|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Thursday, December 29, 2011
Tuesday, December 27, 2011 Fracking fluid spilled onto roadway in Pa. crash7:32 AM, Dec. 27, 2011, stargazette.com
SALLADASBURG, Pa. — State police in central Pennsylvania say an unknown amount of the fluid used in natural gas drilling spilled onto a roadway and into a creek after a collision involving two tractor-trailers. The Williamsport Sun-Gazette reports one truck rear-ended the other on Route 287 early Monday afternoon in Mifflin Township, shutting down the roadway for several hours. Police say the second truck was pushed through a stop sign and down an embankment. The truck overturned and was leaking fracking fluid, which is used in a type of natural gas drilling known as hydraulic fracturing or “fracking.” Environmentalists and other critics worry fracking, which involves blasting the chemical-laced water into the ground, could poison water supplies. But the natural gas industry says it’s been used safely for decades.
Monday, December 26, 2011 Another public hearing for a local law By John Christensen Posted Dec 22, 2011 @ 03:06 PM Another public hearing for a local law amending the water and sewer rent regulations for high volume users was also held, and passed with no comment. The much-publicized effort by the committee to amend the town zoning laws to ensure that Jerusalem will be able to fully regulate and/or forbid hydraulic fracturing in the town has hit a snag. Some of the town planning board, including chair Bob Evans, feel they were not sufficiently consulted by the committee or the environmental lawyers who drafted the law. Some members of the public expressed a fear that by rushing this law to have it in place before the state begins handing out fracking permits, perhaps very early in the new year, there may be unforeseen consequences for small businesses. Section 2.6, regarding extra steps for obtaining special use permits, was of particular concern. Attorney Helen Slotje explained that this was intended to give the town more authority in granting or forbidding specific uses, and essentially restates state law. Supervisor Daryl Jones suggested sending the new law to the Association of towns for their legal review and immediate response, which is free for the member towns. Board members Neil Simmons and Michael Folts favored sending it to a land use attorney. Jones countered by asking, “How many attorneys do we need? Seven have reviewed it and said it was good. Where do we stop? These guys charge $200 an hour.” Town attorney Phil Bailey said that it wasn’t so much a legal question, and would be better directed to a professional planner. In the end, with the agreement of members-elect Pat Killen and Michael Steppe, it was decided to send the law to the Assoc. of Towns along with any concerns by planning board members that are received by the clerk before Dec. 21, and the Planning Board will meet on the matter before the next Town Board meeting Jan. 18. Saturday, December 24, 2011 Yates board sends waste law back to town
The Chronicle-Express Posted Dec 23, 2011 @ 03:08 PM by John Christensen Yates board sends waste law back to townThe December meeting of the Yates County Planning Board addressed four referrals: • BARRINGTON: A local law is proposed by the Town of Barrington to amend and supplement a 1980 law to prohibit the storage, treatment, and disposal of gas/petroleum well waste. Barrington council member Bruce Castner raised the question of whether the proposed law, as written, would unfairly punish the landowner for the actions of the drilling company, saying, "It will bankrupt farmers." Barrington PlaYates board sends waste law back to townnning Board Chair Sue Lang argued that the law protects the landowner and bans hazardous waste. YCPB Chair James Ritter said the law bans all waste, including condensation tanks from old style vertical gas wells. "The law needs to be reworked," said Ritter. Barrington resident Steve Knapp suggested also rewording the law so any penalty falls upon the driller rather than the landowner. The YCPB voted unanimously to not approve, and attached the suggested changes mentioned. • JERUSALEM: A Jerusalem local law establishing a wind farm zone and regulating them was approved with suggestions. Rubin suggested wider notification of public meetings was needed for residents within two or three miles, rather than merely those adjacent. It was also thought that only requiring a final inspection of windmills was insufficient, and than several inspections should be staged through the construction process. A tax benefit to the town should also be considered. County Planner Shawna Bonshak said many wind farm zones in other parts of the state require host community agreements that provide beneficial facilities or income for the towns. YCPB member Marion Louden of Barrington opposed the approval based on the aesthetics of the wind turbines and the potential for disturbance. • PENN YAN: Penn Yan hotelier Brian Zerges requested a use variance for his recently purchased property at 110 Brown St., next door to his Best Western Vineyard Inn. Zerges plans to construct a 13-space parking lot in the back yard of the home to supplement parking at the inn. He will also be renovating the house to coordinate with the two he owns on the corner of Brown and Lake Streets, in order to frame the front of the inn. YCPB member Alan "Herb" Snyder identified himself as the resident of a neighboring property, and asked questions regarding the extension and maintenance of the perimeter fence, the fate of nearby trees, and the lighting and drainage to be installed for the parking lot. Zerges answered to satisfaction, and the board approved his request with Snyder abstaining. MILO: Milo residents Larry and Dale Ledgerwood requested five area variances, including width and height, to allow the construction of a new dwelling on the site of their summer cottage, the last on their road. The property is now served by water and sewer lines, and all neighbors have endorsed the project. The width was deemed necessary to accommodate handicapped accessibility on the ground floor. The board approved, with on Ron Rubin in opposition. Rubin explained he opposed only because he believes the zoning rules involved need to be changed by Milo. Friday, December 23, 2011 stargazette.com reports that........Pa. DEP fines Chesapeake Energy divisionAgency says Horseheads firm violated erosion rules6:47 PM, Dec. 22, 2011, stargazette.comPennsylvania's Department of Environmental Protection has fined Appalachia Midstream Services LLC of Horseheads, Chesapeake Energy's pipeline division, $19,510 for violations found last winter at a compressor station in Albany Township in Bradford County. Inspections by the conservation district and DEP's Oil and Gas staff in February and May found that Appalachia Midstream had failed to implement and maintain effective, best-management practices to control erosion and sediment runoff during excavation for construction of a compressor station. Best-management practices are measures used to minimize soil erosion and sedimentation to protect the quality of surface and groundwater in the area, according to a press release from DEP. The inspections revealed violations of the Pennsylvania Clean Streams Law, Dam Safety and Encroachment Act and state regulations, the DEP stated. A notice of violation letter was sent to the company on March 28, and a DEP inspection on Aug. 16 verified that Appalachia Midstream had corrected all the violations. However, the DEP was critical of the time taken to make the fixes. "Appalachia Midstream did not correct the violations documented in February by the Bradford County Conservation District until August, which is far longer than needed," DEP North-central Regional Director Nels Taber said in statement. "We continue to work to ensure that the companies DEP regulates take their compliance obligations seriously.
Wednesday, December 21, 2011
Tuesday, December 20, 2011 DEC: No funds to regulate fracking in Cuomo's budgetAgency says 140 new workers will be needed in first year9:36 PM, Dec. 19, 201, stargazette.comALBANY -- If the state does look to add regulators to watch over the natural gas industry, it won't be part of Gov. Andrew Cuomo's initial budget proposal next year, according to the state's environmental agency. Department of Environmental Conservation spokeswoman Emily DeSantis said in an email Monday that additional funds for regulating hydraulic fracturing and gas drilling "will not be included in the executive budget," which Cuomo will propose in mid-January. The DEC is in the middle of soliciting public comment on a series of regulatory proposals that would allow high-volume hydrofracking, a process in which mass amounts of water mixed with sand and chemicals are blasted deep underground to unlock natural gas. High-volume hydrofracking was put on hold by the state in July 2008. Although the agency has taken steps toward allowing the technique, it has acknowledged the need for additional staff and equipment to properly regulate the industry. The DEC estimates it will need 140 new workers the first year permits are issued and 226 by the fifth, which when coupled with equipment costs would run about $20 million a year. The DEC has convened a panel of outside experts to come up with a series of taxes and fees that could be levied on drillers to cover the costs. "We expect the panel to issue a report sometime in the first part of next year," DeSantis said in a statement. "The panel will take the time it needs to consider agency staffing and funding issues, along with the other issues that fall within its charge." Although the additional funding or fee structure will not be included in Cuomo's proposal, nothing would prevent the governor and lawmakers from inserting it into the state's final 2012-13 budget, which kicks in April 1. The situation could leave environmental groups -- which have derided the state for cutting 800 full-time positions at the DEC since 2008 -- in a potentially awkward position: Should they fight against adding additional regulators if it puts the state closer to allowing hydrofracking? "I think that the No. 1 legislative priority is to stop fracking in the budget, because (the DEC) hasn't made the case that it can be done safely," said Roger Downs, a conservation associate for the Sierra Club Atlantic Chapter. "It goes against everything we've fought for the past 10 years. It is not something easy to do. But I think that we can certainly draw a line between funding basic agency function to protect New York under current mandates rather than throwing literally tens of millions of dollars at an entirely new program." Most environmental groups oppose hydrofracking, citing incidents of contaminated water supplies in Pennsylvania and Wyoming that governmental agencies have linked to gas drilling. Adrienne Esposito, executive director of Citizens Campaign for the Environment, said the DEC should focus on staffing-up on existing tasks, such as dam safety and ensuring the health of the state's beaches and bays. "There are current programs where staff is gravely needed to protect the health and safety of the public that are far more important than advancing hydrofracking," she said. "We're saying they shouldn't be adding staff to advance hydrofracking. They should be adding staff in the areas that are already deficient." Wayne Bayer, a DEC engineer who is shop steward for the Public Employees Federation union, said the agency is understaffed and its employees are concerned about adding a new regulatory program like hydrofracking. But adding new staff for existing programs would likely be a tough sell in a difficult economy. Cuomo required all state agencies to cut 10 percent from their budgets for the current fiscal year, and has requested an additional 2.5 percent cut for 2012-13. Jim Smith, a spokesman for the Independent Oil & Gas Association of New York, said the lobbying group is confident the state would bring in plenty of money to pay for staff if the industry were given the green light. "We support more DEC staff," Smith said. "Our position remains that there will be enough revenue through the permitting process and any other fee structure that's established to more than pay for that staff." Jon Campbell is a staff writer for Gannett's Albany Bureau Monday, December 19, 2011 More gas drilling coming in 2012, but leases
More gas drilling coming in 2012, but leases harder to get Marcellus Shale natural gas production is expected to keep rising in 2012, yet landowners may find that signing lease deals isn’t as easy as in years past. Though still in its early stages, industry experts say that the business of Marcellus Shale gas drilling is starting to change, as new forces emerge. Among them: lawmakers putting regulations in place that will create more drilling opportunities in shale states other than Pennsylvania; Shell’s coming decision on where to build a massive processing plant; and the great unknown, the market prices for natural gas. Drillers have swarmed in recent years to the lucrative Marcellus Shale region primarily beneath Pennsylvania, New York, West Virginia and Ohio. Pennsylvania is the center of activity, with more than 3,000 wells drilled in the past three years and thousands more planned. Critics say a drilling method known as hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, could poison water supplies, while the natural-gas industry says it’s been used safely for decades. 2012 could lessen the spotlight on Pennsylvania. Other states are moving toward updating laws to regulate drilling, and the industry is starting to explore a new gas resource – the Utica shale, which lies under the Marcellus formation. "New York will see a regulatory package; I think West Virginia will probably be in a situation where there’s more certainty," said Kathryn Klaber, president of the Marcellus Shale Coalition, an industry group based in Pennsylvania. There’s one variable that impacts the industry everywhere it operates, Klaber said. The biggest unpredictable for 2012 is wholesale natural gas prices, she said. They’ve stayed low for a few years, and that’s helped boost demand from some areas, such as gas-fired electric power plants. But with more and more gas entering the market, no one knows just where the balance of supply and demand will lead. If prices drop further, drilling could slow. But if they rise, the boom could speed up even more. Klaber said it will become clearer next year just how economically viable the Utica Shale is. Some companies have reported promising results from wells in western Pennsylvania and eastern Ohio. "The wells drilled to date have made a lot of folks optimistic. But I think it’s still too early to tell how the Utica will play out," she said. Officials from three of the shale states – Pennsylvania, Ohio and West Virginia – are all competing to land the a huge new multibillion-dollar Shell Oil Co. petrochemical processing plant. Known as cracker plants in the industry, such plants take a liquid form of natural gas and turn it into other commercial compounds, such as plastics. Shell expects to choose a location for the plant soon and announce the decision early in January, spokeswoman Kelly op de Weegh told The Associated Press. Another coming change will be in leases for land to drill on, experts said. The past few years saw what seemed at times to be a mad rush by the industry to persuade property owners to sign deals. But now many of the big drilling companies have tens of thousands of acres under lease, said Brian Pitell, a representative for the National Association of Royalty Owners in northwestern Pennsylvania. "The land grab, like the gold rush, is kind of over. You don’t have two, three or four different companies" all competing to offer leases in the same region, he said. That means landowners have fewer options, and less power to demand certain lease terms. "There’s a muting, to some degree, of competition," Pitell said. Sometimes it’s the fine print that changes, he said, noting that one recent lease from a big company removed the landowner’s right to audit royalty statement payments. And if a landowner doesn’t like that? "If you think you’re just going to hold out, that may not work out all that well for you," Pitell said. That’s because when many surrounding landowners have already signed leases with one company, others will have little use for the remaining isolated parcels. But Pennsylvania still has some significant advantages in the marketplace, Pitell added. While it’s true that companies could move some drilling operations to New York, West Virginia or Ohio, they’d have to build up infrastructure there to do so. Pennsylvania has significant infrastructure in place now, in terms of well pads and a growing network of pipelines and processing stations. "Once they have that infrastructure in place, they want to feed that infrastructure," Pitell said of drilling companies, noting that to justify moving a drilling rig "the geology is going to have to prove that it makes sense for them to potentially abandon development in a given area, and move to New York" or some other state. Klaber agreed that the growth of pipeline networks and mergers in that industry will create more ways to deliver gas to customers. But she noted that some widely discussed possibilities, such as the Shell plant, will take years to permit and build. But there’s no question the quantity of gas produced from the Marcellus is increasing rapidly. In 2010, the industry estimated Marcellus production to be the equivalent of 1.3 billion cubic feet per day. By the end of 2012 it is projected to be more than 6 billion cubic feet per day Posted Dec 18, 2011 @ 10:06 PM, The Corning Leader Sunday, December 18, 2011 Is 2012 the year for hydrofracking?
Is 2012 the year for hydrofracking?11:13 PM, Dec. 17, 2011. stargazette.comFor natural gas companies and eager landowners hoping to tap into New York's vast underground reserves, 2008 was looking like "the year." The same could have been said every year since. It's been 3 1/2 years since New York began assessing the risks and benefits of using high-volume hydraulic fracturing to extract gas from the Marcellus and Utica shale formations that lie deep beneath the state's surface. And while the state has taken clear steps toward allowing the much-debated technique, the highly polarizing decision on whether to give the green light looks like it will drag on well into 2012 -- if not longer. "It's going to be the year we decide if democracy exists in Albany," Adrienne Esposito, executive director of the Citizens Campaign for the Environment, said about next year. "We have seen a record outpouring of public engagement on this issue, unlike anything I have seen in my 26 years doing this work." Whether the state issues any hydrofracking permits in 2012 -- or makes a determination not to move forward -- depends on a number of moving parts, with a delay in any one piece having the potential to push the entire process back. By its own admission, the DEC doesn't have enough manpower or equipment to regulate the anticipated gas-drilling boom, and a panel tasked with creating a fee structure to pay for more staff hasn't begun to put pen to paper. Some of the fees under consideration, such as a severance tax on any gas produced, would need approval from the Legislature, far from a sure bet when lawmakers are as deeply divided on the issue as the electorate. Polls have shown New Yorkers are effectively split on hydrofracking. The DEC, which has shed about 800 full-time workers since 2008, has estimated it will need 140 new staffers and an additional $20 million the first year permits are issued. The agency also has to respond to each comment it receives on its September draft review and regulations, as well as make changes to its proposals as warranted. With the comment period set to close on Jan. 11, the agency had already received more than 15,000 comments by mid-December. DEC Commissioner Joe Martens said on a public television program earlier this month that he expects the agency to wrap up its review "well into the spring," and hasn't made any promises on whether permits would be soon to follow. "People always want to know: When is the final day? Well, we don't know what the final volume of questions are yet," Martens told New York NOW. "And it's not just questions. We're getting technical reports out of the larger organizations, who will give us consultant reports. It's not just a simple two or three-page letter with comments, it's volumes. So it could take some time." It's all led advocates on both sides of the issue -- who were once convinced hydrofracking was a done deal for 2012 -- to question whether the decision-making process will stretch into 2013. For environmental and anti-fracking groups, a slowdown is a good thing. They point to places like Pavilion, Wyo., where the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said earlier this month that hydrofracking may be to blame for a contaminated water supply. The gas industry has disputed the findings. They hope Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who has been careful to say he believes "science" should govern the process and "not emotion," will take time to assess his administration's position. "The 'fracking express' has slowed down a bit," said Eric Goldstein, senior attorney at the Natural Resources Defense Council. "It's likely that the Cuomo administration is going to spend the early months of the new year both reviewing the thousands of comments they've received, and both rethinking and recalibrating the direction and scope of their drilling plans." The industry and landowners, however, say the state has done its due diligence, and say the technique can be used safely to extract gas. They point to Bradford and Lycoming counties in Pennsylvania, which have seen their hotels packed and unemployment rate decline since drilling started there in late 2007. Gregory Sovas, a consultant to the gas industry and landowners who served as the DEC's director of mineral resources from 1983 to 2001, said that even if the state issues permits next year, its proposed regulations may price gas companies out of New York -- and into states like Ohio. "In the big scheme of things, I would like to think that we are moving forward, but I'm afraid that we've missed the crest," Sovas said. "What's happened is the companies are not going to invest here because it's going to cost them a lot more money for things that are really not going to provide any more environmental protection." The best-case scenario for the gas industry is the DEC finishes its review during the first quarter of 2012 and begins issuing permits during the summer, said Dennis Holbrook, chief legal officer for Norse Energy, whose regional office is in Buffalo. "I don't see any scenario that gets it any sooner than that," said Holbrook, whose company laid off about two-thirds of its Buffalo office earlier this year as it waits for the go-ahead in New York. "Could it go beyond summer of 2012? Realistically, that's a possibility. It would be an unfortunate possibility for companies like mine and for New York state." Sen. Thomas Libous, R-Binghamton, said the state is getting to a point where it has to make a determination one way or another. The Senate's second-ranking member, Libous has been one of the leading advocates for drilling. "I think the time has come," Libous said. "We've spent close to four years discussing the issue, DEC is collecting their data, and I think 2012 is it. It's just time." Even if the DEC does complete its review, it remains to be seen what kind of lawsuits or legal maneuvering could tie the process up. Some environmental and anti-fracking groups have hinted they may challenge the DEC's review process, and Assembly Democrats have vowed to push for a hydrofracking moratorium in 2012. A temporary moratorium was passed in 2010, but was later vetoed by then-Gov. David Paterson. Esposito, of Citizens Campaign for the Environment, put it this way: "It's going to be a war next year."
News Alert
Friday, December 16, 2011 News Alert
Thursday, December 15, 2011 News Alert
Wednesday, December 14, 2011 Defendant linked to Pa. sludge faces more chargesGa. man accused of dumping fluid in Bradford County6:05 PM, Dec. 13, 2011, stargazette.com
WYSOX -- A Georgia man charged earlier this month with dumping 800 gallons of dangerous sludge from the Marcellus Shale gas industry onto state game lands in Bradford County faces two additional charges in connection with the crime. Josh Foster, 27, of Temple, Ga., was charged Dec. 1 with scattering rubbish, a misdemeanor. On Tuesday, he was also charged with unlawful disposal of solid waste and third-degree criminal mischief, a felony. Foster admitted he dumped the sludge on Regan Hill Road, Warren Township, in Pennsylvania Land 219, Trooper John Kern, of state police in Towanda, said in a criminal complaint filed in District Court. Though the sludge came from the nearby Strope natural gas well, which is run by Talisman Energy, Foster is not a Talisman employee, according to court documents. Foster's preliminary hearing, which was scheduled for Tuesday afternoon before District Judge Fred Wheaton in Wysox, was continued so that Foster's attorney, Ray Depaola of Towanda, could consider the charges. A new hearing will be scheduled within 30 days, Wheaton said. Another man, Michael Francis Todd Lathrop, was identified in the complaint as a passenger in the truck at the time of the dumping. Lathrop told Foster that dumping the sludge wasn't right, but Foster did it anyway, according to the criminal complaint. Lathrop also is not a Talisman employee. The sludge -- described as very fine grain rock cuttings, used drilling mud and water -- is a synthetic hydrocarbon-based fluid used both as a lubricant and a coolant during the drilling process. It is supposed to be treated on-site and then taken to a landfill. The sludge was not treated before it was dumped. Although the material is not listed on any federal guide as a hazardous material, hydrocarbon-based products are generally listed as dangerous substances, according to officials. A contractor for Talisman vacuum-extracted the sludge from the game lands and no harm was done to the environment, streams or wildlife, officials said. Foster remains in the Bradford County Correctional Facility in West Burlington in lieu of $100,000 bail.
Tuesday, December 13, 2011
Monday, December 12, 2011 Hector Clean Water InitiativeClean water initiative presents anti-fracking petition
18 PM, Dec. 11, 2011, stargazette.com A group known as the Hector Clean Water Initiative plans to present the Hector Town Board with a petition asking the town to enact a ban or moratorium on hydraulic fracturing for natural gas. The board will meet at 7 p.m. Tuesday at the Hector Town Hall, 5097 state Route 227 in Burdett. Additional group members plan to hold a candlelight vigil outside the Town Hall during the meeting. "In recent months, citizens' groups in Hector have been working to educate the board on the inherent dangers of hydrofracking, including health and safety issues, overall quality of life and the negative impact to the local economy, which depends heavily on tourism, wineries and agriculture," group member Josh Harben said in a news release. The petition effort began in early autumn. The petition is being presented now because of concern that the state Department of Environmental Conservation may begin issuing permits for hydrofracking in 2012, Harben said. There is now a statewide moratorium on hydrofracking, a controversial process that involves injecting fluids deep into the earth to extract natural gas from deposits within the Marcellus shale formation.
Sunday, December 11, 2011 News Alert
Saturday, December 10, 2011 News alert
The website, www.preservethefingerlakes.com was started about 2 1/2 years ago to promote preservation of the Finger Lakes region by informing the general public, officials and administrators of environmental threats. Its focus has been on the dangers of drilling for natural gas in the Marcellus shale formation underlying the region with an emphasis on hydraulic fracturing. Since its inception, the site has had over 10,000 visitors. Year to date, it has had 6,843 visitors who viewed 3.75 pages on average, suggesting an interest in the subject that will continue to grow as long as Marcellus drilling is under consideration by New York State. In addition to the website, email "alerts" are sent out almost every day; the site's blog has frequent postings during the day, And, it has a link to FaceBook. All of this must be viewed in the context of what else is happening in cyperspace. Indeed, the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. Bob Davis, editor and publisher of www.preservethefingerlakes.com Friday, December 9, 2011 News Alert
Thursday, December 8, 2011 News Alert
PENN YAN–State Sen. Tom O’Mara (R-C, Big Flats) and
Assemblyman Phil Palmesano (R-C-I, Corning) held a community meeting at the Penn Yan Village Hall on Monday, Dec 5. The
meeting was geared towards giving local residents the chance to express their thoughts and concerns about fracking in the
area. Wednesday, December 7, 2011 Crowd tells O’Mara, Palmesano to keep fracking out of Finger LakesBy Gwen Chamberlain Posted Dec 06, 2011 @ 03:43 PM
Penn Yan, N.Y. — Over 100 people turned out Monday evening for a town hall meeting with Sen. Tom O’Mara and Assemblyman Phil Palmesano at the Penn Yan Village Hall. For about two hours, the lawmakers listened to several comments from people opposed to hydraulic fracturing in the Marcellus Shale in the Finger Lakes. The crowd applauded at various times when people made specific comments such as urging the two lawmakers to support a ban of hydrofracking in the area. “The gas isn’t going anywhere. We need to be smart and wait for a proven way to take it out. Let’s do it safely and not jump the gun,” said Michelle Morehouse. O’Mara said he wants to hear from the experts within the Department of Environmental Conservation on whether the practice can be done safely. If he is convinced it can be done safely, he will support the practice. He said he also wants to learn more about a proposed 4,000 ft. set back from a lake. “Not many people in this room have confidence
in the DEC,” said one man near the end of the meeting. O’Mara said much of the information he’s hearing is anecdotal, but added, “I’m very concerned about strong oversight of this process.” Explaining that he has traveled to areas in Pennsylvania where hydrofracking is being done, he said he hasn’t seen overwhelming ruination. Palmesano said he has toured some areas of Pennsylvania with a high school science teacher who is opposed to hydrofracking. “I’m not an expert,” he said, adding he has confidence in the DEC, but he added, “It (decision about permitting hydrofracking) has to be based on science.” Robert Gillespie urged the two to do some research into what he said were deceptive practices by the gas companies in Pennsylvania. Vaughn Baker of Jerusalem asked the two to commit to sponsoring legislation in their
individual houses to protect the Finger Lakes Watershed. Neither responded to his request. LP Gas Storage People warned about the plan for storage of liquid propane and natural gas in salt caverns in the town of Reading, near the southwest shoreline of Seneca Lake. One woman said she has a list of potential tourism business investors who are cautious of putting their money in to business in this area because of the possible negative impact of the facility. O’Mara said the DEC is reviewing the project and its potential environmental impacts now. Education Diane Lovejoy asked how public school districts are expected to meet the educational demands of state and federal programs within the financial cuts that have been made. Palmesano said one of the legislature’s biggest challenges is the balance of state aid between upstate and downstate school districts. Wine in Grocery Stores Following the meeting, O’Mara said he’s not encouraged
about the potential for success if he introduces legislation again in the coming year. He introduced legislation that would
permit wine sales in grocery stores last year. He noted the success of such legislation depends on the executive branch’s
support since the Assembly does not support it. Tuesday, December 6, 2011
Seminar for police focuses on potential gas-drilling issuesJob sites, problem employees addressed10:38 PM, Dec. 5, 2011, stargazette.com
The law enforcement community, already trained to deal with hazardous materials, was given some additional insight Monday in handling potential issues related to natural gas drilling in the region. Fifty people from agencies in Tompkins, Broome, Schuyler and Chemung counties registered for the Chemung County Sheriff's Office seminar, including representatives of the state Department of Environmental Conservation Police and New York State Police, county sheriff's Capt. Thomas Argetsinger said. "It's a pretty good cross-section of people," he said, noting all agencies are going to be impacted simultaneously when the hydraulic fracturing process for extracting natural gas, also known as hydrofracking, is approved for use in New York state. The meeting was held at the Holiday Inn-Riverview in Elmira. One of the issues discussed Monday was the volume of gas industry workers coming into the area, Argetsinger said. "These ladies and gentlemen are paid very well, but they're also isolated for six months from their families. A lot of them are from the Midwest. So the 12 hours they're on, they work very hard. The 12 hours they're off, they don't have a lot to do. Idle minds and idle hands," Argetsinger said. "Not to point a finger, but it's just a matter of our being aware of it also. It could be an issue." Bradford County District Attorney Dan Barrett, another speaker at Monday's seminar, said earlier that many unmarried gas workers don't have the same responsibilities as longtime residents or new residents with families, such as going home after work to mow the lawn or rake leaves. That means a lot of time for trouble, he said. In 2009, Pennsylvania State Police made 136 drunken driving arrests in Bradford County, Pennsylvania's most heavily drilled county. In 2010, the number of DUI arrests totaled 216. The agency is on track to make 351 arrests in the county in 2011, Barrett said in a presentation he made in October at a U.S. Department of Justice-sponsored law enforcement conference at State College, Pa. In Towanda Borough, with a population of about 3,000, police have also seen a rise in DUI cases from 21 in 2009 to 30 in 2010 and a projected 60 for 2011. "We can't attribute any crimes to the industry itself," Barrett said in his October presentation. "The strain is from the large numbers of people who work in the industry. Most behave, some don't." Monday's seminar was precedent setting, said Michael S. Smith, director of fire and emergency management for Chemung County and one of the event's speakers. "We've recognized some time ago in Chemung County that the more education we can provide for both law enforcement and the fire service, the better off we'll be as we approach the day that hydraulic fracturing begins here," he said. "We already have over 90 gas wells in Chemung County that have been drilled in the conventional fashion. Quite frankly, they have been pretty much without incident," Smith said. "We've had some accidents, people injured, these kinds of things, but that's not unusual at all in any kind of an industrial setting. We've not had anything else that would be particularly alarming." His intent was to help law enforcement understand the types of materials being used in the hydrofracking process, and also to help them understand that there really isn't any need to be overly concerned about the kinds of materials being used, he said. "Most of them are pretty innocuous. On a regular basis, far more hazardous material is being used in the community in the existing businesses and in transportation that goes through here every day," Smith said. "So, the hope was to help them understand the nature of the materials that are being used and the fact that we're pretty familiar with them and have a good response plan, should anything take place." The primary concern that officials have had is the kinds of on-site industrial accidents that might occur at well sites, he said. "These can be trips, slips, falls. They may be long falls for people who are working up on the drilling rig or on the platform. They can fall a fairly substantial distance. The other kinds of concerns are people getting struck with objects that are being moved," Smith said. "These are all industrial-type accidents, and we deal with those throughout the community because obviously we have many industrial operations in the Chemung County area, but this is kind of a new environment. We're going to be outdoors now and working with big stuff. Some of these things are fairly large," he said. "We just want to make sure that everybody is giving them all of the respect that they should have." What is involved is far greater than just drilling a hole in the ground, Argetsinger said. "That's part of what we're doing here -- trying to make sure we understand the big picture out there," he said. Monday's seminar would seem particularly timely after a Georgia man was charged last week with dumping about 800 gallons of a dangerous sludge onto state game lands in Warren Township in Bradford County. The sludge came from a nearby Strope gas well run by Talisman Energy. "You don't want to expect that to happen, but the reality is it could happen," Argetsinger said. Monday's seminar was basically about raising awareness and a good starting point, he said, adding that it is hard to predict how involved training could get. The Chemung County Sheriff's Office plans to continue in-service training and keep people up to speed. Other agencies will probably do their own individual training, and it's likely they would share their insights with each other, he said.
Sunday, December 4, 2011
Saturday, December 3, 2011 Georgia man admits dumping drilling sludge in Northern Tier800 gallons came from nearby Talisman site7:00 PM, Dec. 2, 2011, stargazette.com A Georgia man was charged Thursday with dumping about 800 gallons of a dangerous sludge onto state game lands in Warren Township, Bradford County. Josh Foster, 27, of Temple, Ga., has been charged with scattering rubbish, a misdemeanor. Foster admitted dumping the sludge on Regan Hill Road in Pennsylvania Game Land 219, Trooper John Kern, of state police in Towanda, said in a criminal complaint on file in District Court. Though the sludge came from the nearby Strope gas well, which is run by Talisman Energy, Foster is not a Talisman employee, company spokeswoman Natalie Cox said Friday. Cox would not discuss who Foster works for, citing the criminal investigation. Another man, Michael Francis Todd Lathrop, is identified in the complaint as a passenger in the truck at the time of the dumping. "Lathrop stated that he told Foster that this wasn't right, but Foster dumped the product anyway," Kern said in the criminal complaint. Lathrop is not a Talisman employee, Cox said Friday. Myles Lawrence, a Talisman Energy drilling superintendent, told Kern that the substance, used in the gas drilling industry, is dangerous, according to the complaint. The state Department of Environmental Protection is still confirming what the substance is, spokesman Daniel Spadoni said Friday. Cox described the material as "very fine grain rock cuttings, used drilling mud and water." Drilling mud is a mineral-oil based fluid used during the drilling process, according to a Talisman Energy statement. Ordinarily, it is supposed to be treated on-site, including by mixing it with dirt, and then taken to a landfill, Cox said. The sludge was extracted from the Strope well site, but it was not treated before being dumped, she said. Bob Barnes, director of public safety at the Bradford County Emergency Management Agency, which responded to the spill, described the sludge differently. "It's a synthetic hydrocarbon stuff that they use in the drilling process," said Barnes, who could not recall the name of the substance. It serves as both a lubricant and as a coolant for the drill bit, to speed up drilling, he said. "The material is not listed on any federal guide as a hazardous material," Barnes said, "but hydrocarbon-based products are generally listed as dangerous substances." Cox said late Friday afternoon that a contractor for Talisman had finished vacuum-extracting the sludge, though she didn't know how long it took to clean it up, the name of the contractor or how much Talisman was paying for the cleanup. "Any additional remediation will be done if necessary," Cox said. Roger Cook, the neighbor who reported the spill Thursday, said he could still see people working with heavy equipment on the cleanup at around 3:50 p.m. Friday. Cook said the contractor had been there most of the day, and he could see an excavator digging and loading the sludge into a truck. Cox said no harm was done to the environment, streams or to wildlife. The DEP's Waste Management Program investigated the spill Friday, Spadoni said. "We will check on the status of the cleanup and collect a sample of the material if possible," Spadoni said. "Appropriate enforcement action will be taken once the responsible parties are identified." Foster was arraigned in District Court and sent to Bradford County Correctional Facility in lieu of $100,000 bail. Talisman personnel cooperated fully and helped with the investigation, police said. Friday, December 2, 2011 Spill probed near Pa. gas-drilling siteSludge-like substance found on hunting land9:00 PM, Dec. 1, 2011, stargazette.comWARREN TOWNSHIP, Pa. -- As he pulled out of his driveway early Thursday morning, Bradford County resident Roger Cook made an unsightly discovery on the state-owned hunting land across the road. "It's some sort of petroleum sludge," Cook said. "And it's just illegally dumped out here in the middle of nowhere." Pennsylvania officials and Talisman Energy on Thursday launched investigations into the source of a 500- to 800-gallon pool of viscous black fluid found near the state line in northern Bradford County, about 1 1/2 miles from a natural gas well pad. The gooey, black material was splayed in a 3-inch-thick pool, approximately 100 by 30 feet, at the beginning of an access road that extends deeper into Pennsylvania Game Land 219. The 5,691-acre hunting preserve is owned by the Pennsylvania Game Commission. The fluid is believed to be a petroleum product mixed with some oils and clay, said Kevin Sunday, a spokesman for the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection. "It's clearly an oil-and-gas-industry-related product," he said. "We're not sure how it got there." According to Sunday, one of Talisman's contractors discovered the material and reported it to Bradford County officials on Thursday afternoon. The DEP will work with Bradford County Emergency Management, the Pennsylvania Game Commission and Talisman to ensure the material is vacuumed and excavated and to make sure no surrounding groundwater or soils are impacted, he said. "We're going to investigate how it was spilled or dumped there and who's responsible and certainly hold them responsible," Sunday added. Warren Township Supervisor Fred Wheaton, who also serves as the township's road master, said he doesn't believe the material came from township road maintenance. The fluid was found less than 2 miles from Talisman Energy's Strope well pad in Warren Township. Talisman spokeswoman Natalie Cox said the company sent the material out for testing and is examining internal records to determine if it is connected to actives at the Strope pad. "We cannot confirm at this time that it was from the well site," she said. "But because it is so close, that is why we are taking it upon ourselves to start the cleanup and take the paths necessary.' Cox said Thursday that the cleanup was expected to be completed overnight. "There were no waterways, streams -- no impacts in that regard," she said. "But our investigation needs to continue to find out how this happened (and) when it happened." A man who declined to be named -- but identified himself as an independent road-monitoring contractor working for Talisman -- was parked next to the fluid Thursday afternoon. While official investigations are ongoing, Cook -- whose property is separated from the state game land by a small, dirt road -- said he believes the liquid was dumped there Wednesday night. Tire tracks likely tell the story, he said. "What it looks like to me is a tanker truck pulled out in there," Cook said. "It looks to me like they were going to go out into a field and dump, and they got stuck so they just dumped it there and just left." Thursday, December 1, 2011 Comment perion extended to January 11, 2012ALBANY — The state Department of Environmental Conservation will let the public comment on its proposed rules for hydraulic fracturing for an additional month, the agency announced Wednesday. The public comment period on the DEC's 1,500-page environmental review and proposed regulations will now close Jan. 11. It had been slated to end Dec. 12. In September, the DEC released its draft rules for comment, after an incomplete draft was released in July. But an agency spokeswoman said many people had asked for more time to comment, and the DEC would grant the request. "Many individuals and organizations requested additional time to prepare comments," spokeswoman Emily DeSantis said in a statement. "We have decided to extend the comment period by 30 days to Jan. 11." After initially announcing the comment period would be 60 days long, the DEC extended it in September to 96 days. That move came amid public pressure from environmental groups and several elected officials, who had been calling for as many as 180 days to weigh in. Wednesday's extension puts the length of the response period at 126 days. Environmentalists, who have been wary of the hydrofracking process, said they were pleased at the move, which was announced in Manhattan at the DEC's fourth and final hearing on its draft rules. High-volume hydrofracking, which is on hold in New York until the DEC review is finalized, involves the use of a high-pressure mix of water, sand and chemicals to unlock underground natural gas. Environmental Advocates of New York, an Albany-based lobbying group that had delivered water-powered clocks to Gov. Andrew Cuomo asking for more time to comment, issued a statement Wednesday praising Cuomo and the DEC "for heeding the call of tens of thousands of New Yorkers to extend the public comment period on the state's fracking proposals. "Every New Yorker deserves the time to carefully review and share comments on the state's fracking proposals," the statement reads. "An extra 30 days to review the more than 2,000 pages of these highly technical documents is welcome news." Industry and business groups, which have long been pushing for the state to move forward with hydrofracking because of the financial promise of the gas industry and the energy independence benefits, blasted the DEC's decision. The added time, the groups said, is nothing more than a delay tactic. "While (Wednesday's) extension of the comment period may seem inconsequential to some, it is in fact a continuation of the existing four-year ban on economic opportunity for Upstate New York," said Brad Gill, executive director of the Independent Oil & Gas Association of New York. The DEC launched its review of high-volume hydrofracking in July 2008. Mike Elmendorf, CEO of the state Associated General Contractors and a member of the pro-hydrofracking coalition Clean Growth Now, said there's "really no benefit to extending the comment period." "Those people that are interested in delays I don't think are interested in solutions or being able to send in their comments," Elmendorf said. "They're looking for new ways to halt development." The comment period on the DEC's 2009 draft was also extended twice, for a total of 90 days. That document received more than 13,000 public submissions. Before the first of four hearings on the current draft kicked off earlier this month, the DEC had received 4,208 comments. Jon Campbell is a staff writer for the Gannett Albany Bureau. Yates Board OKs anti-frack zoning, moratorium in JerusalemBy John Christensen The Chronicle-Express Posted Nov 29, 2011 @ 02:08 PM
Penn Yan, N.Y. — In a nearly unanimous decision, the Yates County Planning Board approved the Town of Jerusalem’s proposed zoning amendments designed to eliminate the threat of high volume hydrofracking horizontal gas wells with the town boarders. County Planning board member Ron Rubin said, “The overwhelming opinion in the town is to pass it. The general consensus is that it’s pretty thorough.” John Sawers’ was the only opposing vote. Members of the Jerusalem Hydrofrack Impact Study Committee were present and declared they had the support of the vast majority of voters and of John Adamski, President of the Finger Lakes Museum. To the question of what would happen if neighboring towns allowed fracking, the committee asserted that other towns are following Jerusalem’s lead. The board also approved the one-year moratorium proposed by Middlesex on all petroleum and gas exploration and extraction activities, storage, and any related production of wastes. Again, Sawers was the only opposing vote. County Planner Shawna Bonshak commented later, “We are beginning to see a trend in moratoriums in the towns.” She added, “I’m anxious to see the result of the cases in Dryden and near Cooperstown,” referring to court challenges by gas companies to overturn or circumvent local bans and zoning laws. “Having that case law to reference will be valuable.” In a rare disapproval, the board rejected the application by Mervin Horst of 3216 Rte. 364, Benton, for a special use permit to build and operate a “dog breeding facility” with up to 20 dogs, not including litters of puppies. Benton requires a special use permit for anyone with more than four adult dogs. Horst said he would be breeding five to seven types of small breed dogs for the pet trade, and would be regulated by the New York Department of Agriculture & Markets. According to Ritter, this allows the dogs to be kept in wire floor cages, and supersedes the code enforcement officers or any regulation by the town or county. A previous applicant in 2006 wanted a breeding facility with 48-160 dogs, but faced opposition from neighbors and withdrew his request. Board members said they were struggling with the application philosophically, but must vote on the legality. Ritter said that there had been problems in the past with similar breeding operations in Starkey. Saying he didn’t like the idea of Yates County being known as a place with such operations, Rubin took the plunge and moved to oppose the application because of a “negative countywide impact.” The board agreed by a 7-4 vote. The application now goes back to the Benton Zoning Board, which could approve with a supermajority.
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Enter supporting content here