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April 23, 2010 New York City Gets BAN on gas drilling in Watershed. Department of Environmental Protection 11-Month Study Calls for Prohibition in this Historic Report. New York City called on state officials to ban gas drilling in the watershed. Drilling is called "unacceptable threat" with "catastrophic consequences" to drinking water. NYC-DEP conducted this 11-month technical study - and made their historic decision based on hard science. http://www.NYC.gov  Full Impact Assessment Report - [FULL REPORT by HAZEN & SAWYER]
March 18, 2010 STATEMENT OF MAYOR MICHAEL R. BLOOMBERG ON U.S. ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY STUDY ON IMPACT OF HYDRAULIC FRACTURING ON WATER SUPPLIES “Today’s decision by the EPA to investigate the impact on water supplies of using hydraulic fracturing to extract natural gas is a positive step toward protecting our local water quality. The Marcellus Shale, a natural gas source, is found throughout New York State, and drilling in the shale – through hydraulic fracturing – is currently being considered by the State. “There is much that we don’t know about the process, including the properties of the chemicals that would be injected into the ground. And there is a growing body of evidence from other states suggesting that this method – which pumps millions of gallons of pressurized water and chemicals into the ground – can pollute local water sources. Because we always base our decisions on data and the best science available, the City commissioned its own study last year to analyze the process. We found that the impact of this specific type of drilling in our watershed could threaten the quality of the City’s water supply because of the potential for chemical contamination. Further, the City could be forced to build a currently unneeded filtration plant that would cost taxpayers $10 billion or more due to the potential contamination caused by hydraulic fracturing. “Since each area facing the prospect of drilling is unique, we fully expect that the EPA will examine the risks of using this technology in a variety of settings, including the impact on areas that rely on unfiltered water – like New York City. From our perspective, drilling in areas that supply more than 1 billion gallons of drinking water a day for more than 9 million New Yorkers is simply a chance we cannot take.” Contacts: Stu Loeser/Marc La Vorgna (212) 788-2958 January 25, 2010 6:17pm EST Bloomberg opposes gas drilling in watershed New York mayor lends political heft to drilling opponents By Edith Honan ALBANY, N.Y., Jan 25 (Reuters) - New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg issued his most forceful statements to date opposing natural gas drilling in the city's upstate watershed on Monday, in a boost for anti-drilling protesters. Bloomberg's Department of Environmental Protection previously urged the state to ban shale gas drilling in the city's watershed. But Bloomberg had yet to add his personal political heft to the debate, relying on aides instead. "The consequences are so severe that it is not a risk that I think we should run. I do not think that we should allow fractured drilling anywhere near our water supply," Bloomberg told reporters. Natural gas companies have created a drilling boom in Pennsylvania with a technique known as hydraulic fracturing and want to expand their operations into New York state. The Marcellus Shale formation underlying both states holds the promise of providing the United States with a valuable domestic energy source. But environmental concerns that drilling contaminates drinking water have created regulatory risk for the industry. The city on Monday sought a permit from the state to acquire additional land to protect its watershed, an unfiltered source of drinking water for some 9 million people. The city watershed accounts for 6 percent of the shale area in New York state. New York Governor David Paterson, facing a $7.4 billion deficit, proposed opening the Marcellus Shale to hydraulic fracturing, in which a combination of chemicals, sand and water are blasted through rock to free trapped gas. The natural gas industry argues that drilling poses no risk to drinking water. But opponents say toxic fracking chemicals are contaminating drinking water, citing numerous reports of private wells near gas installations where water is discolored, foul-tasting or even flammable. December 23, 2009  New York Times, "City Agency Warns Against Gas Plan."  Reuters, "NYC Urges Ban on Shale Gas Drilling in Watershed."  Bloomberg News, "New York City Wants Ban on Drilling in Its Watershed."  http://www.wnyc.org/news/articles/146948  November 18, 2009 [above] The New York City Council passed a resolution calling on the United States Congress to pass H.R. 2776 of 2009, removing the exemption for hydraulic fracturing from the Safe Drinking Water Act; on the United States Environmental Protection Agency to reassess its 2004 study of hydraulic fracturing with respect to its risks to unfiltered drinking water systems and to apply stringent regulations to protect drinking water supplies from any risk due to hydraulic fracturing; on the New York State Department of Health to study the public health and regulatory risks of hydraulic fracturing to the New York City water supply system and to propose any necessary actions to protect public health; on the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, the New York State Legislature, and New York State Governor David Paterson to prohibit drilling for natural gas within the boundaries of the watershed. PLEASE SIGN ONLINE PETITIONS: October 23, 2009 Sierra Club Atlantic, NYC Council, Manhatten Boro President and other Elected Officials & Environmental Advocates - and The New York Times . . . Call For a BAN on Gas Drilling in Watershed. New York State DEC Rally and Hearing Tuesday, November 10 at 5:00pm Stuyvesant High School, NYC New Yorkers Speak Out at Gas Drilling Hearing by Soterios Johnson and Ilya Marritz http://www.wnyc.org/news/articles/144212 New York Times, "Shale and Our Water." New Yorkers Tell State Enviro Department: ‘No Fracking Way’NEW YORK, NY November 11, 2009 —Nearly a thousand New Yorkers turned out last night for the chance to comment on the record on natural gas and drinking water. State regulators have offered a plan to allow gas drilling near the city's upstate reservoirs. The event in lower Manhattan was a rare chance for concerned citizens to talk directly with Albany officials. WNYC's Ilya Marritz was there and he joins me now. ProPublica, "New Yorkers Tell State Enviro Department: ‘No Fracking Way." The Villager, "Pols, water activists pour it on for drilling ban." Huffington Post, "Protecting New York City's Water Supply from Gas Companies."  New York City Council Hearing to Ban Drilling Friday, October 23, 10:00am New York City Hall 10/23/09 _Statement by Joe Levine 10/23/09 Testimony by Albert Appleton October 23, 2009 NYC Officials Urge Gas Rrilling Ban in Watersheds Reuters, "NYC Officials Urge Gas Drilling Ban in Watersheds" http://nyh2o.org/ NEW YORK (Reuters) - New York City officials and environmental groups on Friday urged a ban on natural gas drilling in the city's watersheds, fearing it could contaminate the city's water supply. Their concern potentially opens a new obstacle for energy companies that extract natural gas from shale formations through a process called hydraulic fracturing, or fracking. Environmentalists say fracking contaminates groundwater but the industry maintains that strict safeguards prevent any danger to water supplies. New York State has proposed new environmental rules that would allow drilling for natural gas in the multi-state Marcellus Shale formation, which includes upstate New York. But city officials said drilling should be off limits in watersheds that serve almost 10 million people in and around New York City. In hydraulic fracturing, a mixture of water, chemicals and other materials like sand are pumped into the shale formation to split the rock and free the trapped gas. Critics say this could result in contaminated ground water. "This is not a risk that is worth taking when we are talking about something as fundamental as the city's water supply," City Council Speaker Christine Quinn told Reuters. The New York City Council held a hearing on the issue on Friday and is expected to pass a resolution next week that will ask New York Governor David Paterson to prohibit drilling within the boundaries of the city-owned watershed north of the metropolitan area. Quinn said the city watershed accounts for 6 percent of the shale area in New York state. No one from the industry was called to testify on Friday. Quinn and others expressed concern the city would be forced to invest in a $10 billion water filtration system if drilling were permitted. The system would cost hundreds of millions of dollars each year to maintain, officials said. "We didn't have the money to do that before the recession, and we certainly don't have the money to do it now," Quinn said. A spokesman for Mayor Michael Bloomberg said the city is studying the matter. The huge Marcellus Shale formation, which extends across much of Pennsylvania and parts of West Virginia, Ohio and New York, is likely the nation's largest shale reservoir and geologists say it could satisfy U.S. natural gas demand for a decade or more. Shale gas, or gas trapped in sedimentary beds, is seen as having the potential to provide the United States with affordable fuel that will help drive economic growth, reduce dependence on foreign oil and limit emissions for decades .  March 5, 2009 New York City Council Environmental Protection Committee Chair James Gennaro, other elected officials and environmental advocates gathered on the steps of City Hall today to call upon New Yorkers to support a ban on natural gas drilling in any part of New York City’s million-acre upstate watershed area that provides drinking water for more than nine million New Yorkers. The concerned New Yorkers called upon the City’s 59 community boards to adopt a City Council resolution that Councilman Gennaro is introducing next week that calls upon the State Legislature to pass a law to ban gas drilling in New York City’s drinking water watershed and within other sensitive water supply areas within New YorkState. They also called upon all residents of New York State to sign an online petition, available at http://citizenspeak.org/node/1436, which calls upon Governor David Paterson to implement such a ban. A recent daily newspaper article called the problem “the biggest environmental issue almost no one in New York City is paying attention to.” Today’s announcements are the latest in a series of efforts to get more New Yorker residents involved, including the recent formation of the grassroots advocacy group NY-H2O. Founding members include New York City residents with second properties in parts of upstate New York and Pennsylvania that gas companies are targeting for a highly toxic drilling method called hydraulic fracturing. “Every New Yorker should be worried about the very real and immediate threat of natural gas drilling in our drinking water supply, and join in the fight to get the State to ban this environmentally and fiscally unsustainable activity,” Councilman Gennaro said. “The recent elections demonstrated the power of grassroots political action, and we should continue to tap that power to ensure our drinking water remains clean and affordable forever. I call upon every community board in New York City to adopt our upcoming resolution, and every New Yorker to sign our online petition, to send a clear message to the Governor and the State legislature that we will not allow our drinking water to be ruined by natural gas drilling.” A new state law (S.8169A) passed last summer is allowing wells tapping into gas deposits located across upstate New York to be located more closely to one another than previously allowed, facilitating the use of so-called horizontal drilling to access natural gas. Due to new interest by the gas industry, there is now a greatly increased potential for the use of horizontal drilling in combination with hydraulic fracturing -- also called hydrofracking or fracking -- to take place within a geologic formation called the Marcellus Shale. The Marcellus Shale, which stretches from Ohio through West Virginia and into much of upstate New York, lays under pristine rural areas that supply many New Yorkers with their drinking water, including the million-acre watershed that supplies New York City residents with 90 percent of their water. Hydraulic fracturing has resulted in contaminated water supplies in other states, including Wyoming and New Mexico. The method forces millions of gallons of a highly toxic slurry of water, sand and undisclosed chemicals horizontally through earth as deep as two miles underground and frequently keeps the resultant wastewater stored in open pits above ground. The lack of regulatory controls to ensure the safety of the process has been decried by numerous environmental groups, including the Natural Resources Defense Council, the New York-based Riverkeeper, the Catskill Mountainkeeper, the Sierra Club, Earthjustice, Environmental Working Group, Earthwatch's Oil and Gas Accountability Project, and the League of Conservation Voters. Many advocates argue that the process is not just environmentally disastrous, but also fiscally unsustainable; for example, natural gas drilling in New York City’s drinking water supply poses the threat of forcing the City to build a filtration plant costing taxpayers 10 to 20 BILLION dollars. Even then, many scientists argue that it will be impossible to filter out the undisclosed chemicals used in the hydraulic fracturing process. Manhattan Borough President Scott M. Stringer said, "Today’s economic pressures are the most severe we’ve seen in my lifetime. But we can’t allow those pressures to push us into hasty decisions that come at the cost of New Yorkers’ health – or the state’s long term interests. That's why I support Councilman Gennaro's resolution to ban natural gas drilling in New York City's upstate watershed and join him in his efforts." New York State Senator Tom Duane (D – Manhattan) said, “I have long stood with Councilmember Gennaro and environmental advocates in expressing grave concern about hydraulic fracturing in the Marcellus Shale. I applaud Councilmember Gennaro’s resolution calling for an outright ban on drilling in New York City’s watershed and I am proud that Manhattan Community Boards 2 and 7, which are in my district, have expressed interest in adopting the Councilmember’s resolution. I urge all New York City Community Boards to do the same. I strongly believe that New York State Department of Environmental Conservation should refuse permits for any and all drilling that poses a risk to drinking water in New York City and, of course, throughout the State.” “All New Yorkers deserve to know that their drinking water supply is clean and safe,” said Kate Sinding, a senior attorney with the Natural Resources Defense Council. “We thank Council Member Gennaro for his continuing leadership in protecting the New York City watershed from the unacceptable threat of contamination from industrial gas drilling in the Marcellus Shale.” Earthjustice Managing Attorney Deborah Goldberg said, “We should have a zero-risk policy when it comes to our drinking water supplies. Given the known history of groundwater and surface water contamination in areas with intensive natural gas development, the New York City watershed must be placed off limits to drilling. We cannot trade off the health of nine million people against the temporary and generally overstated economic benefits of fossil fuel extraction.” “The environmental, public health, and economic costs of gas drilling in the New York City Watershed pose far too great a risk for the nine million New Yorkers that depend on the region’s clean, unfiltered drinking water supply,” said Craig Michaels, Riverkeeper’s Watershed Program Director. “We praise Councilman Gennaro and his continued leadership on this issue in calling for a ban to drilling in the Watershed.” Joe Levine, a co-founder of NY-H2O, said, “Hydrofracking, the technology used to extract gas from Shale deep underground, employs the use of highly toxic chemicals that will poison our air and water and turn our beautiful upstate region into a sacrificial industrial zone. It’s almost impossible to imagine unless you actually see what it has done to some of the most pristine natural environments out west. NY-H2O is dedicated to protecting our air and water and preserving our natural environment. We can’t allow this to happen and we are going to have to be aggressive to stop it.”
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