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Will Gas Drilling Destroy NYC's Drinking Water?
The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation's long awaited plan for
drilling in the Marcellus Shale was just released. The Shale, which
stretches from Ohio to New York is believed to be the country's largest
remaining reservoir of natural gas. Drilling has begun in Pennsylvania
and West Virginia and there have already been reports of contaminated wells.
Oct 06, 2009
The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation's long awaited plan for
drilling in the Marcellus Shale was just released. The Shale, which
stretches from Ohio to New York is believed to be the country's largest
remaining reservoir of natural gas. Drilling has begun in Pennsylvania
and West Virginia and there have already been reports of contaminated wells. A recent EPA report also found evidence of toxic chemicals used in hydraulic fracturing in wells drilled in Wyoming.
So what did the DEC SAY?
Well, not so fast. The natural gas industry, with Halliburton
leading the charge, has skirted the Clean Water Act for years. They're
not about to give up now. Capitalizing on fears of global warming and
the growing disdain for fossil fuels, they're pushing gas drilling as a
clean, green alternative. And their message seems to be swaying
Washington. The new climate bill introduced last week by Sen. John
Kerry and Barbara Boxer includes incentives for natural gas.
The clean and green sounds nice. Except, of course, it's not that
simple. As viewers of this program will recall, the actual process of
fracturing rock to release and pump the gas involves millions of
gallons of water mixed with toxic chemicals and sand-- and in New
York's case - the watershed that supplies some 9 million people with
drinking water.
Manhattan borough president Scott Stringer and several environmental
organizations have called for a ban on drilling -- at least in the
city's watershed, "Kill the Drill." In their opinion, the risk is just too great.
The DEC however, in an 800 page review requires companies to
disclose the chemicals they're using but there is no ban.
Reassured? Neither was Scott Stringer -- Pennsylvania and Colorado had
special permits and buffer zones too. Human error nonetheless resulted
in the pollution of freshwater there.
Gas drilling's not only a threat to the drinking water--also to
forests and farmland--and the DEC plan approves storage of toxic
wastewater in tanks for decades. There is a comment period. It'll run
through November 30. You can find out more here.
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© 2023 Laura Flanders
Laura Flanders
Laura Flanders interviews forward-thinking people about the key questions of our time on The Laura Flanders Show, a nationally syndicated radio and television program also available as a podcast. A contributing writer to The Nation, Flanders is also the author of six books, including "Bushwomen: How They Won the White House for Their Man" (2005). She is the recipient of a 2019 Izzy Award for excellence in independent journalism, the Pat Mitchell Lifetime Achievement Award for advancing women's and girls' visibility in media, and a 2020 Lannan Cultural Freedom Fellowship for her reporting and advocacy for public media. lauraflanders.org
The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation's long awaited plan for
drilling in the Marcellus Shale was just released. The Shale, which
stretches from Ohio to New York is believed to be the country's largest
remaining reservoir of natural gas. Drilling has begun in Pennsylvania
and West Virginia and there have already been reports of contaminated wells. A recent EPA report also found evidence of toxic chemicals used in hydraulic fracturing in wells drilled in Wyoming.
So what did the DEC SAY?
Well, not so fast. The natural gas industry, with Halliburton
leading the charge, has skirted the Clean Water Act for years. They're
not about to give up now. Capitalizing on fears of global warming and
the growing disdain for fossil fuels, they're pushing gas drilling as a
clean, green alternative. And their message seems to be swaying
Washington. The new climate bill introduced last week by Sen. John
Kerry and Barbara Boxer includes incentives for natural gas.
The clean and green sounds nice. Except, of course, it's not that
simple. As viewers of this program will recall, the actual process of
fracturing rock to release and pump the gas involves millions of
gallons of water mixed with toxic chemicals and sand-- and in New
York's case - the watershed that supplies some 9 million people with
drinking water.
Manhattan borough president Scott Stringer and several environmental
organizations have called for a ban on drilling -- at least in the
city's watershed, "Kill the Drill." In their opinion, the risk is just too great.
The DEC however, in an 800 page review requires companies to
disclose the chemicals they're using but there is no ban.
Reassured? Neither was Scott Stringer -- Pennsylvania and Colorado had
special permits and buffer zones too. Human error nonetheless resulted
in the pollution of freshwater there.
Gas drilling's not only a threat to the drinking water--also to
forests and farmland--and the DEC plan approves storage of toxic
wastewater in tanks for decades. There is a comment period. It'll run
through November 30. You can find out more here.
Laura Flanders
Laura Flanders interviews forward-thinking people about the key questions of our time on The Laura Flanders Show, a nationally syndicated radio and television program also available as a podcast. A contributing writer to The Nation, Flanders is also the author of six books, including "Bushwomen: How They Won the White House for Their Man" (2005). She is the recipient of a 2019 Izzy Award for excellence in independent journalism, the Pat Mitchell Lifetime Achievement Award for advancing women's and girls' visibility in media, and a 2020 Lannan Cultural Freedom Fellowship for her reporting and advocacy for public media. lauraflanders.org
The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation's long awaited plan for
drilling in the Marcellus Shale was just released. The Shale, which
stretches from Ohio to New York is believed to be the country's largest
remaining reservoir of natural gas. Drilling has begun in Pennsylvania
and West Virginia and there have already been reports of contaminated wells. A recent EPA report also found evidence of toxic chemicals used in hydraulic fracturing in wells drilled in Wyoming.
So what did the DEC SAY?
Well, not so fast. The natural gas industry, with Halliburton
leading the charge, has skirted the Clean Water Act for years. They're
not about to give up now. Capitalizing on fears of global warming and
the growing disdain for fossil fuels, they're pushing gas drilling as a
clean, green alternative. And their message seems to be swaying
Washington. The new climate bill introduced last week by Sen. John
Kerry and Barbara Boxer includes incentives for natural gas.
The clean and green sounds nice. Except, of course, it's not that
simple. As viewers of this program will recall, the actual process of
fracturing rock to release and pump the gas involves millions of
gallons of water mixed with toxic chemicals and sand-- and in New
York's case - the watershed that supplies some 9 million people with
drinking water.
Manhattan borough president Scott Stringer and several environmental
organizations have called for a ban on drilling -- at least in the
city's watershed, "Kill the Drill." In their opinion, the risk is just too great.
The DEC however, in an 800 page review requires companies to
disclose the chemicals they're using but there is no ban.
Reassured? Neither was Scott Stringer -- Pennsylvania and Colorado had
special permits and buffer zones too. Human error nonetheless resulted
in the pollution of freshwater there.
Gas drilling's not only a threat to the drinking water--also to
forests and farmland--and the DEC plan approves storage of toxic
wastewater in tanks for decades. There is a comment period. It'll run
through November 30. You can find out more here.
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