Don't trust the DEC
You may have
heard or read that the NYS Department of
Environmental Conservation (DEC) has
decided not to allow gas drilling within
the Catskill and Delaware watersheds,
which supply water to NYC.
Don't believe
it.
On April 23rd
the DEC announced that it will exclude
unfiltered water supplies from its
generic environmental impact statement.
Instead gas drilling applicants will
have to go through their own
environmental review process to obtain
permits. [1] In the 1992 GEIS there are
other situations which trigger an
additional environmental review.
The main
question is why did the DEC decide to
release this statement now, instead of
including it in the final Supplemental
Generic Environmental Impact Statement (SGEIS)?
Here are three
good reasons for this public relations
stunt:
1. To diminish
public opposition
Late last
October, just before the start of the
public review of the draft SGEIS, Aubrey
K. McClendon, the head of Chesapeake
Energy, announced that his company would
not drill in the Catskill and Delaware
watersheds. However, he was not willing
to tear up their current leases, or sign
a binding agreement never to drill
there. Nor could he speak for the dozens
of other gas drilling companies. The
public saw through his maneuver and
submitted over 14,000 comments to the
draft.
It seems that
Pete Grannis has been taking lessons
from the CEO of Chesapeake Energy. After
all, he may be working for Chesapeake in
a few months.
2. To try an
end run around current proposed
legislation
Over two dozen
bills have been introduced in the NYS
legislature about gas drilling. One that
is gaining momentum calls for a
state-wide moratorium until 120 days
after the EPA finishes its report on
hydrofracking. [2] Another proposed bill
calls for a state-wide ban.
The last thing
the DEC and the gas industry want is a
multi-year moratorium. This press
release is merely an attempt to stop
these bills.
3. To try to
avoid some legal requirements of their
environmental review
NYS is in a
very difficult position because no
matter what they do they are going to
get sued once the SGEIS is finalized.
This move is an attempt to avoid some of
those legal issues. However, it's not
likely to succeed since it simply
creates a new legal challenge.
The point is
this: gas drilling would still be
allowed in unfiltered water supplies.
The DEC's decision does not block gas
drilling anyplace, and it may not be
legal.
[1].
DEC Press Release:
DEC Announces Separate Review for
Communities With "Filtration Avoidance
Determinations"
[2].
Englebright bill,
A10490
