Ithaca natural gas drilling session draws hundreds; critic attacks DEC

ITHACA -- With 809 pages of data to sift through, it's hard to know where to start when trying to learn about potential changes to state regulations on natural gas drilling.

Hundreds of area residents decided to turn to the experts, cramming into a Tompkins County Council of Governments information session Thursday night at the Unitarian Church.

Three people spoke about the state Department of Environmental Conservation's draft Supplemental Generic Environmental Impact Statement (dSGEIS) into horizontal and hydraulic drilling in the Marcellus Shale, the deep rock formation targeted by exploration companies for the natural gas believed to be within -- but only one said she managed to finish reading the behemoth document.

Environmental attorney Helen Slottje characterized the DEC as the parent every teenager wishes they had, one who suggests and encourages behavior and trusts that their child will do the right thing, without actually enforcing any rules or imposing time-outs.

She then gave a Cliffs Notes version of the report, noting that it was "more notable for what it does not contain than what it does contain."

She said the state agency seemed to be making lots of "the dog ate my homework" excuses when it came to obtaining or requiring studies for things like chemical interactions within water pumped into and out of drilling sites, and that it did not even provide for updated locations of existing aquifers, floodplains, wells and watersheds.

Tompkins County Planning Commissioner Ed Marx also said he was concerned about several areas the report fails to address, and about its reluctance to consider cumulative effects.

Its solution to air quality concerns, for example, is to suggest barriers within 500 feet of well pads to avoid exposure to potentially harmful emissions.

Each site could involve up to 10 140-foot-high wells spread over five acres. Operation would likely be 24 hours a day for four to five weeks, require 5 million gallons of water per well, and produce 1,200 or more truck trips, Marx said.

The annual emissions from one well would likely be double that produced by Tompkins County government, and the county's efforts to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by 80 percent could be completely undone in one year, he said.

The document seems to rely heavily on the gas drilling industry itself for information and self-policing, Marx said, and its intentions for implementation, enforcement and monitoring are often unclear.

The role that local government is expected to play is also ambiguous and confusing, with some sections suggesting regulation should be "considered in the context of policy-making at the local level" while others discount any municipal authority at all, he said.

Marx and his staff are expected to finish their review of the document next week, when they will give a presentation to members of the Tompkins County Legislature's planning committee. Several other agencies and municipalities are also preparing responses.

The public has until the end of the year to comment on the report. They can do so online at www.dec.ny.gov/energy/58440.html, or by attending a public hearing at the State Theatre on Nov. 19, where all statements will be recorded by the Council of Governments and submitted to the DEC.

The document is available online www.dec.ny.gov/energy/47554.html. Hard copies can be found at the Town of Ithaca offices, Caroline Town Hall, Brookton's Market in Brooktondale, and the city clerk's office at Ithaca City Hall.