New York Issues Draft Fracking Regulations for Public Comment

Posted on October 3, 2011 by Caleb Holmes

In July, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation ("NYSDEC") released its draft Supplemental Generic Environmental Impact Statement ("SGEIS") on horizontal drilling.  As we explained in more detail earlier, the draft SGEIS included draft regulations, which would impose "rigorous and effective controls" on hydraulic fracturing.  In September, NYSDEC supplemented its SGEIS, adding mitigation measures addressing socioeconomic, community character, visual, noise and transportation impacts.

NYSDEC has now issued its draft regulations, which are the same as those released in July, for public comment.  The public comment period will conclude December 12, and four public hearings are being held in November in Dansville, Binghamton, Sheldrake and New York City.

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NYSDEC Recommends Lifting Fracking Ban, Subject to Limitations

Posted on July 1, 2011 by Caleb Holmes

As we mentioned earlier, Governor Cuomo requested that the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation's ("NYSDEC") Supplemental Generic Environmental Impact Statement ("SGEIS") on horizontal drilling be completed for issuance by July 1, 2011.  On June 30, NYSDEC announced its recommendations from its report, set to be released today.  NYSDEC recommends that the moratorium on fracking be lifted, but that fracking be prohibited in the New York City and Syracuse watersheds, within 500 feet of primary aquifers, and on state-owned land.  Fracking would be allowed on privately held land, subject to "rigorous and effective controls."

These controls would (1) prohibit permits from being issued within 500 feet of a private water well or within 2,000 feet of a public drinking water supply well or reservoir, (2) require a third well casing around each well, (3) require additional spill control for flowback water and a DEC-approved plan for disposing of flowback water and production brine, and (4) require well applicants to disclose all fracking chemicals and consider chemicals that potentially pose less risk. 

Pursuant to the recently passed Water Withdrawal Reporting law, drillers also must obtain a special permit to withdraw large volumes of water.  This permit will impose conditions on water quantity, and require annual reporting on the amount of water being withdrawn or purchased.

UPDATE 1: Although the full SGEIS will not be made available until July 8, NYSDEC has released the Executive Summary, a SGEIS timeline, a document explaining what it learned from Pennsylvania, and a press release detailing who NYSDEC was appointing to its Hydraulic Fracturing Advisory Panel.

UPDATE 2: The full SGEIS can be found here.

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Governor Cuomo Tells NYSDEC To Consider Pennsylvania Well Blowout in Horizontal Drilling Review, Finish Review by July 1

Posted on May 31, 2011 by Caleb Holmes

From William Hurst of GT Albany:

On May 27, 2011, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, through his Director of State Operations, transmitted a brief memorandum to Joseph Martens, Commissioner of the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation ("NYSDEC"), stating, in sum and substance, that the NYSDEC should incorporate into its ongoing review of the potential environmental impacts of horizontal drilling in New York State some consideration of the recent natural gas well blowout in Bradford County, Pennsylvania, including recommending a site visit by NYSDEC personnel.  Perhaps more significantly, the May 27 memorandum requests that the NYSDEC's Supplemental Generic Environmental Impact Statement ("SGEIS") on horizontal drilling be "completed for issuance" by July 1, 2011.  Recent reports from NYSDEC had indicated that the SGEIS may not be ready for release until the early Fall, 2011, so the new July 1 deadline established by the May 27 memorandum should advance that schedule.   

 

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Will New York Allow Any Drilling For Natural Gas?

Posted on April 25, 2010 by Reed Rubinstein

From Heather Behnke, GT Albany.

On April 23, New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) Commissioner Alexander "Pete" Grannis announced that any applications for natural gas drilling permits using high-volume hydraulic fracturing (fracking) techniques that are located in the New York City or Skaneateles Lake watersheds (which includes Syracuse) will be assessed on a "case-by-case" basis instead of under the Supplemental Generic Environmental Impact Statement (SGEIS).  As we discussed here, the SGEIS is in the process of being finalized by the DEC and is not expected to be completed until later this summer or this fall. The DEC claims the additional environmental review is warranted because these watersheds use an unfiltered surface water supply and drilling in these watersheds poses unique land disturbance and usage issues that will not be addressed by the SGEIS.

The president of the environmental group Riverkeeper, which has long sought to ban fracking within the NYC watershed, said this restriction amounts to a "de facto ban" on fracking. None of the 58 pending permit applications will be affected by this new restriction because they are not located in these watersheds.

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