By Andrew S. and Pat C.
The issue of natural gas drilling that has been raging in Upstate New York has caught the eye of the citizens of New York City.
On March 18, the Manhattan Community Board No. 2 of New York City held a public hearing and unanimously called for the New York State Legislature, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYDEC), and Governor David Paterson to prohibit hydraulic fracturing drilling for natural gas within New York State.
The board is concerned because 90% of the city’s water supply comes from the Catskill and Delaware watersheds. The minutes from the public hearing said, “No amount of careful planning and operation can guarantee that there will be no chemical spills that could flow into reservoirs, underground migration of fracturing fluids toward the water supply, or other accidents resulting from drilling operations.”
If their drinking water supply is contaminated, “the City of New York would be required by the Environmental Protection Agency to build and operate a water filtration plant, the cost of which has been estimated to be approximately $10 billion, which would be borne by New York City taxpayers… Absolutely no evidence has been shown by any organization that fluids used during hydraulic fracturing can be completely filtered out of drinking water…”
The concerns about water contamination that the citizens of New York City are facing have proven to be serious because of water contamination in locations such as Dimmock, Pa.
Dimmock has reported several cases of water contamination due to drilling. The contamination occurred because the company who was drilling for gas failed to adhere to the drilling regulations set forth by the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (PADEP). Since the water contamination, Dimmock has started to believe what Pat Carullo of Damascus Citizens for Sustainability (DCS) has been saying all along, “The DCS told everyone five or six months ago, that this process is intrinsically polluting the area. Dimmock is a perfect example of what could happen in Hancock. This is about taking money out of the ground. All they care about is business.”
The PADEP issued a permit for the Robson Well in Wayne County, Pa. on February 26 to Chesapeake Appalachia, LLC.
The Robson Well will be drilled 9,000 feet deep, a distance that is below the Marcellus Shale. Since the well will be drilled so deep, the landowners that leased the land will not be paid royalties.
Chesapeake Appalachia claims that only 80,000 gallons of water will be used per day as opposed to the Marcellus wells which will be using 100,000 gallons a day.
NYS Senator John Bonacic is concerned that the withdrawal of water from the Delaware Watershed could affect the temperature and flow of the water which would harm the fishing industry.
Senator Bonacic said, “I don’t have a problem with landowners leasing out the land, but I do believe in safeguards, both environmental and economic. I want to make sure it has no effect on recreational and economic vitality, and by economic I mean the fishing industry.”
New York City plans to continue litigation over whether or not drilling should be allowed in the Delaware Watershed where most of the city’s drinking water comes from.
The first step in the decision- making process is in effect. The Manhattan Community Board No. 2 held a public hearing that unanimously approved the banning of natural gas drilling in New York State.
Over the next few months, New York State officials will make critical decisions in regards to the issue of gas drilling.
