Take Action Now! Comment on the Draft Supplemental Generic Environmental Impact Statement On The Oil, Gas and Solution Mining Regulatory Program

DEC EXTENDS PUBLIC COMMENT PERIOD FOR MARCELLUS SHALE DRAFT SGEIS

The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation today announced it has extended the public comment period on the draft Supplemental Generic Environmental Impact Statement (SGEIS) governing potential natural gas drilling activities in the Marcellus Shale formation from Nov. 30 to Dec. 31.

Be sure to visit our Take Action Now page for suggested comments for the DEC!

The SGEIS addresses the range of potential impacts of shale gas development using horizontal drilling and high-volume hydraulic fracturing and outlines safety measures, protection standards and mitigation strategies that operators would have to follow to obtain permits. The full draft SGEIS ( www.dec.ny.gov/energy/58440.html ) is available on DEC’s web site, along with highlights of the document ( www.dec.ny.gov/press/58472.html). Printed copies are available for review at DEC regional offices and most sub-offices and libraries that traditionally have served as repositories. A list of repositories ( www.dec.ny.gov/energy/58672.html ) can be found on DEC’s web site.

DEC is offering four ways in which to submit comments. Comments may be provided at one of the scheduled public hearings ( www.dec.ny.gov/energy/58705.html ). There is an online submission system ( www.dec.ny.gov/cfmx/extapps/SGEISComments/ ) which will allow interested parties to write comments and tag them to specific areas of concern. Attachments can also be included. E-mail comments may be submitted to dmnsgeis@gw.dec.state.ny.us; please include your name, e-mail or return mail address to ensure notice of the Final SGEIS when it is available. Finally, written comments should be sent to: Attn: dSGEIS Comments, Bureau of Oil & Gas Regulation, NYSDEC Division of Mineral Resources, 625 Broadway, Third Floor, Albany, NY 12233-6500.

*** Note: DEC also has moved up the start time of the hearing in New York City on November 10. Doors will open at 5:30 p.m. for individual questions and speaker sign-up. DEC staff will be available at this time to answer individual questions about the format and contents of the draft SGEIS. The public comment session will begin at 6:30 p.m.

(DEC Press Release, Nov. 4, 2009

DEC Releases Draft SGEIS – It’s time to tell them what we think!

On September 30, 2009, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) released its long-awaited draft Supplemental Generic Environmental Impact Statement (SGEIS) on “Well Permit Issuance for Horizontal Drilling and High-Volume Hydraulic Fracturing to Develop the Marcellus Shale and Other Low-Permeability Gas Reservoirs.” There is a 60-day public comment period ending on November 30.

Public Comments:

DEC says it will soon announce the times and locations for a series of “Public Information Sessions” during which written comments may be submitted in person. There does not appear to be any means for submitting oral comments.

The complexity and length of this document are immense, and it is still worth pressuring the DEC and the governor to extend the comment period to 90 days, as U.S. Representative Hinchey recommends. Please call DEC (518-402-8540) and Governor Paterson (518-474-8390) to request this.

Throughout the comment period, you may submit comments in the following ways:

(1) through an on-line system, in which you can tag your comments to specific parts of the SGEIS, and can attach supporting documents: http://www.dec.ny.gov/cfmx/extapps/SGEISComments/

(2) via email: dmnsgeis@gw.dec.state.ny.us

(3) in writing, to:

Attn: dSGEIS Comments
Bureau of Oil & Gas Regulation
NYSDEC Division of Mineral Resources
625 Broadway, Third Floor
Albany, NY 12233-6500

Links:

Full Draft SGEIS (809 pages, pdf): ftp://ftp.dec.state.ny.us/dmn/download/OGdSGEISFull.pdf and Table of Contents (PDF)

Shaleshock has made a paper copy of the SGEIS available at the Town of Ithaca office building: TOWN OF ITHACA 215 N. Tioga St. Ithaca, NY 14850 Telephone: 273-1721 Fax: 273-5854 Hours: Monday – Friday 8am-4pm

DEC Press Release (9/30/09) on Release of Draft SGEIS
http://readme.readmedia.com/news/show/DEC-Proposes-New-Safety-Measures-Mitigation-Strategies-to-Govern-Potential-Marcellus-Shale-Drilling/959276

Note that the wording in this press release leaves much open to debate. For example, to whom will fracking fluid composition be disclosed? Also, a quick scan of the SGEIS turns up contradictory language as to whether or not steel-lined tanks are required for all on-site storage of flowback fluids. Only a careful reading of the 809-page document over the next few days and weeks will clarify some of these issues.

Suggestions and Resources to Help You Make Comments:

(1) Rational comments, based on specific content are most effective.

(2) Support your comments with documentation, when possible.

(3) Comment on positive as well as negative content.

Undoubtedly, the gas industry will be screaming and lobbying to weaken many of the regulations, so citizens must mention both provisions they want to see kept, and provisions they would like to see strengthened or changed.

(4) Comments and testimony on the Final Scope, submitted in December 2008:

These comments are detailed and well-written, and were submitted by environmental agencies and experts after careful scrutiny of the Final Scope. Many of the same points will need to be reiterated, if they were not adequately addressed in the SGEIS.
http://www.tcgasmap.org/default.asp?metatags_Action=Find(%27PID%27,%278%27)#Draft%20Scope

Background Information on the SGEIS, GEIS, and Final Scope:

Oil and Gas drilling in New York is currently regulated by a Generic Environmental Impact Statement (GEIS) written by the Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) in 1992 (Link: GEIS). But the specific extraction processes to be used on the Marcellus Shale (horizontal drilling combined with slick water hydraulic fracturing) pose dramatically greater environmental risks than conventional drilling and were not addressed in 1992. Thus, under the State Environmental Quality Review Act (SEQRA), companies wishing to extract gas by slick water hydraulic fracturing must carry out an Environmental Impact Statement for each well site.

The SGEIS, however, covers the use of slick water hydraulic fracturing. By setting statewide regulations for drilling in the Marcellus Shale (and other similar shale layers), the SGEIS streamlines permitting and allows companies to proceed without doing individual Environmental Impact Statements for each well site. Once all the comments are in, the DEC will produce a final SGEIS, and a flood of drilling permits are expected to be approved soon after that.

In February 2009, after public comment on a draft version, the DEC produced a document called the Final Scope (Link: Final Scope), which set out in great detail which topics would be covered in the SGEIS, and which would not be covered (such as pipeline siting, health effects, and regulation enforcement). It also gives a good summary of current drilling regulations and procedures.