Tips on giving gas drilling testimony

DEC hearing scheduled for December 4

By FRITZ MAYER

NARROWSBURG, NY — Keep your comments to the point and try to stay on track. That was part of the advice offered to residents who intend to offer testimony about gas drilling at a hearing on Thursday, December 4 at the Sullivan County Community College Field House.

The point of the hearing is to take testimony from experts and the public at large about which issues should be studied as the Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) prepares new rules to cover gas drilling in the Marcellus Shale.

At a teaching session with about 50 residents at the Tusten Town Hall on December 1, Denise Frangipane, a project officer with the Gerry Foundation, said it was not necessary for residents to be experts with the contents of the main document in question, the draft supplemental generic environmental impact statement (DSGEIS), which can be found at www.dec.ny.gov/energy/47554.html, but some familiarity with it would be useful. She added it would be helpful if residents focused on local issues with which they had some personal knowledge.

Dr. Bill Pammer, commissioner of the Sullivan County planning department, said that one issue that might be brought up by residents is the effect of gas drilling on the property values close to gas drilling sites.

Wes Gillingham, the program director for Catskill Mountainkeeper, said gas drilling could lead to a “massive industrialization of the region,” and added that many pieces are missing from the existing DSGEIS, such as a study of the impact of additional traffic on roads.

Ramsay Adams, the executive director of Catskill Mountainkeeper, said that he hoped the testimony from residents would address some of the social issues that have come with gas drilling in other states, such as the boom-and-bust economic cycle that can occur.

Tusten resident Susan Sullivan said she was going to address the possibility of pipeline blowouts, but wondered what sources would be most credible with the DEC. Pammer said the expert testimony, such as that of Dr. Theo Coburn, was especially helpful. Gillingham, however, added that questions could be raised about the impacts of drilling without citing source materials, and the DEC must answer those questions or explain why they won’t address a specific issue.

Pat Shearer of Yulan said she would be addressing the issue of DEC inspectors. She said the 19 now available are not nearly enough to do a thorough job of inspecting well sites, and the industry couldn’t be counted on to regulate itself. Pammer agreed, saying that it was not wise to allow industries to regulate themselves. “Look what happened to Wall Street,” he said.

Kimberlea Shay-Rea from Bronxville said that the issue of “hydraulic fracturing” being exempted from the Clear Water Act and other federal environmental laws with the passage of the Energy Policy Act of 2002 should be examined. While some on the panel responded that the DEC would argue that the matter was not part of their concern, Bruce Ferguson, of Catskill Citizens for Safe Energy, said the matter should be examined as part of the process, because the regulatory environment at the federal level has clearly changed, and that could impact environmental regulations at the local level.

While many in the crowd were clearly opposed to the idea of drilling, those leading the discussion said the DEC hearing was not the right forum at which to protest drilling in general. Frangipane said the purpose of the process is to ensure that the best procedures are in place to protect the community against the impacts of drilling, not to stop it.

Written comments, which will be accepted until December 15, can be submitted to the DEC on the evening of the hearing or can be mailed to the attention of Director Jack Dahl, Bureau of Oil & Gas Regulation, NYSDEC Division of Mineral Resources, 625 Broadway, Third Floor, Albany, NY 12233-6500.

Written comments can be also be emailed to: dmnog@gw.dec.state.ny.us with “Scope Comments” in the subject field. It was suggested that copies of written comments should be forwarded to state representatives.

Doors will open at 4:30 p.m. and a DEC presentation will begin at 5:15 p.m. Comments will begin at 6:00 p.m.