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Tompkins County government has made its feelings known about draft regulations that would govern high-volume hydraulic fracturing (HVHF) in New York State.

Nearly 50 pages of comments submitted to the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) by last Friday’s deadline—from the County’s Planning and Health Departments, its Water Resources Council, Board of Health, a working group of the Environmental Management Council, and through a letter signed by 12 of the 15 members of the County Legislature—addressed both content and process.  Those commenting characterized the process as seriously flawed, since they say it, in part, advanced the draft regulations prematurely, before the Supplemental Generic Environmental Impact Statement (SGEIS) upon which they would be based becomes final, and imposed an insufficient 30-day comment period, which should be extended.

The letter from Legislators, submitted “under protest,” states that restrictions imposed by the comment period have prevented the Legislature from being able to publicly consider and vote on the issue as part of the comment period, the first time since 2008 (when the DEC review of HVHF began) where the Legislature has been unable to deliberate and register an official position.  The letter also calls it “completely illogical” for the DEC to propose regulations based on a document not yet finalized, and expresses their concern about secrecy regarding review of related health impacts; insufficient information concerning socioeconomic impact and how the regulations would affect local governments; and an overall lack of transparency in the process, which serves to compromise public trust.

In 19 pages of detailed comments, Planning Commissioner Ed Marx characterizes DEC’s publication of proposed regulation prior to completing the State Environmental Quality Review (SEQR) process as a “fatal flaw” in the process, identifies what are seen as among the most significant problems with the apparent SGEIS and regulations, and comments on specific provisions.  Among the many concerns are specifications for comment periods of only 15 days for functions including notification to local governments as part of the permitting process; failure to assess cumulative impacts, to adequately address effects on water resources, visual and noise impacts, greenhouse gas emissions, and the effect on community character and industries such as tourism.  The statement asserts that the ban on such drilling in the New York City and Syracuse watersheds should apply to the watersheds of all municipal water supply systems.

In comments submitted by the County Water Resources Council, Legislator Frank Proto, chair of the WRC, states, “We have serious concerns about the process being used by the NYSDEC to devise regulations that adequately protect the public health from potential adverse environmental impacts from HVHF, the ability of the public to comment on those regulations, and the ability of the State to provide adequate funding for the oversight of HVHF activities.”  WRC core concerns include an allowed review time called “totally inadequate for a meaningful, in-depth review,” release of regulations before a health review by the State Health Commissioner has been completed and the SGEIS is finalized, and before the State Legislature has identified appropriate resources for NYSDEC and other affected agencies, as well as how such resources will be generated.

Citing the short review timeframe, the Tompkins County Board of Health officially endorses the comments submitted by the WRC, stating that while the Board of Health remains neutral on whether fracking should be allowed, its interest is in “proper rules and regulations to ensure the health and safety of our community and the provision of financial and other resources to local government to adequately respond to the impacts of HVHF activity.”

Also citing an inadequate review process and calling for an insufficient public comment period to be extended, Tompkins County Public Health Director Frank Kruppa maintains that “numerous unresolved issues need to be settled” before these important regulations are finalized.  Asserting that local health departments will experience a significant increase in resource demand from water well test requirements and other gas drilling-related impacts, Kruppa states that necessary resources must be in place before drilling permits are issued, and not tied solely to eventual gas production, and that formal agreements must be in place between local health departments and the DEC before regulations become final and such drilling is allowed.

Among numerous concerns expressed regarding specific provisions of the draft regulations in ten pages of comments, the County Environmental Management Council (EMC) Gas Drilling Working Group criticizes a HVHF Marcellus Shale gas exploration and development program that will be determined “inherently flawed from its inception” and unfortunately is affected by conflicting responsibilities inherent in the structure of the DEC, with its simultaneous focus on environmental protection and minerals management.  The State’s proposal, the EMC group states, “only tinkers with the existing regulatory framework,” with the pressure to expedite the process and the lack of available resources for an appropriate environmental review “limit(ing) the opportunities for the collection and assessment of the necessary and relevant scientific data.”  Among concerns expressed are failure to address how abandoned wells with affect gas and fluid migration; the power of natural gas as a greenhouse gas affecting climate change; how animal and human health will be protected, and environmental harm prevented, from water and air pollution associated with fracking; and how the transport and treatment of drilling wastes will adequately be addressed.

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