ASK GOVERNOR CUOMO TO CLOSE THE VERTICAL- WELL LOOPHOLE!

Upon taking office, Governor Cuomo reaffirmed Executive Order 41, which bars horizontal high-volume fracking until the DEC releases a final Supplemental Generic Environmental Impact Statement. But, as we recently discovered, the industry has already been using high-volume "slickwater" fracking to develop vertical wells.

Whether injected in horizontal or vertical wells, huge quantities of fracking fluid pose the same serious risk to public health. Ask Governor Cuomo to close the vertical- well loophole by amending Executive Order 41 to bar all high-volume and all slickwater fracturing until the SGEIS is completed.

BILLS, BILLS, BILLS

No, we're not asking you for money! We're talking about Albany. The legislature is now awash in bills that would prohibit, postpone, or regulate fracking.

But are any of them going anywhere? Maybe not. At least not any time soon. We're told that the Assembly and Senate leadership intends to wait for the release of the Revised Draft SGEIS before attempting to regulate high-volume horizontal fracturing. "Give (DEC Commissioner Joe) Martens a chance to present his plan" seems to be the prevailing attitude.

But while the DEC continues to wrestle with the SGEIS, vertical fracking continues unabated. That is why bills that would regulate operations already underway in the state, need to be considered now.

END THE OIL AND GAS INDUSTRY'S "HAZARDOUS WASTE" EXEMPTION

None of the pending bills is more important than A07013/S4616. It would overturn the law that exempts oil and gas waste from being classified as "hazardous," no matter how toxic and radioactive the material may be.

It's only common sense to classify waste according to the danger it poses, rather than according to the industry that produces it, but we can expect fierce resistance from the gas lobbyists. No doubt they'll complain that it's unfair to expect them to obey same laws that apply to every other industry!

THIRTY THOUSAND CITIZENS, AND ONE ATTORNEY GENERAL

Just days after citizens submitted thirty thousand written comments about the Delaware River Basin Commission's bone-headed plan to frack the watershed that provides fifteen million Americans with their drinking water, New York State Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman announced that he would sue the federal government unless it agreed to conduct a full environmental review of the plan. All in all, it appears it will be a long, long time before the frackers have their way in the Delaware Basin.

IT'S OFFICIAL: SHALE GAS IS DIRTIER THAN COAL!

The long awaited report "Methane and the Greenhouse-Gas Footprint of Natural Gas from Shale Formations" has been published in Climatic Changes Letters. And the conclusion should be eye-opening for anyone who ever fell for the line that shale gas is a "clean" fuel.

The [greenhouse-gas] footprint for shale gas is greater than that for conventional gas or oil when viewed on any time horizon, but particularly so over 20 years. Compared to coal, the footprint of shale gas is at least 20% greater and perhaps more than twice as great on the 20-year horizon and is comparable when compared over 100 years."

 

Draft versions of this report by Cornell professors Robert Howarth, Renee Santoro, and Anthony Ingraffea have been circulating for more than a year now; this final version is the first peer-reviewed study of the subject.

LOOKING TO GET MORE INVOLVED IN THE FIGHT AGAINST FRACKING?

Then join us for our Volunteer's Meeting at the North Branch Inn in North Branch, New York, at 11 AM on Sunday May 1. Bring your ideas, energy, and enthusiasm. Whatever skills you have can be put to good use. Remember, Catskill Citizens is an all-volunteer organization! For more information, contact: info@catskillcitizens.org or call (845) 468 7063.

Remember, public awareness is the key to our success!

Two out of three New Yorkers who learn about fracking say
"No way!" So please spread the word.

Please donate to Catskill Citizens for Safe Energy.