Drilling Guidelines Released Cortland Standard- July 8th

Drilling guidelines released

Cortland County drafts map based on information detailed by state’s hydrofracking requirements

By CATHERINE WILDE

Staff Reporter

cwilde@cortlandstandard.net

CORTLAND — The county Planning Department has drafted a map outlining the areas in the county where well pads for the hydraulic fracturing method of gas drilling would be prohibited, under the state’s proposed drilling permit requirements to be released today.

Large portions of Cuyler, Truxton, Cortlandville and Scott would be protected from gas drilling, according to the county map, released Wednesday.

Portions of Homer, Preble, Cortlandville, the village of McGraw and the city of Cortland would be protected because of a 500-foot buffer for the sole source aquifer outlined in the state’s draft supplemental generic environmental impact statement.

The maps outline areas that fall under the state’s guidelines that restrict drilling, said Eric Lopez, geographical information system specialist for the county Planning Department.

Under the guidelines, no permits would be issued for gas drilling within 500 feet of a private well or domestic use spring, or within
2,000 feet of a public drinking water supply well or reservoir.

The maps also considered that drilling would be prohibited in the 100-year flood plain, within 500 feet of the aquifer, on state land and in the Skaneateles watershed that supplies the city of Syracuse.

The map does not reflect the location of private wells or the areas that would be excluded from drilling because of those 500-foot buffers. The department does not have information about private wells.

The state Department of Environmental Conservation plans to post the full 736-page document to the department’s website after 5 p.m today. A draft version of the document was released to certain news media outlets after the regulations were released last week.

The regulations — which offer certain protections such as buffers between well pads and water supplies and enhanced well casings — are limited, officials say.

County Planning Department Director Dan Dineen faulted the water supply buffers for applying to well pads but not the lateral lines that extend underground from the drilling.

“So it does provide some protection but a well can be 1,000 feet from the aquifer and the lateral line will go under the aquifer,” Dineen said, calling the document an incomplete
protection.

Dineen said he was happy that the document provides for a “closed loop system,” which
recycles fracking waste fluid from drilling operations. This limits the chances for toxic fluids to migrate by being left in a pool on site, for instance.

Dusty Horwitt, a lawyer for the Washington, D.C.-based Environmental Working Group, said the environmental group is concerned the state is rushing a process that has not yet been proven safe. The Environmental Working Group is a research advocacy organization that conducts environmental investigations and informs the public about risks of the gas drilling industry.

Horwitt questioned whether the DEC did the thorough scientific testing that would prove the process is safe.

Horwitt said the 500-foot buffers from a primary source aquifer are too close. He cited a case in Colorado where a hydrofracked well released contaminants such as benzene and toluene into a creek 3,500 feet away. Six years later, the water still has dangerous levels of the contaminants in the creek, said Horwitt.

Horwitt challenged the DEC’s protection of the Syracuse watershed and New York City watershed, where hydrofracking would be prohibited. These areas have a 4,000-foot buffer so the underground horizontal drill cannot reach below them.

“If this process is so dangerous that it can’t be conducted at all inside these watersheds, … why should it be allowed near other people’s drinking water?” Horwitt said.

Virgil resident Bob Applegate said he is particularly interested in what air pollution protections are put in place under the document and what will be done to prevent methane from migrating into drinking water.

The gas industry says it needs more time to respond to the regulations.

Cherie Messore, spokeswoman for the Independent Oil and Gas Association of New York, said the association is waiting for the full document to be released Friday before commenting fully.

“We’re looking forward to reviewing the SGEIS to determine if the protections outlined by the state DEC strike a balance between protecting New York’s environment and allowing for expansion of natural gas exploration in New York and specifically in the Southern Tier,” Messore said Wednesday.

Messore said the industry favors tough but fair regulations and she cited the potential job growth and economic gains that gas exploration could provide for the state.

But Jim Weiss, a member of the local activist group Gas Drilling Awareness of Cortland County, says there are very pressing concerns about the gas drilling industry.

Weiss mentioned a push by the industry to export the gas in liquefied form overseas to major markets like China.

“So here we are putting our own environment at risk not just for so-called energy independence but really a profit for a few people and to ship the gas overseas,” Weiss said.

Weiss also said the question of enforcement is left unanswered. If a gas company violates a rule and is faced with a fine, Weiss said, a fee of a few thousand dollars is “peanuts” for a multi-million dollar industry.

Weiss urges caution and wants the state to hold off on releasing its final regulations until after the federal Environmental Protection Agency completes its review of the process, expected in about a year.

“If we are talking about air and water and health, those are not things we want to take risks with,” Weiss said.