-------- Original Message -------- Subject: [ATL-ACTION-ALERTS] Protect NY from Natural Gas Rush Date: Thu, 5 Nov 2009 16:34:08 -0500 From: Roger Downs <[email protected]> Reply-To: Atlantic Chapter Action Alerts <[email protected]> To: [email protected] Dear Sierra Club Atlantic Chapter members and supporters, The rush to drill in New York is intensifying and now is the time to have your voice heard! Tens of thousands of new natural gas wells could be drilled in the next decade from the Catskills to Lake Erie, threatening water supplies, critical habitats and our communities. What is holding the drill rigs back is an environmental review process of the drilling technique “ Horizontal Hydraulic Fracturing”. The public has only until December 31 to review and comment on the 800-page guidance document that is overly technically, poorly organized and substantially incomplete. Please help us stop this ill-conceived plan to drill. How you can help Voice your concerns at one of the public hearings. November 9, Foothills Performing Arts Center, Atrium Oneonta, NY 6PM November 10, Stuyvesant High School, High School Auditorium, 34 Chamber Street, New York, NY 10282. 6 PM November 12, Chenango Valley High School, High School Auditorium, 221 Chenango Bridge Rd., Chenango Bridge, NY 13901. 6 PM November 18, Corning East High School Auditorium, 201 Cantigny Street, Corning, NY 14830. 6 PM November 19, State Theatre, 107 W. State St., Ithaca, NY 7PM visit our website: http://newyork.sierraclub.org/gas_drilling.html Read the plan: Go to http://www.dec.ny.gov/energy/58440.html for draft SGEIS. Send comments Go to http://www.dec.ny.gov/cfmx/extapps/SGEISComments/ to Submit comments. When commenting, demand of the DEC that the DSGEIS: Substantively assess cumulative impacts.The public has the right to know how the thousands of projected wells as a whole will affect our air, water, and environmental health. Analysis of single well impacts is not sufficient. Address the critical issue of staffing and oversight. 17 state permitting staff and inspectors is grossly insufficient to oversee the development of thousands of gas wells. No amount of regulation can protect New York if we cannot enforce best practices and punish bad actors. Make the conclusions of the SGEIS part of a formal rule making process. New rules and regulations on this type of drilling are essential and not just permitting conditions from which industry can seek exemptions without public oversight. The DEC has not updated oil and gas regulations since 1985, and relies on a confusing mix of forms and conditions to supplement what is currently on the books. The results of the DSGEIS need to be clear, binding, and transparent to the public. Establish an accurate picture of resource infrastructure so that we can understand the implications of full-scale natural gas development. For example, the DSGEIS lists 134 wastewater treatment facilities capable of treating natural gas wastewater. But in reality only 3 of those plants have permits to treat flow- backwater and in a limited capacity. The DSGEIS should make clear where there are capacity constraints, and address them in a clear and honest manner. Extend the comment period to March 31, 2010. The final outcome of the Supplemental DGEIS will have profound implications for New York’s energy and environmental future. Extending the comment period to 180 days, as has been advocated by 41 members of the NYS Assembly, is the least the State can do to ensure that citizens have a voice and stake in the outcome. Please help us protect New York from this unprecedented pressure to drill. Thank you for everything you do to. Susan Lawrence, Chapter Chair For more information contact: Roger Downs Sierra Club Atlantic Chapter 353 Hamilton Street Albany, NY 12210 (518) 426-9144
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