Natural gas hot topic at UDC meeting

‘Slow it down;’ ‘speed it up;’ ‘learn more’

By SANDY LONG

NARROWSBURG, NY — Some showed up at the Upper Delaware Council’s (UDC) meeting on June 4 to applaud recent regulatory changes that may slow the development of the Marcellus Shale play in the Upper Delaware River’s Special Protection Waters (SPW). Others questioned those changes and advocated for moving the process along.

But there was one point upon which most seemed to agree: more information is needed to address the complex issues surrounding natural gas extraction in the Upper Delaware River region.

During the at times tense meeting, Robert Tudor, executive deputy director of the Delaware River Basin Commission (DRBC), explained the motivation behind his organization’s recent decision to eliminate review thresholds for gas extraction projects within the Delaware basin’s SPW.

“When Carol Collier issued an executive director’s determination, it was in effect putting the gas industry on notice that they must get reviews and approvals from DRBC,” he said. “Our intent is not to prevent appropriate natural gas activities. If we see threats coming at the river, we want to be able to anticipate and address them, rather than as a crisis after the fact. We have powers to plan, to manage and to regulate discharges and withdrawals to the water as implementers of the Wild and Scenic River Act.”

“Development should take place, just in an environmentally sensitive way and with the appropriate protections in place,” he added. “We will coordinate with the states to avoid duplication.”

DRBC regulates water

withdrawals and wastewater management. Wastewater typically contains brine and other materials, requiring treatment at special facilities. “Wastewater is being transported out of the places where it is harvested. We need to manage for this ‘depletive use,’ that is, water that is transported elsewhere and thereby removed from the watershed where it was harvested,” said Tudor.

“For the landscape part, for the well pad, roads, the lagoons and those sorts of things, we’ll come up with a Permit by Rule approach. You wouldn’t have to wait for a commission meeting,” he said.

One member of the UDC found the explanation unsatisfactory. “DRBC’s been screwing around with this for more than a year,” said Fred Peckham, Town of Hancock representative. “Why is it so slow?”

“First of all, we only have five applications, one of which has been put on hold by the gas company,” responded Tudor. “Try to convince four states and the federal government on one course of action. It takes a little while,” he added.

Peckham then compared the DRBC with the Susquehanna River Basin Commission, which only regulates water quantity, not water quality.

Tudor responded, “One of the great assets you have here is the fact that the Delaware is Wild and Scenic, which gives it extra protection. We don’t want to be in the way and slow things down. We do think that it needs to be carefully thought out to avoid problems rather than deal with them afterwards.”

“I think everybody wants that,” said Peckham.

Town of Cochecton representative Larry Richardson posed questions related to open frack pits and the potential hazards of such pits being permitted in the river’s floodplain. “If slowing it down means doing it right,” he said, “then take your time.”

Town of Deerpark representative Phil Chase asked if tributaries would be protected. Tudor told him that tributaries are protected by the states using their water quality standards. “We have interstate control points up and down the main stem and boundary control points that enable us to look at collective impacts. We will be doing the modeling to determine if something in a tributary is having an impact on the main stem or not.”

Vidal Martinez, superintendent of the National Park Service (NPS) Upper Delaware Scenic and Recreational River, offered his agency’s perspective. “We’re going to work closely with the DRBC and our people within the NPS to make sure we fulfill what we’re charged to do to protect the resources, scenic and recreational values of the Upper Delaware,” he said. “I’m pulling Washington into this discussion. We don’t want to stop the process or opportunity, but we want a balance so folks can take advantage of the opportunities without harming the resource. It can happen, but there’s got to be some checks and balances in place.”

Peckham questioned whether the UDC has taken a formal position yet. UDC executive director Bill Douglass said that it has not. Town of Tusten representative Charlie Wieland added, “We haven’t voted on a position yet. We’re waiting to see how things are going. I’m not opposed to drilling. I’m opposed to screwing up other people’s wells.”

During public comment, Susan Sullivan of Narrowsburg asked whether the DRBC will regulate the onsite management of wastewater in open pits or closed containers. Tudor said the DRBC would develop regulations in a permit by rule approach but that it has not yet been done.

James Barth, a resident of Beach Lake, PA expressed his concerns over the lack of “science” available to address many of the questions. “Everything you’re saying is just speculation and meaningless. We don’t know what’s going to happen here. There have been no studies done on interactions of these chemicals, bioaccumulation, etc.,” he said.

Buck Moorhead of Callicoon, NY questioned whether the River Management Plan, last updated in 1986, adequately addresses the type of technology involved in development of the Marcellus Shale.

Moorhead pointed out that roughly 230,000 people in the region will be impacted by drilling. “It’s very important that the communities affected by this have some say on what is happening,” he said. “I understand private property rights. I respect those matters. I respect community rights, the region’s rights, public health, water, safety and I don’t think those voices have necessarily been heard.”

Moorhead advocated for a broader community discussion, possibly spearheaded by the UDC. “If you started a conversation about rewriting the river management plan, this would be a very serious topic. Someone should put forth this effort.”

Marion Schweighofer, executive director of the Northern Wayne Property Owners Alliance, reminded the UDC that private property owners do their part to protect the river. “Not the federal government, nor the NPS nor the UDC owns the land within this river corridor,” she said. “We are an integral part of maintaining the river. This is part of our heritage and our future, too. It’s a heated subject, and it makes us get angry with one another. And we shouldn’t. We should find common ground and move it forward.”

Schweighofer presented a petition to members of the council and told them, “To stop the drilling is an exercise in futility. I’m presenting this petition because we’re property owners and voters who reside here and we favor responsible development, including gas drilling, which is going to take place. We’ve been called greedy and stupid. If we were any of those things, we would have leased when the rates were up.”

Schwieghofer offered to provide the UDC with additional materials to address their questions.

Barth thanked Schweighofer and her organization for their concerns and urged the UDC to base its decision on science, not private property rights. “The oil and gas industry has been given exemptions to the regulations that apply to everyone else,” he said. “This is not an accident.”

The meeting concluded with a number of questions remaining unanswered, pointing to the need for more information on issues related to fracking fluids, the potential hazards of open storage frack pits, the financial responsibility for well testing and more.

The UDC meets monthly on the first Thursday at 7:30 p.m. Meetings are open to the public and are held at the UDC office on Bridge Street in Narrowsburg.

To reach Schweighofer regarding her petition, email marian@nwpoa.info