Natural gas drilling advocates have had their New York Marcellus Shale aspirations on hold since July 2008, and a bill awaiting Assembly approval would extend their wait until mid-May at the earliest. While the bill is expected to have the necessary votes to pass that house, five of six local Assembly members polled pledged they'll vote against that measure, which would ban hydraulic fracturing until May 15, 2011. Horizontal drilling in the Marcellus will remain on hold in New York, regardless of legislation, until the state Department of Environmental Conservation finishes its review of its Supplemental Generic  "It appears now that (the DEC's) review will continue into 2011, and we have no indication that it will wrap up anytime soon," said Assemblywoman Donna A. Lupardo, D-Endwell. "I anticipate they will go well into 2011, so a May 15 moratorium deadline in light of the progress DEC is making seems arbitrary."

Hearing postponed by EPA - not yet rescheduled.

For those who don't anticipate or think that it could happen in our towns
please read and this should be posted on our respective websites.

Best,

Jack
----- Original Message -----
From: "MB" <mbsweeney@echoes.net>
To: "MarcellusGasInfo" <marcellusgasinfo@googlegroups.com>
Sent: Wednesday, June 23, 2010 1:12 PM
Subject: [MarcellusGasInfo] Pittsburgh weighing Marcellus Shale drilling
concerns


> Note that: 1) drilling within the city of Pittsburgh is a real
> possibility, and, 2) the proposed setback from buildings within the
> city is 1000 feet, with some asking for larger setbacks, while here in
> NY we have setbacks of just 100 ft. from private residences and 150
> ft. from public buildings. Those living in Binghamton who are thinking
> that drilling will be a purely rural phenomenon had better wake up.
>
>
> http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/10171/1066991-53.stm
>
> ======================================================================
> Post-gazette.com
>
>
> City weighing Marcellus Shale drilling concerns
> Some on Council favor limits, others want to prohibit it
>
> Sunday, June 20, 2010
> By Rich Lord, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
>
> The prospect of gas wells near Lawrenceville condos or Lincoln Place
> gardens has Pittsburgh Council weighing whether to bar the Marcellus
> Shale boom from the city, or just strictly limit it.
>
> Whether council can do either is questionable, given state law that
> preempts local gas drilling rules. And it may be tough to build
> consensus around either Councilman Patrick Dowd's proposal to set
> conditions for drilling, which he'll introduce Tuesday, or colleague
> Doug Shields' preference for prohibition.
>
> Mr. Shields said he would "want to start for openers at, 'No, I don't
> want to see [drilling] in the city,' " and negotiate from there.
>
> "On a personal level, as an individual, I might want to see an
> outright ban," Mr. Dowd said Saturday. "I fear what [drilling] will do
> to my drinking water, and more importantly I fear what this will do to
> my kids' drinking water."
>
> However, legislation barring gas drilling "would eliminate our ability
> to engage in this conversation," he said.
>
> Spurring the conversation, statewide and beyond, is the rush to tap
> gas trapped a mile underground in the Marcellus Shale formation.
> Statewide, close to 800 rigs are built or under construction, and
> nearly 2,000 drilling sites have been permitted so far.
>
> None are within the city's borders, but agents have approached
> landowners about leasing the rights to gas beneath their property. Mr.
> Dowd said he's aware of more than 60 signed leases for property in
> Lawrenceville, and Mr. Shields has been educating Lincoln Place
> residents to implications of signing such documents.
>
> "What will this do to health and safety and wellbeing of residents?"
> Mr. Dowd asked.
>
> He'd like to allow oil and gas drilling in areas zoned for industry
> only, and then only after "yes" votes by the City Planning Commission
> and council. Those bodies would consider whether a driller had a site
> of 15 acres or more that was at least 1,000 feet from homes or public
> buildings, and scrutinize their plans to minimize noise and air
> pollution.
>
> Drillers would have to disclose the chemicals they would use on the
> site, submit emergency management plans, test soil and water before
> beginning work, and return the site to its prior condition after
> shutdown. Their trucks also would be barred from residential streets.
>
> The proposed road rule alone "appears to effectively prohibit [gas]
> development within the city limits," said Kathryn Z. Klaber, president
> and executive director of the Marcellus Shale Coalition, an advocacy
> group for the industry. "If you can't move vehicles around the
> vicinity of a well, you really can't develop a well site."
>
> Cities like Fort Worth, Texas, have found ways to balance civic
> concerns with the economic benefits of gas extraction, she said, in
> ways that "truly changed the economy of that city."
>
> Fiscally challenged Pittsburgh could make money by leasing public land
> to drillers, she said. Property owners, meanwhile, could get royalty
> checks from wells deep underground that fan out from a central rig.
>
> "There are economic windfalls for landowners that will never see their
> property disturbed," she said.
>
> She said drilling rules should be statewide, not local, but added that
> she is reaching out to council members to work with them on their
> concerns.
>
> Mayor Luke Ravenstahl hasn't yet seen the legislation, said his
> spokesman, Joanna Doven.
>
> "His number one priority is to protect city residents, and to the
> extent this legislation does that, that's something that's certainly
> worth looking into."
>
> Mr. Dowd said his council collaborators on the legislation include R.
> Daniel Lavelle, Ricky Burgess and Theresa Smith. Council President
> Darlene Harris said Mr. Dowd and Mr. Shields should try to work out
> the differences in their approaches.
>
> Industry skeptics praised Mr. Dowd's proposal, while suggesting that
> it could be strengthened.
>
> "It's an excellent first start," said state Sen. Jim Ferlo, D-Highland
> Park, who is pushing in Harrisburg for a one-year moratorium on new
> drilling. He said council should consider barring drilling near the
> rivers and demanding that firms post a bond to pay for any accidents.
>
> This month has seen gas well blowouts in Clearfield County and near
> Moundsville, W.Va.
>
> Gloria Forouzan, a Lawrenceville resident and activist, urged that the
> minimum distance from homes be increased from the proposed 1,000 feet.
> She said drilling companies should have to reimburse the city for
> training its personnel need in gas emergency management.
>
> Environmentalists realize that natural gas extracted from the
> Marcellus Shale burns much more cleanly than coal, said Peter Wray, co-
> chair of the Conservation Committee of the Sierra Club Allegheny
> Group. The challenge is getting it out of the shale it in a way that
> doesn't pollute ground water or disrupt neighborhoods.
>
> "Given those concerns, we and other environmental organizations will
> have to consider whether a moratorium on Marcellus drilling is the
> better approach or whether an immediate set of safeguards is needed,"
> he said.
>
> Because proposed zoning legislation takes effect on a temporary basis
> at the moment of its introduction, Mr. Dowd's proposal would kick in
> Tuesday. It then would be the subject of hearings and votes before the
> Planning Commission and council. Mr. Shields also wants a panel
> discussion, to include the mayor of Dish, Texas, who has said that gas
> wells polluted that tiny town north of Fort Worth. The process could
> take many months.
>
> Any delay is "not to the detriment of the industry as much as it's to
> the detriment of landowners in Pittsburgh," said Ms. Klaber. An
> outright or de facto ban would make the industry "less likely to lease
> the land," and eventual extraction "may not be as lucrative to the
> landowners as in a community that has reached out to work with the
> industry."

Subject:	Water News Release (HQ): EPA Announces a Schedule of Public Meetings on Hydraulic Fracturing Research Study
Date:	Fri, 18 Jun 2010 11:40:28 -0500 (CDT)
From:	U.S. EPA <usaepa@govdelivery.com>
To:	seckel@citizenscampaign.org

CONTACT:

Enesta Jones

jones.enesta@epa.gov

202-564-7873    

202-564-4355

 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

June 18, 2010

 

EPA Announces a Schedule of Public Meetings on Hydraulic Fracturing Research Study

 

WASHINGTON - The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is hosting four public information meetings on the proposed study of the relationship between hydraulic fracturing and its potential impacts on drinking water. Hydraulic fracturing is a process that helps production of natural gas or oil from shale and other geological formations. By pumping fracturing fluids (water and chemical additives) and sand or other similar materials into rock formations, fractures are created that allow natural gas or oil to flow from the rock through the fractures to a production well for extraction. The meetings will provide public information about the proposed study scope and design. EPA will solicit public comments on the draft study plan.

 

The public meetings will be held on:

 

• July 8 from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. CDT at the Hilton Fort Worth in Fort Worth, Texas
• July 13 from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. MDT at the Marriot Tech Center’s Rocky Mountain Events Center in Denver, Colo.
• July 22 from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. EDT at the Hilton Garden Inn in Canonsburg, Pa.
• August 12 at the Anderson Performing Arts Center at Binghamton University in Binghamton, N.Y. for 3 sessions - 8 a.m. to 12 p.m., 1 p.m. to 5 p.m., and 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. EDT

 

Natural gas plays a key role in our nation’s clean energy future and hydraulic fracturing is one way of accessing this vital resource. However, serious concerns have been raised about hydraulic fracturing’s potential impact on drinking water, human health and the environment. To address these concerns, EPA announced in March that it will study the potential adverse impact that hydraulic fracturing may have on drinking water.

 

To support the initial planning phase and guide the development of the study plan, the agency sought suggestions and comments from the EPA Science Advisory Board (SAB)—an independent, external federal advisory committee. The agency will use this advice and extensive stakeholder input to guide the design of the study.

Stakeholders are requested to pre-register for the meetings at least 72 hours before each meeting.

 

More information on the meetings: http://www.epa.gov/safewater/uic/wells_hydrofrac.html

 

R218

MARCELLUS SHALE:  Fitch invited other audience members to speak and a group concerned with drilling of the Marcellus Shale offered opinions.
  
Jack Wilbert led the group and read a recent article he had written, “Trade offs won’t pay off.”  He asked the legislature to pass a moratorium on drilling.

Mary Howell-Martens  said she knows a lot of farmers in Northern Pennsylvania and the whole area is in a state of chaos and breakdown.

“Some people are making vast amounts of money, others are not.  They can’t find a feed truck driver, everyone with CDL’s is driving water trucks for the gas companies,” Martens said.

“The gas companies are teaching young people to work for lots of money, but with short term goals. Do we want to bring that here?” she asked.

Art Hunt, owner of Hunt Country Winery, furnished pictures of the disruption caused by drilling sites. He urged a moratorium until the right technology is found to make drilling safer.

Fitch said the Marcellus Shale was “front and center on the minds of the legislators.”  A number of legislators have attended meetings throughout the region and a Marcellus Shale committee has been actively working, Fitch said.

•ROADS:  In connection with the Marcellus Shale issue, the legislature adopted a Road Preservation and Use Repair Policy for the purpose of maintaining the safety and general conditions of County roads and County right-of-ways when subject to use by vehicles and equipment associated with industrial operations.

Letter to the Whitehouse; Natural Gas is NOT the answer.

Memorandum of Support

The Committee to Preserve the Fingerlakes supports

Englebright (A10490) / Addabbo (S7592)

The Committee to Preserve the Fingerlakes, a grassroots organization in upstate New York , strongly urges the New York State Assembly and the New York State Senate to enact bills numbered A10490 and S7592, which were submitted by Assemblyman Englebright and Senator Addabbo.  These bills would establish “a moratorium upon the conducting of hydraulic fracturing in the state” until 120 days after the completion of a report by the federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on “the effects of hydraulic fracturing on water quality and public health” (A10490, Sec 1(a)).

We also ask that our elected representatives sign on as sponsors of these legislative initiatives.

It would be unconscionable for New York State to permit horizontal drilling using high-volume hydraulic fracturing before the EPA’s study is complete. 

Waiting for the results of the EPA’s study will give New York State the time it needs to gather important information to ensure the protection of our invaluable natural resources – our abundant and clean fresh water, fertile and uncontaminated soils, clean air, and beautiful vistas.  The findings of the EPA study could provide profound insight into the way drilling should be approached in New York State and allow us to avoid the catastrophic environmental impacts suffered in other states who rushed this type of drilling.  

Because we believe New York State’s budgetary needs, and the urgency of a small percentage of landowners to personally profit from this dangerous practice, can not have priority over the health and welfare of all New York State ’s residents, The Committee to Preserve the Fingerlakes supports A10490 and S7592.

 

The Committee to Preserve the Fingerlakes

Yates County, NY

www.preservethefingerlakes.com