24 June 2010
White Plains, NY - The Board of Legislators has made official its opposition to proposed natural gas drilling projects in the Catskill Delaware region of the Marcellus Shale rock formation.
A resolution approved unanimously, sponsored by Peter Harckham (D – Katonah), urges Governor Paterson and the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) to ban hydrofracking – or drilling, for natural gas within the areas of the Shale that coincide with the Catskill and Delaware watersheds, where New York City and Westchester get 80 - 90% of their drinking water. Legislators are also asking that a moratorium be placed on hydrofracking throughout the state pending further comprehensive and independent review of the technology, which involves the use of chemicals that can infiltrate source and groundwater, and pose other environmental and public health hazards.
“There are just too many unanswered questions about the safety of this technology, the chemicals used in the process, the amounts of water used and contaminated, as well as other risks to the environment,” said Harckham, who chairs the Board’s Energy & Environment Committee.
"The technology behind hydrofracking is imperfect at best,” echoed committee member Legislator John G. Testa (R – Peekskill). “Moreover, the injection of toxic chemicals and the environmental damage they could cause is too great to allow its use in New York.”
Hydrofracking, or hydraulic fracturing, is a process used to release natural gas from rock. After deep wells are drilled, large quantities of water and chemicals – some identified as carcinogenic – are pumped into the rock, fracturing it and thereby releasing gas. The Marcellus Shale rock system, which stretches down from western New York into Virginia, has been increasingly eyed for hydrofracking because of its untapped and considerable gas reserves. Energy security and independence, as well as economic development have been cited in support of proposals to drill. Opponents, however, argue that the possible drawbacks involved – not only environmental, but fiscal and economic in nature – warrant further consideration.
“Based on facts as presented so far, it is clear that drilling in New York’s portion of the Marcellus Shale has more downside than upside,” explained former Environment Chair Mike Kaplowitz (D – Somers). ”The environmental, economic and quality of life costs exceed any conceivable energy benefits. If the Catskill and Delaware watersheds required filtration as a result of hydrofracking in their vicinity, we could incur a $10 billion expense.”
Today, water from the Catskill and Delaware watersheds is unfiltered, due to a “Filtration Avoidance Determination” from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Lawmakers fear that hydrofracking permit conditions currently proposed under the state could allow companies to undergo hydrofracking in these watersheds without providing adequate safeguards for the Westchester and New York City drinking water supplies. If water quality were sufficiently compromised, the EPA could lift its determination, requiring New York City to build a water filtration plant estimated to cost at least $10 billion to construct and hundreds of millions of dollars to operate annually. Those costs would get passed onto Westchester residents. Westchester purchases its water from the city.
“The permit conditions as they stand fail to adequately monitor groundwater near gas wells and fail to detect or remediate contamination,” argued Legislator Bill Burton (D – Ossining). “These are two problems that absolutely must be addressed before projects that entail this method of drilling move forward.”
“The idea that we could not only end up doing irreparable harm to our environment, but adversely affect the watershed region to the extent that billions of taxpayer dollars would have to be allocated to large-scale water treatment capital projects – is staggering,” said Legislator Alfreda Williams (D – Greenburgh), who also sits on the Environment & Energy Committee.
Concern over inadequate monitoring of groundwater, air quality and the consequences of these and other impacts point to another major argument expressed in the Board’s resolution: the state’s preemptory power over local governments vis-à-vis regulating the gas and mining industries.
“Aside from the issues of toxic chemicals, threatening the water supplies of millions of people and other potential environmental degradation,” said Harckham, “NYS Environmental Conservation Law supersedes local regulation of oil and gas, preventing localities from controlling gas and oil well drilling operations in their own neighborhoods – and we have a serious problem with this breach of home rule.”
Westchester joins other counties like Tompkins, Cortland, and Onondaga in calling for a hold on drilling until details surrounding hydrofracking, its employment in the state and impacts are better defined.
