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By Clover56, on September 30th, 2011%
Drilling and the DEC: Responding to Economic Impacts
Saturday, October 15, 2011
1:00 – 3:30 p.m., Women’s Community Building
100 W. Seneca Street, Ithaca, NY
Grassroots activists, experts, and local officials concerned about protecting our local agriculture and tourism economies, community character, roads and infrastructure, will offer information on the revised Supplemental Generic Environmental Impact Statement (SGEIS). Speakers will address the portion of proposed drilling guidelines that intends to mitigate adverse social and economic impacts such as truck traffic, threats to food crops, and demand on local services.
Panel Moderator:
Martha Robertson, Chair of the Tompkins County Legislature
Panelists:
Ed Marx, Tompkins County Commissioner of Planning and Community Sustainability
Jannette Barth, Ph.D., Economist, Pepacton Institute
Barbara Lifton, NY State Assemblywoman for Tompkins and Cortland Counties
James (Chip) Northrup, Partner and investor in oil and gas projects, served on Governor of Texas’ Energy Advisory Council
The NY DEC hired a consulting firm, Ecology and Environment, to assist in analyzing social and economic impacts. Join us for this event to learn what’s better about the new sGEIS, what concerns remain, and what are some recommendations for the DEC.
Attendees will be encouraged to submit comments on the newly revised SGEIS to the DEC. Instruction on how to use online formatting and informational links will be provided and made available afterwards.
This event will be videotaped and available through the internet at www.shaleshockmedia.org several days following the meeting. The forum is sponsored by numerous local organizations including:
Shaleshock Action Alliance * ROUSE (Residents Opposing Unsafe Shale-gas Extraction) * DRAC (Dryden Resource Awareness Coalition) * Cayuga Lake Watershed Network * ENSAW (Enfield Neighbors for Safe Air and Water) * NYRAD * Groton Resource Awareness Coalition * Sustainable Tompkins * Committee on Justice, Peace, and the Integrity of Creation, Ithaca First Presbyterian Church * Concerned Citizens of Ulysses * FLEASED * Neighbors of the Onondaga Nation * GDACC (Gas Drilling Awareness for Cortland County) * People for a Healthy Environment * Back to Democracy * Danby Gas Drilling Task Force * Shaleshock of Central NY * Social Justice Council of the Ithaca Unitarian Church * Newfield PAUSE, People Advocating the Use of Sustainable Energy * League of Women Voters of Tompkins County
By Clover56, on September 28th, 2011%
 Shaleshock Outreach is currently recruiting volunteers for a variety of programs including tabling and office management. Please contact shaleshockoutreach@gmail.com to get more information about applying.
By Clover56, on September 22nd, 2011%
Reading of
Frack You! by Laura Cunningham
performed by S.T.A.R (Southern Tier Actors Read)
From the playwright: Our community is currently struggling with one of the most compelling issues we have ever faced. Very important decisions need to be made about how to handle issues related to the Marcellus Shale deposit located in our region. A huge barrier to decision-making is that the natural gas is extracted by fracking, a controversial method that has so highly polarized our community that meaningful debate has broken down.
“FRACK YOU!” was written to overcome these barriers. It acts as an icebreaker that generates laughter and provides a common ground for people to start a dialogue about fracking that moves beyond “talking points” and increases community awareness of the topic. It frames a controversial issue around personal narratives, humanizing an abstract debate without “taking sides”.
The one-act play is set in a bar located at “ground zero” for Marcellus Shale drilling. It has six characters: Nozmo, the bartender, who wants his land fracked for big bucks; Charlie, a NYC native who recently purchased land in the country to escape city life; Frick and Frack, welders for Henley Drilling, who are just happy to have jobs and each other; Molly, an environmentalist; and Joe, Molly’s boyfriend, who may be getting fracked on the side.
Tickets are $11 in advance or $15 at the door.
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Click the button at left to buy online or call the Ticket Center at (607) 273-4497. |
By Clover56, on September 21st, 2011%
Hearing on LPG Storage Facility in Watkins Glen, NY
from the Marcellus Effect:
On Tuesday, September 27 the NY State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) is holding a public hearing on Inergy’s application for a LNG storage and distribution facility on the shore of Seneca Lake, just three miles north of Watkins Glen.
The public hearing begins at 7pm in the Watkins Glen High School Auditorium, 301 12th St. Written comments accepted until Monday, October 10. Send your comments to: David Bimber, Deputy Regional Permit Administrator, NYSDEC, 6274 East Avon-Lima Road, Avon, NY 14414-9516.
Inergy is a limited partnership developed to “acquire midstream energy assets.” They own and operate four natural gas storage facilities in NY and PA, with a combined gas storage capacity of 41 billion cubic feet (Bcf). Inergy also owns gas pipelines in NY and PA with 30 million cubic feet per day (MMcf/d) transportation capacity.
Their strategy, in their own words, is to “continue to develop a platform of interconnected natural gas assets that can be operated as an integrated Northeast storage and transportation hub”.
The Seneca Lake proposal
Inergy has proposed a new underground LPG storage facility for the storage and distribution of propane and butane on a portion of a 576 acre site located on NYS Routes 14 and 14A on the western shore of Seneca Lake. The storage facility will use existing caverns used by US Salt.
The company plans to store 2.10 million barrels (88.20 million gallons) of LPG in the salt caverns seasonally, displacing some of the brine currently filling them. The idea is to withdraw the fuel during the heating season.
During storage operations, the brine displaced by LPG will be stored and contained in a 14-acre double-lined surface impoundment with a capacity of 2.19 million barrels (91.98 million gallons) uphill of the facility.
The facility will connect to the existing TEPPCO LPG interstate pipeline, and will ship LPG by truck via NYS Routes 14/14A and rail via the existing Norfolk & Southern Railroad. The proposed project involves construction of a new rail and truck LPG transfer facility, consisting of a 6 rail siding capable of allowing loading/unloading of 24 rail cars within 12 hours, and a truck loading station capable of loading 4 trucks per hour.
Public concerns:
- Residents are concerned about the large 14-acre brine pit.
- They are concerned about the increased rail and truck traffic in a tourist area.
- They are concerned about safety – and note that Inergy has refused to release details of their planned safety measures until after the permit is granted. One concern is the proximity to Watkins Glen.
- They are concerned about air quality issues from the increased truck traffic and potential impacts of ground level ozone and other pollutants on wine grapes and other agricultural crops.
- They are concerned about the impact of this industrialization on the tourism and wine industry.
- They are concerned about the integrity of the brine pit in terms of “extraordinary” weather.
- They would like Inergy and DEC to disclose the number of years of similarly-sized LNG storage facilities and the number of accidents and explosions, so that an honest evaluation can be made of the possible disaster.
You can read the Environmental Impact Statement for the project at http://www.dec.ny.gov/permits/71619.html. Check out what my colleague, journalist Peter Mantius has to say about the project here.
By Clover56, on September 21st, 2011%
A Conversation with Bradford County Landowner Ruth Tonachel
Danby Town Hall, 1830 Danby Rd
Ruth, a 6th generation resident of Towanda, will talk about the ways in which the arrival of the shale gas extraction industry in Bradford County has changed daily life for her family and neighbors and about how it has affected their sense of place. Ruth will share both stories and photos, including images of her farm which has been in her family since 1790. Of special interest is the fact that Ruth co-owns and manages one of the largest remaining tracts of unleased land in Bradford County. Find out what has influenced her decision not to lease and what might change it in the future. Ruth also manages several rental properties and will touch on the issue of skyrocketing rents in Bradford County. After the presentation, there will be ample time for questions and conversation with Ruth.
Free and open to the public. Sponsored by the Danby Gas Drilling Task Force.
Ruth’s bio
Ruth Tonachel has a Masters in American Studies from the U. of Alabama. A 6th generation resident of Towanda, PA, she has worked in folklore, journalism and agriculture for over 30 years and now finds her life – personal and professional – drastically altered by natural gas drilling in the northern tier of Pennsylvania. She has been involved with several sociological studies in the region and spends a lot of time observing and documenting the changing landscape and culture of her home region.??She is program consultant to the Northern Tier Cultural Alliance.
By cris, on September 20th, 2011%
We are just starting to collect and publish responses to the DEC on the Sept. dSGEIS
On this site = http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=DSGEIS_Responses
So if you have one that you would like us to post, kindly send it along
Helps to have it on a website so that we can link to it
By cris, on September 19th, 2011%
Flaws in the draft SGEIS
Sourcewatch Editor’s Picks — Top 17 Flaws
http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=2011_SGEIS_Flaws%28NY%29
These are the Editor’s Picks of some of the most important points. Continue reading Why the draft SGEIS should be revised–A Must Read
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About Us Shaleshock is an information hub connecting people to regional groups and projects working to stop exploitative drilling in the Marcellus Shale.(more)
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