YES TO DRILLING, BUT...
Two articles from the Press& Sun Bulletin; the first is from yesterday, the smaller second article is from today.
Paterson clears path for gas wells
Bill addresses environmental concerns, governor says
By Tom Wilber • Press & Sun-Bulletin • July 24, 2008
Natural gas drillers may have to wait a bit before they get down to business in the Southern Tier.
Once they do, however, it likely will be a better process for everybody, if a law signed by Gov. David Paterson goes according to plan.
Paterson signed a bill Wednesday to streamline the permitting process for natural gas wells drilled horizontally, while also ordering an overhaul of the process to regulate the environmental impact.
The decision is intended to address environmental concerns while laying the groundwork to allow drilling and its economic promise to proceed more efficiently.
The environmental review is likely to be completed next spring, said Judith Enck, Paterson's top environmental adviser. In the meantime, the state does not intend to grant permits for drillers seeking gas in the Marcellus Shale Formation.
"Our goal is to not have a bunch of permits scoot through before the environmental impact statement is done," Enck said.
A review for gas drilling was completed 16 years ago under the State Environmental Quality Review Act.
SEQRA does not take into account the extensive horizontal wells and hydraulic fracturing needed to tap the Marcellus Shale Formation under the Southern Tier. That process requires millions of gallons of water for each well and produces similar amounts of waste.
Paterson ordered the DEC to review all environmental ramifications from drilling, and ensure the agency has enough staffing to deal with them. The regulatory update will focus on the impact on groundwater, surface water, wetlands, air quality, aesthetics, noise, traffic and community character, as well as the cumulative impact. The update will be part of an effort to address concerns raised by residents and will include public hearings and a comment period.
"My administration is committed to working with the public and local governments to ensure that if the drilling goes forward, it takes place in the most environmentally responsible way possible," Paterson said in a prepared statement.
Current regulations overseeing the size and spacing of a drilling unit are designed for wells bored vertically into the Trenton Black River Formation. The much larger Marcellus wells can be permitted with current regulations, but they require variances and paperwork making the process cumbersome and impractical.
Spacing regulations are important to determine boundaries of a well and calculate royalties for property owners.
Fair distribution of a well's bounty is one of a rash of concerns raised at public meetings throughout the Southern Tier attended by thousands of residents questioning how drilling will affect land values, water, traffic, roads and quality of life. Enck attended a meeting in Greene this month and promised an ongoing dialogue with community members as the process unfolds.
Southern Tier stakeholders said they were satisfied with Paterson's approval of the bill with the accompanying directives to the DEC.
"It's a process where we will be learning as we move forward," said Sen. Thomas W. Libous, R-Binghamton, who voted for the bill. "We have to make sure the environment is protected ... I am pleased with what has happened so far."
Assemblywoman Donna A. Lupardo, D-Endwell, voted against the bill, but was happy with the outcome.
"I'm relieved," she said. "I'm satisfied that the right questions are being asked."
Lindsay Wickham, a field adviser with the New York State Farm Bureau, characterized the bill and DEC directives as "positive steps" to allow the process to move forward with necessary safeguards. Both of those are goals of the bureau, which advocates property owners' interests.
The prospects of tapping natural gas from the Marcellus Shale Formation have brought the anticipation of an economic boon as energy companies pay $2,500, plus royalties, to lease land. But the impact from horizontal drilling has raised environmental concerns.
"We're not trying to stop it. We're just trying to get it right," said Lupardo, citing past environmental disasters like TCE pollution affecting hundreds of properties in Endicott and other Southern Tier communities. "I don't want to stand here in 20 years and say 'Oh my gosh, look what happened.' Like we did in Endicott."
Meetings to be held on NY gas drilling
July 25, 2008The state Department of Environmental Conservation will hold a series of public meetings to assess the potential environmental effects of drilling for natural gas in the Marcellus Shale formation across the state’s Southern Tier.
DEC Commissioner Pete Grannis says the meetings are part of the agency’s work to update its Generic Environmental Impact Statement, published in 1992to guide the review of oil and gas drilling projects.
DEC Commissioner Pete Grannis says the meetings are part of the agency’s work to update its Generic Environmental Impact Statement, published in 1992to guide the review of oil and gas drilling projects.
DEC plans to have a draft version of the updated guide ready by early spring.
