E.P.A., Concerned Over Gas Drilling, Questions New York State’s
Plans
New York Times
30 December 2009
By Mireya Navarro
The federal Environmental Protection Agency told New York State on
Wednesday that it had major concerns about how proposed hydraulic
drilling for natural gas would affect public health and the
environment, and urged it to undertake a broader study of the potential
impact.
In formal comments on the state’s proposed regulations governing new
natural gas drilling, the E.P.A. said it was particularly concerned
about the regional water supply, air quality, wastewater treatment and
radioactive materials that could be disturbed during drilling.
It recommended that “essential environmental protection measures” be
taken before the state begins to review permit applications for the
drilling, which is envisaged in the Marcellus Shale region.
The region includes New York City’s watershed in the Catskills. The
Chesapeake Energy Corporation, which owns the lease to drill in the
watershed, has backed off from plans to drill there specifically, but
opponents of drilling have argued that the promise means little and
could be reversed.
The draft regulations apply to a technology known as hydraulic
fracturing, which involves blasting huge volumes of water mixed with
chemicals into rock to extract gas. The process results in significant
amounts of wastewater and has stirred concern about the risk of
contamination and about water disposal issues.
In a statement, Yancey Roy, a spokesman for the State Department of
Environmental Conservation, said it “appreciated” the federal agency’s
comments but had no detailed response.
“At this time we are still taking input from the public and it would
not be appropriate to respond to specific comments,” he said.
The federal agency was not required to weigh in as a regulator in what
amounts to a state process to assess the environmental impact of
drilling. But the agency’s involvement was welcomed by those who share
similar concerns in what has become a highly polarizing issue in New
York.
New York City officials, who oppose drilling in the watershed that
supplies the city’s drinking water, views the E.P.A.’s comments as
corroboration of their view that the state’s environmental impact
statement is “flawed and should be rescinded,” said Marc La Vorgna, a
spokesman for Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg.
“It does not adequately address the risks to the city’s drinking
water,” he said.
Katherine Nadeau, water and natural resources program associate with
Environmental Advocates of New York, a nonprofit group, described the
federal agency’s letter as “nothing short of awesome.”
“The E.P.A. rightly echoes the concerns of tens of thousands of New
Yorkers,” she said. “The D.E.C. needs to ditch the draft natural gas
guidelines.”
E.P.A. officials did not specifically call for a ban on drilling in
watershed areas. But they said the agency had “serious reservations
about whether gas drilling in the New York City watershed is consistent
with the vision of long-term maintenance of a high-quality unfiltered
water supply.”
They recommended “a very cautious approach in all watershed areas.”
The agency also suggested that state regulators join forces with the
New York State Department of Health, which enforces rules on safe
drinking water, and with the New York State Public Service Commission,
which regulates the construction and operation of the pipes that gather
the natural gas.
They should work jointly, the E.P.A. said, to produce a more complete
final document that addresses all issues of concern.