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As Broome County Executive, I was elected to represent all our residents and taxpayers. Broome County is at the geological center of the Marcellus Shale, and my constituents hold many different opinions about development of Marcellus Shale natural gas. My administration has tried to balance these competing views. Developing natural gas resources and providing reasonable protection for the environment are both attainable goals. Development, however, is currently held hostage by NYS government.
Although there is not an official state moratorium, horizontal gas drilling permits will not be issued until the Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) completes the supplemental Generic Environmental Impact Statement (sGEIS). Development of this resource has many potential economic benefits for Broome County and NYS. Unfortunately we may lose some of these opportunities, because the sGEIS process has been delayed repeatedly.
I urge DEC to move forward now to complete its sGEIS process. We do not need, nor can we afford another delay.
The United States committed many years ago to burning hydro carbons, including coal, oil and natural gas. The natural gas industry was born in NYS in the 1800’s, and the state currently has more than 13,000 producing oil and gas wells. DEC has a long and successful history of regulating this industry.
The production of natural gas is becoming more important for many reasons—both environmental and economic. Natural gas burns cleaner than coal and oil. Some environmental groups support natural gas as a transitional fuel. The recently released first draft of the NYS Energy Plan actually predicts increasing demand for natural gas. Governor Paterson in a Press Release last year acknowledged that there is growing demand for energy in Long Island and New York City metropolitan region.
Development of the Marcellus Shale presents an enormous economic opportunity for NYS. Not only can we meet some of our escalating energy needs, we can also enjoy some economic growth. Broome recently commissioned a study entitled: Potential Economic and Fiscal Impacts From Natural Gas Production in Broome County. Although the final draft is not completed, the initial findings indicate that the ten year “total economic activity” in Broome County will be in the billions of dollars. That is just in Broome County. The economic benefits for the state, including tax receipts, will be even greater.
This opportunity is presented at a time when our economy is suffering. Gov. David Paterson recently predicted that state tax receipts are expected to be 35 percent lower than estimates just a few months ago. Actual sales tax revenues for many NYS counties are down significantly. Against this backdrop, one gas drilling company headquartered in NYS, Fortuna Energy, is not preparing to drill in NYS. Instead it is diverting capital resources to PA, because the regulatory scheme in NYS is still so uncertain.
Natural gas deposits in the Marcellus offer a seductive response to falling incomes and tax revenues. Gas lease payments and the related economic activity will benefit the land owner and the tax payer. We cannot, however, allow current economic hardships to cause us to ignore the inherent dangers of drilling, producing and transporting natural gas. No one in Broome County government will succumb to that trap.
Many of those natural gas dangers are similar to risks encountered in other industries. For example, DEC receives numerous complaints about methane in tap water caused by water well drilling. Conventional construction sites have storage facilities for diesel fuels (which contain benzene) and similar materials. Hazardous waste material is stored and transported throughout the state. These risks can never be eliminated entirely, but they can be reasonably managed.
We have been very active in lobbying New York State DEC on these environmental issues. On behalf of Broome County, last year I made various suggestions specifically designed to manage the environmental risks inherent in natural gas drilling:
- Restrictions on salt water injection disposal wells in Broome County.
- No earthen pits in Broome County.
- Requirement that closed loop systems be used for drilling mud.
- Requirement that all frac flow back and water product be captured in steel tanks.
- Increasing the set backs required between gas wells and bodies of water.
- Protection for our drinking water in The Clinton Street Ballpark Valley Aquifer System located in Broome and Tioga Counties
- A suggested process for heightened scrutiny of the NYC watershed.
- More resources devoted to oversight of drill casing programs for water wells and gas wells.
- More DEC field personnel.
None of these proposals are new, and many citizens told me that they are too restrictive. Horizontal drilling in an unconventional shale deposit has already occurred in the Barnett Shale and other areas of the Marcellus. Our suggestions are synthesized from lessons learned by officials and citizens in other communities. These lessons can and will be applied by DEC where appropriate.
Unfortunately, completion of the sGEIS has been delayed again. We have just learned that one more scientific report has been commissioned. No one can argue or dispute the inherent benefits of any scientific inquiry. There is no doubt, however, that another issue will always be on the horizon. Science of course always moves forward. There comes a time when the regulatory process must also move forward.
DEC must obviously take a “hard look” at the environmental impact of horizontal drilling. It need not, however, predict every scenario, address ever potential legal challenge and eliminate every danger before it releases the draft sGEIS. That is an impossible task. Even after the draft sGEIS is released, there will be further opportunity for DEC to refine its “hard look.” There will be more public comment followed by a final sGEIS.
Every additional administrative delay by DEC pushes revenue away from localities and the State of New York. During times of normal economic expansion, this would not be a problem. Essentially we would only be delaying some revenues. But in today’s economic climate, these delays may cause Broome County and New York State to lose economic development entry opportunities for decades. Natural gas companies are planning for the next five years, and I fear they are looking elsewhere. Timing is very important.
On behalf of Broome County , we request that DEC immediately release the draft sGEIS, set the necessary comment period and move this process forward.
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Barbara J. Fiala is Broome County Executive.
7 Responses to “The Marcellus Shale Development Holdup”
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July 24th, 2009 at 10:23 PM I'm a resident of Broome County and I don't feel that Barb Fiala is representing me. This is not a "balanced" position -- it's mostly drill, drill, drill, and drill as quickly as possible. What's the rush? She does include some very good suggestions for regulations to be included in the sGEIS. But (a) the DEC will probably not adopt most of these (b) if the DEC does not adopt these, will she oppose drilling as too hazardous? It doesn't sound like it. (c) Most important, even if the drilling is done with all the right safeguards, it will still destroy the quality of life as we know it in Broome County. Think about it: 2000 wells (3 per square mile) throughout the county, each 3-5 acres, each cleared of trees, each leveled -- did you like those hillsides? sorry -- each requiring hundreds of truckloads of water each time it is fracked (each well will be fracked multiple times, not just once), pipelines all over, compressor stations, diesel generators, .... And none of this is subject to any local laws (except for the truck traffic), and can be done with no regard to existing zoning. They can drill anywhere they can get enough people to sign a lease, with no hearings, and with no regard for zoning. I am mystified why Barb Fiala, Sen. Libous, the County Legislature and other local leaders want this as their legacy. Why are they representing the handful that will make money from this, and not representing the rest of us?
July 25th, 2009 at 07:14 AM This is the worst case of closed-eye, non-critical thinking that I have ever seen New York State. And believe me, there's been a lot to see. How dare you speak for the constituents who's welfare you are needlessly risking? You know as well as I do (I should hope) that the odds of the DEC protecting what the Federal Government has already abdicated its responsibility for are very slim. Please think again. There is so much at stake here. Short-term thinking is fine for little projects, but this is our heritage and health you are selling out.
July 25th, 2009 at 08:53 AM Ms Fiala, you are making the assumption that anyone in DEC, from Pete Grannis on down, wants anyone to drill anywhere in NYS, ever. Do not be naive -- they are delaying the draft regs, and when they do come out they will be so burdensome, so costly, and so filled with potential liability that no company will drill under those conditions. And that is exactly the way the radical environmentalists want it. Jobs? The only jobs they are about are their own, and as government employees they don't worry about job security.
July 30th, 2009 at 01:04 PM I make the motion that all elected officials involved in decisions regarding gas drilling disclose if they or family members have gas leases or significant land purchases and stand to personally benefit from gas drilling. We need a commission to examine if rules should be drafted to exclude officials who may have a potential conflict of interest same as exists in stocks and bonds.
July 30th, 2009 at 02:03 PM I for one am glad it is delayed again...I wish forever...I want to know where the millions of gallons of water needed will come from when we have another dry summer & fall as we've experienced in the last 3 out of 5 summers... Also, in terms of employment for Broome county, I think it will be a very small percentage...The gas drilling companies will be bringing their own employees... And lastly, I don't believe alot of the land owners will be sticking around Broome County to see the destruction of the land & polluted waters...
July 31st, 2009 at 01:28 AM Barbara Fiala says that she wants to protect the The Clinton Street Ballpark Valley Aquifer. Exactly how does she propose to do this? If you read the report she references, "Potential Economic and Fiscal Impacts From Natural Gas Production in Broome County," you will see that it assumes that 2000-4000 gas wells will be drilled in Broome County over a period of ten years, beginning in 2010. That is 3 to 6 wells per square mile, and the only areas the report excludes from this web of gas drilling are downtown Binghamton and "town squares." Suburban and urban residential areas, apparently, are to be drilled as densely as anywhere else. With 2,000-4,000 gas wells, even assuming that 98% of them have no problems (that 98% success rate is a figure sometimes quoted by gas industry officials), there will be 40-80 gas wells in Broome that do have problems. We have already seen water contamination in other areas where this type of gas drilling has occurred, including in nearby Dimock, PA. Once an aquifer is contaminated, how do you fix it? Any homeowner who does not have access to clean, safe water will find that they have a home that is worth nothing--all of the money and work they have put into that home--maybe a lifetime of sacrificing and saving and making improvements and maintaining the home--will be swept away in a moment. For many people, their home represents their life's savings. This entire gas-drilling money-making scheme is a huge gamble, and we are betting with the health, wealth, and well-being of every resident of the county. Is this what Barbara Fiala was elected to do? When she was running for office there was barely a word from her about the drilling, even though it was already an issue at the time. Now that she's been re-elected she has hired a lobbyist and commissioned a report in an effort to hurry the drilling along. She has absolutely no mandate to do these things, and she clearly does NOT speak for all of her constituents when she says that we should hurry up and drill. I live in Broome County and she certainly does not speak for me!!!!
August 13th, 2009 at 09:28 AM The one thing that New York State does best is to Regulate and Restrict. Our economy is based on taxation of land owners and re-distribution of wealth of those land owners to the government. With out industry and opportunity to prosper it is evident that New York is becoming a state to leave and not live in. As I looked around my local Fingers Lakes this summer I saw very few people enjoying the water sheds as those who own property are now out of state owners where there is economy to afford such a luxury. We need to make sure the local area Tax Payer's) receive some of the benefits of drilling so that they do not fell left out of the gas play (cheaper fuel cost for winter heating). Yes the evil land owners need to benefit from this also as we pay the lion's share of taxes here. Its unfortunate that those who live here cannot afford to enjoy the beautiful Finger lakes. Lets try to regulate less and take more of an active role to protect our jobs and our environment and rely less on government who have shown to fail us time and time again!