Upstate Fly Fishers Inc.

A Chapter of Federation of Flyfishers 

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TGF Bulletin

Action Alert

Immediate Help Needed to

KEEP GAS DRILLING MORATORIUM in place!

The public has spoken here in the Delaware River Watershed and, as a result, a moratorium on natural gas production wells and "fracking" is in place.  But all of that is about to change, very soon.

The Delaware River Basin Commission instituted a partial moratorium on gas well development in May tied to the adoption of natural gas-specific regulations.  They also applied to the federal government for funds for a cumulative impact analysis to assess potential impacts on water resources in the Delaware River Watershed from natural gas development, the first step in figuring out how to install rules to prevent pollution and environmental degradation.

The House Appropriations Committee Subcommittee on Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies approved the funding for the study, which, once approved by Congress, will provide $1 M.  The funds will be available late this year or early next year.  And there's the rub: DRBC is moving the draft regulations on a fast track, spurred on by a July 13 letter from New Jersey's DEP Commissioner calling for the draft regulations to be promulgated "no later than September 30, 2010".  Without the needed study first!

We need to tell the DRBC Commissioners that it is essential that the cumulative impact study be completed BEFORE they issue draft regulations.  PLEASE write a letter to the Commissioners today calling for the common sense approach: study first, regulations developed based on study, keep the moratorium in place while this process works.

For more information on gas drilling go to: www.delawareriverkeeper.org

What you can do:

Send the sample letter below or write your own in the space provided. Click to send it automatically to the DRBC, where a copy will be provided to each Commission member, at Paula.Schmitt@drbc.state.nj.us .

Thank you for taking this action to make sure that gas drilling is not fast tracked here and for acting to protect the Watershed's communities and all the life that depends on a healthy Watershed.

Sample Letter:

Commissioners

Carol Collier, Executive Director

25 State Police Drive

P.O. Box 7360

 West Trenton, NJ 08628-0360

fax (609) 883-9522

Paula.Schmitt@drbc.state.nj.us

SUBJECT LINE: "Study First!"

Dear Delaware River Basin Commission Members,

Please do not move ahead with proposed natural gas regulations until a cumulative impact study is completed first.  Understanding the cumulative impacts of natural gas drilling in the Delaware River Watershed is essential in order to inform how this activity should be regulated.  Without such study, there are far too many unknowns that will result in missing pieces to this critical rulemaking.  If you develop rules before a scientific study, your regulations will be a foregone conclusion, a set of rules made before the evidence for their basis was known.  This would be a grave mistake.

The federal government is going to provide $1million to address the need for this analysis in response to your judicious request; the funds should receive final approval in the coming weeks.  Common sense dictates that we understand the potential for impacts to the Watershed and the water supply of over 15 million people who rely on the Delaware River for drinking water on a cumulative basis, not a piecemeal approach -- through analyzing the aggregate "build out" of natural gas and what that means for our environment.  The rules should be developed with a goal of preventing pollution and degradation to the River and its Watershed.  How can this be done in an effective and defensible way without a cumulative analysis?

We must analyze the cumulative impacts of:

·         the billions of gallons of water that will be consumed - lost forever - through hydraulic fracturing in a world where fresh water is becoming the most valuable and scarce of all resources

·         the loss of water quality and disruption of flow in the river and its tributaries from water withdrawals, depleting sensitive headwaters and the life within them and robbing precious high quality flow from downstream waters

·         the production of billions of gallons of toxic wastewater without adequate facilities to treat it and the discharge of industrial effluent

·         the injection of hundreds of chemicals into the ground through drilling and the aggressive processes of hydraulic fracturing and horizontal drilling, risking toxic contamination

·         the transformation of thousands of square miles of high quality watershed to an industrial landscape, producing stormwater runoff and flooding, pollution to groundwater and streams, and loss of habitat and natural values

·         the multitude of toxic air emissions, impacting regional and community air and water quality

·         the labyrinth of infrastructure that must accompany the industry-pipelines, compressor stations, processing facilities, wastewater discharge plants, etc.

·         the degradation of Special Protection Waters within the Delaware River Watershed that now support high quality drinking water and diverse ecosystems

·         the impacts of light, noise, traffic, and community loss of value

Please realize that this is the moment to address these cumulative impacts in a comprehensive manner and our federal representatives are getting you the funds to do it right. History will not remember if it took a few extra months to study these impacts but history will remember if the legacy from natural gas development is like that of coal-a shameful history of inadequate regulation that we, as a nation, have been left to clean up at the public's expense.

Thank you, Commissioners, for taking action to complete the cumulative impact study FIRST, then develop regulations based on what you learn is needed to PREVENT pollution and degradation of our prized Delaware River Watershed.

Sincerely,

__________

SIGNATURE                                      

__________________________________________________________________________

NAME                                                   ADDRESS                                                                             EMAIL

The New York State Senate Passes Gas Drilling Moratorium Bill
 
The fight to prevent unsafe gas drilling in New York State received a huge boost last night when at 12:17 AM the New York State Senate passed a bill that would impose a moratorium on granting permits for hydrofracking until May 15, 2011. 
 
The bill, sponsored by Senator Antoine Thompson (D-Buffalo), was passed by a margin of 48-9.  The vote had strong bipartisan support and included 15 Republicans.
 
The next step is for the Assembly version of the bill (A11443-b) to be voted on by the Assembly when they return from their summer break after September 15th.
 
Many had considered the bill "dead on arrival", but legislators were positively affected by the unrelenting efforts of Catskill Mountainkeeper and a broad coalition of our environmental and grass roots partners. According to Wes Gillingham who managed Mountainkeeper's field efforts to generate public support for the bill, and was on the Senate Floor this morning pushing up to the last minute "this important step is a
tremendous display of what can happen when citizens stand up and take action."
 
It is very important to note that the passage of this bill by the State Senate does not make this a done deal.  We now must make sure the bill is passed by the Assembly and be signed by the Governor as quickly as possible.
 
Here's how you can help!
 

Email and call Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver and your own Assembly Members (contact your member here) now to tell them to bring the bill (A11443-B in that house) to a vote as soon as possible.

This page was last updated on 09/01/10.