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Couldn't Get Worse What is Hydrofracturing? A method of drilling for natural gas that requires literally millions of gallons of fresh water that become polluted and highly toxic in the process. The New York City Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) predicts that in the coming years, 3,000 to 6,000 gas wells could be drilled in the City’s watershed area, and more statewide. How does it destroy water? Into each of those gas wells will be pumped 3 to 8 million gallons of water and 80 to 300 tons of chemicals depending on well size and depth. The water comes from streams and rivers or is pumped from underground. This water resurfaces from the wells highly toxic. There is no way to prevent it from eventually polluting more water. Isn’t it illegal? No. In the 2005 Energy Bill, then Vice President Cheney, acting on behalf of major gas extracting corporation Halliburton, arranged for this process to be exempt from the Safe Drinking Water Act, the Clean Water Act, the Clean Air Act, the Super-fund Law and the Right-to-Know Act, among other regulations. Who is for it? Oil and gas companies and some property owners who can sell drilling rights on their land. Who has not taken a position? Governor Paterson. What do we want? Ban hydrofracturing in New York state and throughout the U.S. Immediately bring this process under the jurisdiction of all applicable federal laws. Is there an alternative? Yes. Wind, solar and hydropower are non-polluting. |
If video is not running, click above for gas fracturing slide show. 2 minutes If slides don't run on your computer, here for YouTube version. Click here for extra high definition version. Home Link to the Now on PBS show Gasland (23 minutes) here.
New York State We are working to have the State’s Draft Environmental Impact Statement set aside. Issued by Governor Paterson’s Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC), the statement is widely considered to be inadequate and biased toward hydraulic fracturing. For example, regarding the possibility of polluting ground water and the New York City water supply, it merely states: “neither potential impact is reasonably anticipated.”
The New York City Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) did its own study and reached the opposite conclusion: “gas drilling poses unacceptable risks to the unfiltered drinking water supply for nine million New Yorkers.” As a result, a large coalition of elected officials and civic organizations is calling on the Governor to rescind the study and do a new one. All drilling projects now in progress and all permitting must be suspended until that is done. The Governor has not formally taken a position, although this study and other materials clearly favor hydrofracturing, as illustrated by this DEC comment: “In a time when national energy dialogue has focused on finding alternatives to our reliance on foreign oil, the natural gas resources of the Marcellus Shale present an opportunity to move toward a domestic source for some of our future energy needs.” Federal Level The objective is to restore Environmental Protection Agency jurisdiction over hydraulic fracturing. Former Vice President Dick Cheney arranged to have hydraulic fracturing removed from federal jurisdiction in the 2005 Energy Bill, as explained in The New York Times. Legislation to close this Halliburton Loophole has been introduced in the House (H.R. 2766) and has been sent to the Energy and Commerce Committee where Congressman Anthony D. Weiner of Brooklyn is the only New York State member. Companion Senate Bill 1215 is in the Committee on Environment and Public Works, of which Senator Kirsten Gillibrand is a member. The bill appears to be stuck in both committees; more public pressure is needed to get it moving. January 2010 |
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