 2010, RGGI has pumped more than $1,152,412.44 into Western New York to install energy efficiency measures such as new hot water heaters and improved insulation, as well as some solar installations.

Currently, $112 million in RGGI auction proceeds is dedicated to the Green Jobs/Green New York program to support energy efficiency audits and financing, sustainable community development, workforce training, and green job creation across the state.

New York businesses like the certainty and benefits of RGGI. Two hundred and twenty seven businesses from across the RGGI region, including more than 30 companies from New York State, recently sent a letter to RGGI governors calling to continue and improve the effort. In the 10 participating states, not one company has publicly opposed RGGI.

In 2008, 10 states launched RGGI to reduce climate pollution from power plants. To date, it is the nation's only enforceable effort for cutting carbon dioxide emissions.

To learn more about the benefits of RGGI in New York, click here.

CLOCKS FOR CUOMO

Governor Cuomo isn’t listening to our calls and letters, so it’s time to make sure he knows: New Yorkers deserve 180 days and public hearings for the state’s fracking guidelines!

We’re teaming up with our allies to send a strong signal to the Governor that New Yorkers deserve 180 days to comment on the state’s revised draft Supplemental Generic Environmental Impact Statement (SGEIS) for dirty gas drilling called “fracking.” To make sure he knows New Yorkers want 180 days, we’re going to send him clocks—180 clocks to help us buy some time.

The SGEIS is the document that could guide how fracking is done in New York State. But the state is only giving New Yorkers 60 days to read and comment on this technical, 1000+ page document. We need your help us "buy more time!"

For every $10, Environmental Advocates will send a clock to Governor Cuomo. We’ve already received donations to buy more than 30 clocks. Will you chip in today and send Governor Cuomo a message?

The clocks are made from non-toxic materials and are water-powered. We thought this fitting, given fracking’s documented impacts on the health and safety of water.

Thank you for your support!