Josh Fox's "The Sky Is Pink"...Let's End Debate and Ban FRACKING

THE SKY IS PINK from JFOX on Vimeo.

Those who regularly read this blog know I am against fracking, are aware of my efforts to get Steve Veglianti and the Town Board to BAN FRACKING in the geographical/political footprint of Fallsburg.  Further, I support a state wide ban on fracking, and know the best way to ban fracking is not at the state level, but at the local level, with individual town, villages and cities banning fracking by changing their zoning laws to make fracking an unacceptable land use...such a move is not trying to regulate the industry, but instead uses a political subdivision to (as is allowed by state and federal law) to regulate land use.

Problem is, the (un)Natural Gas industry keeps everyone including our elected officials on the sidelines through multimillion dollar propaganda campaigns, and false counter claims in the media, thus creating what should be considered as FALSE DEBATE...this is a trick used by industry to keep concerned citizens on the sidelines.  After all, if the facts are in dispute, if their is a debate, people tend to wait for the debate to be resolved, and while this supposed debate (FALSE DEBATE) ensues, the (un) Natural Gas industry in this case pushes government to have as few regulations of their industry as they can get.

Enter Josh Fox, and  his newest video on fracking, "The Sky is Pink".  Every New Yorker needs to watch this movie, and study the documents (links provided) so that we can end the FALSE DEBATE, and move to an immediate ban of fracking in every community here in New York.

Earlier this year, the Town of Fallsburg Supervisor, and all of our town board members stated that they were opposed to fracking.  Now, some three months later, we are still waiting for the promised "Public Informational Meeting" and still waiting for them to PASS A BAN ON FRACKING.  If you live in the geographical footprint of Fallsburg, please contact your board members, the town supervisor, and demand that a ban on fracking be passed into law now, before our window of opportunity to protect our community is missed...which will happens once the state APPROVES FRACKING REGULATIONS.

The Sky is Pink  Document Cache

Industry Documents
Affirming GASLAND- Our responses to industry charges against GASLAND
gaslandthemovie.com/whats-fracking/affirming-gasland
1trickpony.cachefly.net/gas/pdf/Affirming_Gasland_Sept_2010.pdf
Flaming Faucets
foxnews.com/story/0,2933,509857,00.html
hcn.org/blogs/goat/flaming-water/
cbsnews.com/2100-201_162-4879509.html
planetsave.com/2009/03/20/flammable-water-pours-from-faucets-in-colorado-home/
propublica.org/series/fracking
ecopolitology.org/2009/03/19/leaking-gas-well-causes-flammable-water-to-pour-from-faucets-in-colorado-home-video/
Well Failures/Gas Leaks
youtube.com/watch?v=fjaRwh4xRiM&feature=player_embedded
gasdrillinginbalcombe.wordpress.com/2012/03/14/44-of-wells-leaking-at-australian-gas-field/
nytimes.com/1992/05/03/us/abandoned-oil-and-gas-wells-become-pollution-portals.html?src=pm
bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-north-east-orkney-shetland-17656307
frack-off.org.uk/gas-wells-leaking/
telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/energy/oilandgas/9168645/Total-admits-it-could-take-six-months-to-stop-gas-leak.html
Well Construction/Integrity
slb.com/~/media/Files/resources/oilfield_review/ors03/aut03/p62_76.ashx
boemre.gov/tarprojects/008/008DE.pdf
naturalgaswatch.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/well_integrity_failure_presentation.pdf
ptil.no/news/new-report-well-integrity-challenges-on-the-norwegian-shelf-article2762-79.html
spe.org/ejournals/jsp/journalapp.jsp?pageType=Preview&jid=EDC&mid=SPE-106817-PA
Climate Change
youtube.com/watch?v=XXyTpY0NCp0
Breast Cancer
texassharon.com/2011/09/02/big-gas-mafia-irony-burnsta-tas/
dentonrc.com/local-news/special-projects/gas-well-drilling-headlines/20110831-breast-cancer-rate-climbs-up.ece
damascuscitizensforsustainability.org/2011/09/breast-cancer-rates-jump-in-the-barnett-shale/
dallasdrilling.wordpress.com/2011/09/01/breast-cancer-rates-jump-in-the-barnett-shale/
abcalliance.org/?p=1725
nbc11news.com/home/headlines/85259117.html
Pittsburgh Fracking Ban
groundswell.gs/2011/10/28/city-councilman-doug-shields-on-the-success-of-pittsburghs-rights-based-fracking-ban/
Water Contamination
propublica.org/article/colorado-study-links-methane-in-water-drilling-422
bloomberg.com/news/2011-12-08/gas-fracking-chemicals-detected-in-wyoming-aquifer-epa-says.html
pittsburgh.cbslocal.com/2011/04/19/gas-drilling-industry-makes-stunning-admission/
static.ewg.org/reports/2011/fracking/cracks_in_the_facade.pdf
pnas.org/content/early/2011/05/02/1100682108.full.pdf+html?sid=bde16321-e169-437d-a59c-798e7f65c479
grist.org/article/2011-02-28-pittsburgh-drinking-water-radioactive-fracking-natural-gas-times/
nytimes.com/2011/02/27/us/27gas.html?_r=1&ref=drillingdown
essentialpublicradio.org/story/2011-12-01/salts-drilling-drinking-water-danger-still-showing-rivers-9616
postindependent.com/article/20100813/VALLEYNEWS/100819931
Profiles/Contacts
cee.cornell.edu/people/profile.cfm?netid=ari1
history.ucsd.edu/people/faculty/oreskes-naomi.html
‘Drilling Down’
nytimes.com/interactive/us/DRILLING_DOWN_SERIES.html
PR/Hill and Knowlton
prwatch.org/spin/2009/11/8680/hill-knowltons-carbon-two-step
sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Hill_%26_Knowlton
prwatch.org/books/tsigfy10.html
prwatch.org/search/node/knowlton
naturalgaswatch.org/?p=939
csmonitor.com/2002/0906/p25s02-cogn.html
State Government Documents
mines.industry.qld.gov.au/assets/petroleum-pdf/tara_leaking_well_investigation_report.pdf
cogcc.state.co.us/Library/WQCC_WQCD_AnnualReports/WQCC09_10RPT.pdf
‘Reality Tour’ Marcellus Shale
youtube.com/watch?v=iPM64kseP30
Merchants of Doubt
bloomsburypress.com/books/catalog/merchants_of_doubt_hc_104
Colbert Report
mnn.com/earth-matters/politics/blogs/stephen-colbert-and-tom-ridge-get-awkward-over-fracking
desmogblog.com/tom-ridge-claimed-i-m-not-lobbyist-colbert-report-facts-prove-otherwise
keystonepolitics.com/2011/06/tom-ridge-shills-for-fracking-on-colbert-report/
Gas Industry Conference:
naturalgaswatch.org/?p=970

BREAKING NEWS...(un) Natural Gas Industry Hiding Methane Release Truth

FRACKING CAN KILL YOU!

In what is not surprise, seems that the (un) Natural Gas industry's Methane Gas Emissions Study is fatally flawed...actually, that is being overly generous...in my opinion, the (un) Natural Gas Industry's Methane Gas Emissions Study is a document deliberately filled with false and erroneous estimates aimed at hoodwinking the EPA, politicians and members of the general public.  At every step of this report which would never pass muster if the API/ANGA had submitted it for peer review, these self serving buffoons went to great lengths to under estimate methane gas emissions from UNCONVENTIONAL Horizontal Hydraulic Fracturing, or FRACKING.  

After careful analysis, the nonprofit "Physicians Scientists & Engineers for Healthy Energy (PSE)" slammed the report, labeled it as fatally flawed, framing their remarks in a much more politically correct fashion than is the style of this blog...straight out, the report is BUNK, and the industry is flat out COOKING THE BOOKS to create numbers they want to see, rather than presenting stakeholder communities with the truth, and the actual risks associated with REAL NUMBERS verse the manipulated and false data presented in the report.  Some of the fatal flaws include:

• The survey pretty much coached those being questioned, indicating/suggesting what answers were sought, led the respondents down the proverbial garden path to the industry's much sought after Garden of Eden where they can rape the earth while claiming it was not them. 
• API/ANGA's survey targeted, cherry picked their respondents, failing to follow a basic rule of surveys to have/select a random and representative sampling.
• Furthermore, the report is highly selective in the information used, the organizations choosing data that is outdated and understated. 
• Report fails to do a cradle to grave accounting of methane emissions,  instead compiling a report that only accounts for a part of the picture, while presenting said report as a full accounting of methane emissions.

As the PSE so eloquently pointed out, the (un)Natural Gas Industry's report is a scam, the report fatally flawed, holding no value, representing no reliability in its supposed facts.  What the report does do, is once again proves to the stakeholder communities that the industry will use any means (including fraud) to get their way, to get  states to allow them to FRACK our neighborhoods and communities.

See Industry's BOGUS FACT SHEET

One of Howard Feldman's BIG LIES....

This emissions information is critically important because it allows the companies, citizens, and regulators to gauge the industry’s impact on the environment and allows companies to measure continued efforts to reduce their environmental footprint.  In reality, the industry COOKED THE BOOKS, and crafted the sampling group to give them the results they wanted, cooked the books to skew the numbers in their favor while wrongfully giving stakeholders false assurances about this every present danger in and around Horizontally Fracked wells.

It is time that a report is done by an INDEPENDENT, UNBIASED group of scientists, rather  than having a survey/report done by a organization who has a VERY VESTED INTEREST in hiding the true environmental and health costs of a dangerous industrial practice.

New York DEP...Fracking Waste is NOT Medical Waste

The Medical Waste tracking Act of 1988 defines medical waste as "any solid waste that is generated in the diagnosis, treatment, or immunization of human beings or animals, in research pertaining thereto, or in the production or testing of biologicals." This definition includes, but is not limited to:

• blood-soaked bandages
• culture dishes and other glassware
• discarded surgical gloves
• discarded surgical instruments
• discarded needles used to give shots or draw blood (e.g., medical sharps)
• cultures, stocks, swabs used to inoculate cultures
• removed body organs (e.g., tonsils, appendices, limbs)
• discarded lancets

So, one might ask, "What does Medical Wastes have to do with Horizontal Hydraulic Fracturing, and the diabolical industrial practice nicknamed Fracking?"  As unbelievable as it may seem, the New York DEC plans to treat the waste water streams from fracking along the same lines as Medical Wastes are treated, rather than classifying them for what they are, "Lethal Hazardous Wastes"!  Now to understand how ridiculous it for the NY DEC to wrongfully classify and treat Fracking waste along the same lines as Medical Waste, we should look at some of the requirements the US EPA has when a waste is classified as being hazardous...keep in mind, the waste does not have to meet ALL THESE CRITERIA, but instead only has to meet ANY OF THE CRITERIA.  Any, as in ONE!

Lets start with Benzene shall we?

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has classified Benzene as a Class A carcinogenic. Benzene exposure can result in the development of leukemia. Variations of leukemia have been linked to Benzene exposure, including:

• Acute myelogenous leukemia
• Acute lymphocytic leukemia
• Chronic myelogenous leukemia

Symptoms of Benzene Exposure

People that are exposed to Benzene in high levels or for long periods of time might experience the following symptoms:

• Drowsiness
• Dizziness
• Headaches
• Irregular heartbeats
• Loss of consciousness

Benzene exposure to the eyes and skin can cause tissue injury and irritation. Drinking water containing high levels of Benzene can cause:

• Stomach irritation
• Vomiting
• Convulsions
• Rapid heartbeats
• Death

Guess what folks...benzene is injected underground in hydraulic fracturing, and the extraction process also causes naturally occurring deposits of benzene to surface (Hess 1998, EPA Final 2004 4-11).  OK, lets try to understand this...Benzene is by US EPA classifications a hazardous waste.  The (un)Natural Gas industry injects Benzene into the ground to FRACK A WELL, and when the well has been fracked, even more Benzene is released.  Said Benzene gets into the environment (air, water, ground), thus opening up exposure pathways that will see humans exposed to a chemical that is a know cancer causing agent, a chemical that can cause us to lose consciousness, a chemical that CAN CAUSE DEATH...those are some serious medical concerns that all New Yorkers should be concerned with...

Light bulb moment!

So that is why the NY DEC wants to classify and treat fracking wastes as Medical Wastes...said wastes are going to cause us folks serious health issues! ...so that's the thinking?  Let's not put all the blame on the NY DEC...the US EPA seems to have blood on its own hands when it comes to being p front and honest when it comes to chemicals in fracking fluids, and the health risks they WILL PRESENT TO US HUMANS.

In a draft 2002 report, EPA reported that at the point of injection, nine hydraulic fracturing chemicals violated water quality standards (EPA Fracturing Draft 2002). This assertion was edited out before the final report was published. The published report did note that fracturing fluids are likely to remain underground and are “likely to be transported by groundwater supplies” (EPA Fracturing Final 2004).

So, the (un)Natural Gas industry does not like US EPA findings...no problem, they just get those results edited out, and that changes everything...right? As the Church Lady would say, "Isn't that SPECIAL"?  Not to be out done, wanting to get in on all the killing of human beings, Dick Cheney and our United States government jumped into the fray in 2005 solving the issue once and for all by granting the (un)Natural Gas industry an exemption from the Clean Drinking Water Act...much like the NRC does with regulations when the nuclear industry cannot meet standards, GRANT AN EXEMPTION!

In 2005, Congress exempted most hydraulic fracturing from the Safe Drinking Water Act but said the act would apply to fracturing with diesel fuel (SDWA Exemption 2005).

Meanwhile, here in our little community we are waiting for Steve Vegliante and the Fallsburg Town Board to let us know when the promised Public Informational Meeting on FRACKING is going to be held as said board considers a proposed ban on fracking for our community...with this kind of information out in the public domain, one has to wonder why the delay...PASS THE BAN!  Seriously...can we really trust the DEC to do the right thing, or is our community better off passing a ban on fracking while we still can?

Some other reasons to JUST SAY NO to FRACKING:

• Thousands of post-1980 wells are exempt from the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) that holds most industries accountable for cleaning up hazardous waste.
• Thousands of post-1980 wells were exempted from the Clean Air Act, which limits emissions of nearly 190 toxic air pollutants, including many emitted by oil and gas companies (Mall et al. 2007, Clean Air Act 2008).
• Thousands of the nearly 270,000 wells drilled in the West since 1980 are exempt from the federal Emergency Planning and Community Right to Know Act of 1986. 
• The nearly 270,000 oil and natural gas wells drilled in the West since 1980 have enjoyed an exemption from the federal Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA), passed in 1976 to establish a cradle-to-grave hazardous waste management program (RCRA History). 

Are you starting to see a TREND HERE?  The (un)Natural Gas industry has been exempted from almost every rule meant to protect human health and the environment, has been exempted from almost every law that could and should hold them legally liable when they screw it all up, which they certainly will do.  Give Steve Vegliante a call, tell him the time for Fallsburg to pass a fracking ban IS NOW.

EPA Declares Dimock PA Water SAFE to Drink...NOT SO FAST

The (un)Natural Gas industry must be plugging holes with lots of dollars at the EPA...the big news that had the FRACKING industry cheering was that the contaminated water in Dimock, Pennsylvania was safe to drink, and that much hullabaloo had been made of nothing...industry insiders were quick to deliver their public "We told you so's" and that was the end of it right?  First, lets be clear...what the EPA said was:

"The Environmental Protection Agency said it did not find significant contamination in well water serving 11 Pennsylvania families who feared that natural gas drilling had polluted their well."

PAY ATTENTION FOLKS...did not find SIGNIFICANT CONTAMINATION....hmmmm...does this mean they FOUND CONTAMINATION, and if so how much and of what kind?  More importantly, did what they find present any short or long term health risks to people now being told to DRINK IT DAILY?  Read on.

NOT SO FAST...seems that the EPA's public assurances don't quiet jive with the water test results being given to the homeowners faced with ruined water supplies...in fact, if anything the PRIVATE RESULTS given to the property owners seem to validate every claim they have made about contaminated drinking water wells.  Lets address some of the citizens worries compared to EPA's FALSE PUBLIC CLAIMS.

1.  Elevated levels of Methane...IE, think Gasland and flaming facets.  

The EPA has publicly stated that the water in Dimock wells is safe...by what standards.  The tests results given to well owners privately show levels over THREE TIMES HIGHER than allowable levels...from report:

"...water samples contained dangerous quantities of methane gas"

This finding by the EPA actually confirmed some of the agency's initial concerns as well as verifies the complaints raised by Dimock resident, so one has to ask the question, who is being PAID OFF AT THE EPA, and why are these citizens with poisoned explosive water wells being abandoned, thrown to the wolves...lets keep in mind that one woman's drinking water exploded as a result of CABOT's negligent drilling practices...I know, Cabot is going to say PROVE IT.  Of course, they were quick to MUTATE the EPA claims to their benefit with this EMAIL quote sent to the news media:

"Pleased the drinking water meets all regulatory standards."

Giving Cabot Oil the ceremonial one fingered salute before continuing on.

Consider this from ECO Watch:

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Region 3 office issued a press release on March 15 implying that Dimock, Pa.’s water has been given a clean bill of health. In the same statement to the press, EPA admitted that several families still have arsenic and methane in their water, but the news headlines are already proclaiming that the water in Dimock is safe. 

Independent testing has found that 11 Dimock families’ water is contaminated with explosive levels of methane, as well as heavy metals, radioactive material and fracking chemicals like ethylene glycol—commonly known as antifreeze.

The private results given to home owners does get worse...seems that EPA's public assurances of Dimock water being safe to drink run contrary to the actual test results provided to homeowners that show:

"wells contained dozens of other contaminants, including low levels of chemicals known to cause cancer and heavy metals that exceed the agency's "trigger level" and could lead to illness if consumed over an extended period of time."

Can the EPA explain this to those opposed to FRACKING?  For just how long a period of time can these citizens drink this water before becoming ill?  A week, a month, a year?  If drinking, cooking and bathing in this water over an extended period of time of say weeks and months is going to make the people SICK, is the water actually SAFE?  Again, can the EPA please explain this to us uninformed simple folk in the audience? 

To my own elected officials here in Sullivan County New York, to my elected officials in Fallsburg...with these kinds of findings by the Federal Government that obviously cannot be trusted, with an industry that continues to stack lie after lie on top of propaganda and falsehood, why are you NOT PASSING ANTI FRACKING ZONING ORDINANCES?  We here in Sullivan County to not want to find our communities being another Dimock Pa. and you have the ability to stop it from happening.

Should Fallsburg BAN Fracking?

We Already Have Unsafe Water in Fallsburg

At the next Town of Fallsburg executive session FRACKING is going to be on the table for discussion...more specifically, a BAN ON FRACKING, which this blog and this write supports.  Why is this item on the agenda you might ask?  Because I have asked the "Town of Fallsburg" to amend our zoning regulations to ban not just the act of fracking, but all of its sundry processes including disposal of fracking fluids in our community.

Now the conventional wisdom on the board is "We do not need such a ban, it is highly unlikely the industry would want to frack in our community anyway."  OK, but what if they do?  Surely the board is familiar with the old saying, "A ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure."?  If the industry has no real interest in doing any fracking in our community, what is the harm in having a ban ALREADY IN EFFECT?  

The Town of Fallsburg covers a pretty big area when you start looking at the sum parts of the whole...IE, it includes our little hamlet of Mountaindale, all of our beautiful streams, water falls and SAFE DRINKING WATER SUPPLIES.  Wouldn't it make more sense to put a ban in effect...just in case the (un)Natural Gas industry and their biased experts are LYING TO US?  

If you support a ban on fracking, you are strongly encouraged to contact our Town Supervisor Steve Vegliante ( svegliante@fallsburgny.com) or call the board secretary (Linda Ingber) at (845) 434-8810 ext. 5 to express your support of a town zoning regulation amendment to ban fracking.  You can also show your support for such a ban by leaving a comment in our comments section.

Letter Seeking Ban

Dear Town of Fallsburg Board:

The Town of Fallsburg Zoning Code as adopted in Article 1, Section 310-1.2 specifically instructs the town in sections A-E, charges the towns elected officials and employees with the following duties and responsibilities:

To preserve the character and rural scenic beauty of the landscape and protect this gateway to the Catskill Forests from inharmonious and destructive uses of land; (emphasis added)

Create an orderly pattern of growth by encouraging concentration of new residential development (emphasis added) in areas that can conveniently be serviced with public facilities and discouraging intensive residential development in areas of difficult accessibility that would involve excessive costs for road improvements, road maintenance, school bus transportation and utility installation;

Regulate population density to reflect the desired character of the Town;

Prevent intrusion of incompatible uses into residential areas, by establishing proper standards for improvements in new residential developments and preserving, protecting and enhancing natural beauty wherever possible; (emphasis added)

Provide for open spaces and to preserve the natural and scenic qualities of lands; (emphasis added)

Furthermore, the town of Fallsburg Zoning Code in Chapter 141 Fresh Water Wetlands in Section 141-1 specifically instructs the town, charges the town’s elected officials and employees with the following duties and responsibilities: 

The purpose of this chapter is to provide for the protection, preservation and conservation of the freshwater wetlands within the boundaries of the “Town of Fallsburg”, pursuant to and in accordance with all of the proceedings, concepts and definitions set forth in Article 24 of the Environmental Conservation Law and Title 23 of Article 71 of such law relating to the enforcement of Article 24, as such law may from time to time be amended.

It is the belief of the majority of citizens who reside, recreate and travel through the geographical footprint of the “Town of Fallsburg” that allowing the industrial practice of Hydraulic Fracturing (fracking) for exploration of, and drilling for Natural Gas runs contrary to these and other sections of the “Town of Fallsburg” Zoning Rules and Regulations.  It is further believed that any elected official of the “Town of Fallsburg”, any employee of the Town of Fallsburg who would support the industrial practice of Hydraulic within the scope of their OFFICIAL DUTIES (emphasis added) would be violating their “Oath of Office and/or Terms of Employment”.

Recent court cases here in the state of New York related to local ordinances seeking to ban the industrial process of Hydraulic Fracturing (fracking) have seen local ordinances upheld, with the judges in two recent cases ruling that such bans are legal, a natural extension of a community's local government right and responsibility  to control land use.   A amendment to the “Town of Fallsburg” Zoning Rules and Regulations, banning the industry practice of Hydraulic Fracturing (fracking), based upon these recent court decisions,  would not be a frivolous waste of the town board’s time, but in fact would serve to preserve our safe drinking water supplies, our communities, and preserve the character and rural scenic beauty of the landscape and protect this gateway to the Catskill Forests from inharmonious and destructive uses of land (emphasis added).

As a citizen of the hamlet of Mountaindale which lays within the geographical and governmental control of the Town of Fallsburg, I am respectfully requesting that the town board take all necessary steps to enact changes as more fully outlined in the below proposed amendment into the “Town of Fallsburg Zoning Ordinance”.

Respectfully Submitted,

Sherwood Martinelli

62 Main Street Apt 2A Mountaindale NY 12763  (845) 693-4513

Proposed Amendments to Town of Fallsburg Zoning Ordinance

The Town of Fallsburg Zoning Ordinance is herby amended as follows:

1.       Section (insert proper section) Definitions is amended by adding new definitions to read as follows:

“Natural Gas” shall mean any gaseous substance, either combustible or noncombustible, which is produced in a natural state from the earth and which maintains a gaseous or rarified state at standard temperature and pressure condition, and/or gaseous components or vapors occurring in or derived from petroleum or other hydrocarbons.

“Natural Gas and/or Petroleum Exploration” shall mean geologic or geophysical activities related to the search for natural gas, petroleum or other subsurface hydrocarbons including prospecting, geophysical and geologic seismic surveying and sampling techniques, which include but are not limited to core or rotary drilling or making an excavation in the search and evaluation or natural gas, petroleum, or other subsurface hydrocarbon deposits.

“Natural Gas and/or Petroleum Exploration and Production Materials” shall mean any solid, semi-solid, liquid, semi-liquid or gaseous material used in the exploration or extraction of natural gas.

“Natural Gas Exploration and/or Petroleum Production Wastes” shall mean any garbage, refuse, cuttings, sludge, flow-back fluids, produced waters or other discarded materials, including solid, liquid, semi-solid, or contained gaseous material that results from or is associated with the exploration, drilling or extraction of natural gas and/or petroleum.

“Natural Gas and/or Petroleum Extraction” shall mean the digging or drilling of a well for the purposes of exploring for, developing or producing natural gas, petroleum or other subsurface hydrocarbons.

“Natural Gas and/or Petroleum Support Activities” shall mean the construction, use, or maintenance of a storage or staging yard, a water or fluid injection station, a water or fluid gathering station, a natural gas or petroleum gathering line, venting station, or compressor with the exploration or extraction of natural gas or petroleum.

2.       Section (insert proper section) is amended by adding a new section (insert proper section) to read as follows:

            Section (insert new section code here) Prohibited Uses

A)      Prohibition against the Exploration for or Extraction of Natural Gas and/or Petroleum. No land in the Town of Fallsburg (and it geographical/governmental outlaying footprint) shall be used: to conduct any exploration for natural gas and/or petroleum; to drill any well for natural gas; to transfer, store, process or treat natural gas; or to dispose of natural gas exploration or production wastes; or to erect any derrick, building or other structure; or to place any machinery or equipment for any such purposes.

B)     Prohibition against the Storage, Treatment and Disposal of Natural Gas and/or Petroleum Exploration and Production Materials.  No land in the Town (and it geographical/governmental outlaying footprint) shall be used for:  the storage, transfer, treatment and/or disposal of natural gas and/or petroleum exploration and production materials.

C)     Prohibition against the Storage, Treatment and Disposal of Natural Gas and/or Petroleum Exploration and Production Wastes. No land in the Town shall be used for: the storage transfer, treatment and/or disposal of natural gas and/or petroleum exploration and production wastes.

D)      Prohibition against Natural Gas and/or Support Activities. No land in the Town shall be used for natural gas and/or petroleum support activities.

E)      Invalidity of Permits.  No permit issued by any local, state, or federal agency, commission or board for a use which would violate the prohibitions of this section or of this ordinance shall be deemed valid within the town (and it geographical/governmental outlaying footprint).

3.      These amendments shall take effect upon adoption and publication as provided by law.

New York Fracking Action Alert...From Food and Water Watch

This just in...please take action on this ASAP as we try to get our governor to do the right thing for the state of New York, which is place a permanent ban on FRACKING in our state.

Huge news! On Monday, the Niagara Falls City Council voted unanimously to block fracking at the local level. And on Tuesday, the Buffalo Common Council passed a resolution supporting a statewide ban on fracking and wrote a letter to Governor Cuomo demanding that he not allow fracking in New York! Will you call the Governor (866-961-3208) now and tell him to heed Buffalo's warning?

This is a monumental and historic day, not only for Buffalo, but for all of New York state, and for communities everywhere affected by gas drilling. Last year Buffalo was the first city in New York state to pass municipal legislation opposing fracking and fracking waste, in order to protect residents from drilling and waste disposal. Now, Buffalo has stood up again, this time to protect its neighbors. Will you stand in solidarity with Buffalo and tell Cuomo that fracking needs to be banned in NY?

Give Cuomo a call NOW! Follow this link to make and report your call:
http://action.foodandwaterwatch.org/p/dia/action/public/?action_KEY=9746


Thank you for taking action in defense of clean water,

Rita Yelda
Organizer, Western New York
Food & Water Watch

Wednesday "News on the Run" Whitney Funeral Service to Be Intimate Affair....NOT!

Woke up to flurries this morning as the streets of downtown Mountaindale were covered up in a thin layer of the white stuff.  Everything always looks so fairytale like during a snow storm, even one that is depositing well less than one inch of snow on the ground.  Our weather forecast calls for the day to get warmer (45) with these flurries turning to rain with an 80 percent chance of precipitation.  Thinking it is a great day to curl up on the sofa with a good book and a cup of hot chocolate.

The news channels are still doing their Whitney Houston 24/7 wall to wall coverage, informing us this morning that the Houston Family will be holding a small private service in Newark, New Jersey this Saturday FOR 1500 PEOPLE, most of them stars and notables.  Come on, a funeral service with 1500 people inside, and a large JUMBO screen outside for fans to watch IS NOT A SMALL PRIVATE FAMILY AFFAIR!  Secondly, ask yourselves...until her untimely demise, how often in the past ten years had Houston been in the news in a big way?  Almost never?  Now all of a sudden, we are being forced to endure eight days of wall to wall Whitney Houston?  Enough already.  I also question the governor of New Jersey's decision to order all state flags flown at half mast to honor the passing of a woman who in death was/is a drug addict and alcoholic if the stories in the press are too be believed.

Politics...in the EVERYBODY GETS A TURN ON TOP Republican Primary, seems it is Santorum's turn to be on top as National Polls show him in a dead heat with Mitt Romney, and leading in the polls for both Ohio and Michigan as their primary days get ever closer.  Could this be the greatest collapse and burn of a ordained Republican Presidential Nominee, or instead will Republicans fall in line and send Mitt limping into the Fall Presidential Race?  Even DOGS don't like Romney!

How convenient...gas prices are going up, giving the Natural Gas industry more propaganda materials as they try to sell us on accepting FRACKING in our communities...it is the patriotic responsibility of those of us living atop huge reserves of shale gas to allow companies to come in and ruin our environments, water and health.

Fracking News From Around The World

A Nightmare Coming To Sullivan County...FRACKING

Here in New York, fracking is big news as the NYDEC wades through some 40,000 comments deciding which ones they feel have enough merit to warrant a response...I guess that means most of us ordinary folks will see our comments ignored.  Meanwhile, thought it time for another news update here, so here are some of the fracking stories grabbing headlines this week.  Now I would like to pose one question...seems there is some concern on the part of the EPA about elevated levels of radioactivity in the waste water streams from Hydraulic Fracturing...seems to be, dependent on the elevated levels found in these waters from hydraulic fracturing activities, that operators/well owners should also be required to be licensed with the NRC? 

Out in Nebraska, Oil executives are defending fracking...so surprise there.  More importantly, they are lining up shoulder to shoulder in a full court press to defeat a bill that would require them to making chemicals used in the process a matter of public record.  One question oil company executives...if as you claim, all those chemicals being used in hydraulic fracturing are so SAFE FOR US, why are you all objecting to a law that would make you tell us what they are?  Birth Defects killed 153.1 out of every 100,000 babies born in Nebraska in 2001, the infant mortality rate due to birth defects accounting for 22.6% of all infant deaths...shouldn't citizens be allowed to know if some of those death causing birth defects were caused from chemicals being used in Hydraulic Fracturing Mr. Executive?

Leave it to companies like Haliburton to make something ugly hideous! As if fracking is not bad enough, we have companies trying to bring us SUPER FRACKING...you cannot make this up.  Love the quote at the bottom of this article, which pretty well sums it up:

The bottom line: Despite the furor over fracking to extract oil, energy companies are developing ways to make it more destructive—and profitable.

Last, but certainly not least...haven't we learned our lesson from the Nuclear Industry, that an industry should be required to have a plan to deal with its waste streams BEFORE they do something?  Sorry, but drilling 5,000 holes into the ground and dumping your waste streams IS NOT A PLAN, though that is exactly what the Hydraulic Fracturing industry is doing!

Governor Cuomo should adhere to the will of the people (as in the majority of New Yorkers) and ban fracking in our state...sadly, not only will he not do this, but he is bent on destroying our state parks in the process by selling Natural Gas rights in them to the villains he is supposed to be regulating.

The Latest Fracking News

First Up...if you have not yet submitted comments to the NYDEC opposing the inadequate fracking regulations found in the SGEIS, now is the time to do it (deadline is January 11th...this upcoming Wednesday) is now. To make it easier for citizens to submit comments, Catskill Citizens has put up a page with 20 READY TO GO comments here. They are great comments, but if you want some serious IMPACT to your statement, want to have it receive MORE ATTENTION, it is recommended you use their suggested comments as a model to write your own. The more the merrier, so consider to some or even all of them! As a stakeholder, it is also recommended you ask to be put on the document SERVICE LIST.

Catskill Citizens will make sure that anything you send to us by Monday January 9th will be delivered to the DEC on time. After Monday the 9th, use the DEC's web-based comment form.[http://www.dec.ny.gov/energy/76838.html]

Next up...is the US EPA going to start delivering water to the citizens of Dimock, Pennsylvania? Cabot has reneged on doing right by the citizens of Dimock, even though they are the guilty party that has contaminated the community water, and sadly, the state of Pennsylvania's own DEC is letting them get away with it...however, all is not lost. Seems that the US EPA is weighing to their own investigations, and bringing in water.

If the EPA delivers water to the village, it would be the clearest sign yet regulators are concerned about the effect of drilling on drinking water there.
Dimock may become pivotal in a national debate about the environmental impact of fracking, the drilling technique that could unlock decades' worth of natural gas trapped in shale deposits, but which environmentalists say contaminates water supplies.

11 minor earthquakes in Ohio attributed to FRACKING. First, this raises some serious question about allowing fracking anywhere near any earthquake faults. More importantly, it raises a much more serious question...why is the Hydraulic Fracturing industry being allowed to DUMP THEIR CANCER CAUSING WASTE STREAMS into the ground with our potable water supplies. Seriously, how safe can it really be to be dumping all these toxic chemicals into the ground, and will not those toxic chemicals PERCULATE up into the aquifers if said chemicals are causing earthquakes?

Now, seismologists have attributed a recent series of 11 minor earthquakes in Ohio to injection wells that disposed of wastewater byproducts from fracking operations.

Will opponents of Fracking here in New York be successful in getting another one year moratorium on the dangerous industrial drilling practice known as Hydraulic Fracturing, or would such a moratorium amount to putting lipstick on a pig. As it is, the DEC cannot issue permits before 2013, as there is no money in the budget for the added employees needed to enforce the proposed rules moving their way through the process now. Symbolically it would be a big victory for the Anti's, but we need to make sure it is not window dressing meant to appease.

Pointing to experiences in other states, including Pennsylvania and Colorado, critics say the practice could contaminate drinking water and air, cause small earthquakes and lower property values. Supporters say allowing fracking in New York would create an important domestic source of energy and thousands of jobs for depressed rural areas.

State Assembly Environmental Committee Chair Robert Sweeney said on Friday he would soon introduce a proposal to have a moratorium on fracking until June 1, 2013. Sweeney pointed to recent reports that fracking may have caused a series of small earthquakes in Ohio and contaminated drinking water in Wyoming and Dimock, Pennsylvania.

Bottom line is simple...at every step of the way, Fracking seems to get more dangerous, and at some point politicians and regulators have to accept that some risks are not worth taking, and Hydraulic Fracturing is one of those risks that small rural communities like our own cannot afford to have the DEC force us into accepting. How many examples of problems do regulators need to have presented before they just tell the Exxon's, Cabot's and Chesapeake Energy's of the world NO?

NY DEC Comment Period For SGEIS on Fracking Regulations is Fast Approaching

Please find below the latest Press Release from Catskill Citizens...the deadline for submitting public comments on the fundamentally flawed and incomplete Hydraulic Fracturing SGEIS is fast approaching, and we need every man, woman and child in the state of New York to speak up in opposition to it.  Rather than ramble on, shall let Catskill Citizens Press Release speak for itself...PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE submit your comments on this important document that will negatively impact all of our lives.

DEADLINE APPROACHES! 

In less than two weeks the public comment period of the Draft Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement will draw to a close.   After that, fracking can get underway in New York State as soon as the DEC issues a final SGEIS. 

But before the DEC can do that, it is required to read and address all the public comments it receives - and that means we can hold off fracking by burying the DEC in comments!

Do your part today by submitting written comments to the DEC.  We've made it easy for you by providing you with fifteen different letters you can submit.   Send one or more of these letters, or use the open source website 2011 SGEIS Flaws(NY) and our Newsroom and Learn More sections of our website to find the information you'll need to craft your own comments.

ONE MORE PUBLIC HEARING

The DEC's public hearings on the Draft SGEIS were a disgrace.  The department provided just four hearings throughout the entire state, and, not surprisingly, many people travelled for miles to attend hearings only to be turned away at the door.

To provide the public with another opportunity to speak out about the Draft, Catskill Citizens partnered with several other organizations to sponsor an additional public hearing to be held at the OKUN Theatre at SUNY-Delhi in Delhi on Saturday January 7th from 1-5 PM.

All are welcome to speak and their remarks will be transcribed and submitted to the DEC as a part of the official record of comments on the Draft.  For more information contact: info@catskillcitizens.org or call 845 468 7063.

MARTENS ADMITS FLAWS IN DRAFT, CALLS FOR REWRITE.
CATSKILL CITIZENS CALLS FOR AN EXTENDED PUBLIC COMMENT PERIOD                    

Just weeks before the public comment period is due to end, DEC Commissioner Martens admitted that the socioeconomic portion of the Draft SGEIS is "a little thin" and needs to be revised to do a better job treating subjects such as emergency response and housing.

In response, economist Jannette Barth, Ph.D., wrote a letter on behalf of Catskill Citizens calling on the DEC to extend the public comment period so New Yorkers can consider the revised socioeconomic study.  Dr. Barth's letter has been cosigned by more than one hundred others, including over sixty organizations and many elected officials

                     

For more information email info@catskillcitizens.org or call (845) 468 7063

Two out of three people who find out about fracking think the risks aren't worth the rewards.

Public awareness is the key to our success, so spread the word!
                   

Please donate to Catskill Citizens for Safe Energy.

Fractoid News Blog Articles Being Consolidated On This Blog

Greetings Readers:

Sometimes in life, consolidating one's efforts, streamlining our work makes a lot of sense. For that reason, I am doing just that. As many of my faithful readers know, I have worked on various and assorted other blogging projects, and some of them have suffered as I have tried to serve, as it were, two masters.

As example, I have been the editor of both "Mountaindale NY News", and "Mountaindale After Dark", and simply stated, just do not have the necessary time to give both of these blogs the time effort and commitment they both deserve, so I am stepping down/resigning from "Mountaindale NY News" effective immediately, concentrating all my time and efforts on making "Mountaindale After Dark" the kind of blog that Mountaindale, Sullivan County and the surrounding Hudson River Valley deserve.

Another project I had started was the "Fracktoid News" blog, and if truth be told, though I have been posting articles on Fracking for months, that blog has languished in obscurity since May of this year simply because I have not had the time needed to give it the attention it so richly deserves. For that reason, I am importing to "Mountaindale After Dark" all the fracking articles from that blog so that the materials and information there can be read and disseminated from one location going forward...I am proud to be called and "Anti Fracker" and will continue my efforts on this important environmental issue, feel the best way I can be effective in those efforts is to centralize everything here where I routinely post articles in opposition to Hydraulic Fracturing in NY's Marcellus Shale.

If there are people in the Anti Fracking movement interested in taking over Fractoid News, please email me privately or leave yor email address in comments below this article and I would be happy to discuss transferring ownership of that blog to your organization, as well as the Twitter account of @fractoidnews and a Yahoo email associated with both properties.

Hopefully, when I post my last article to the Fracktoid News blog, all of my followers from there will come over and bookmark us here at "Mountaindale After Dark".

Wednesday "News on the Run"...Editorial on Fracking

sniffle, sniffle, sneeze...I have a told and (as the commercial would say) need some stuffy, sneezing, coughing so I can rest medicine. Coffee tastes good, and peeking out my window, looks like a bit of a dismal day out, but there is some good news...no snow pellets. It is wet, damp, nippy, spitting and nasty out...a good day to just stay inside with my cold and give the house a complete cleaning for Christmas Day. Speaking of Christmas, I will be putting up a post on Christmas Eve that has links to all of my own favorite Christmas songs on You Tube, and hope all of our readers will find these beautiful songs a great addition to your own celebrations.

Editorial:

Last week the US EPA came out with a preliminary report which in part says a water aquifer out in Wyoming is most likely contaminated with chemicals from fracking...those in favor of hydraulic fracturing and horizontal drilling (Encana) have taken to the airwaves trying to tarnish both the report, and the agency. Additionally, these industry shills have tried to convince Americans that even if the findings are born out to be true, the report should in no way have any effect on their desires to drill in the rest of the nation because the underground conditions in Wyoming are far different than anywhere else, with the fracking there taking place at shallower depths than in the rest of America.

Fact...the only difference a far greater depth will make in the end line results (contamination of our water sources) is the time it takes for those contaminants to reach our aquifers and underground fresh drinking water supplies. Once you crack/fracture a rock, boulder or stone, it will continue to crack until said stone or boulder or rock formation splits into two or more pieces. Thus, it is not a matter of IF these cancer, birth defects, health risk causing chemicals reach our fresh drinking water supplies, but a question of when they reach and contaminate our fresh water supplies. What the Natural Gas Industry is counting on, is being able to get in and get out before that contaminate is found out.

Hydraulic Fracturing is the biggest CON GAME to come along in decades, and it is the people of rural America who are being asked to pay a horrible price in the name of Natural Gas company profits. As example, the Energy Secretary (DOE, who cannot be trusted, have no interest in protecting our environment) likes to trot out the lie, "at current usage rates, the Natural Gas play here in America will last at least 110 years". Lets explore this myth.

1. There is much lobbying going on in every state capital, and in Washington DC to greatly increase the consumption rate of Natural Gas. As example, lobbyist for the Natural Gas industry convinced Pennsylvania officials to give the industry $50 million of our taxpayer dollars to help the industry built Natural Gas stations along the interstate, and to give grants to municipalities to convert their fleets to natural gas. Both of these actions aimed at greatly INCREASING current rates of consumption.

2. By some estimates, as much as 60 percent of the Natural Gas plays here in America have been sold to foreign companies...the largest player being China's state owned CNOOC. In short, this means the lions share of America's natural gas will be shipped overseas...which would explain why it is that most Natural Gas companies are investing their own capital into building large plants to liquify the natural gas, load it onto ships to be sent offshore (just like our jobs) to China and other countries such as India, while our tax dollars are being used to increase domestic supply and demand, which in turn will DRIVE UP PRICES, making Natural Gas just as expensive as the petrol we now put into our cars.

These two realities change the whole argument. Ask yourselves a question, "Are you willing to risk your family's health, your community's property values and fresh drinking water supplies for a gas play that will last fifteen years or less? Oh, I am sorry Chesapeake Energy, Exxon and Cabot, is that an inconvenient truth you would prefer not to speak upon? are we in rural America not supposed to realize that the DOE, our government and the Natural Gas industry refer to this Natural Gas Energy as a TRANSITIONAL ENERGY source...curious here...what are we transitioning to? Add to this the fact that the lions share of this transitional energy source is promised to China and India, and that fifteen year energy supply actually represents only a seven and one half year energy supply here in America...barely enough supply for you to pay off that new Natural Gas burning car they want us all to go out and purchase based on say a 60 month car loan.

"We need to consider the depletion rate of these rigs, which is surprisingly 60% in one year! It means a gas well uses up its own supplies after 2 years of time!"

The natural industry, and even our own government are spending tens of millions of advertising dollars telling us it is our patriotic duty to allow fracking in our communities. We are told these natural gas reserves locked in such places as the Marcellus Shale will allow America to break our dependence on Foreign oil...if this were true, then why are there no laws stipulating that said Natural Gas reserves if mined from under our lands are for DOMESTIC USE ONLY? If these reserves are meant to break us of our dependence on foreign oil, why are companies like Exxon, Chesapeake Oil, Cabot and others being allowed to sell off their plays to foreign companies owned fully by foreign governments?

The underground aquifer in Wyoming WAS CONTAMINATED by Hydraulic Fracturing chemicals, and waters in other states including Pennsylvania have been contaminated by Hydraulic Fracturing chemicals, and by well pad accidents. Our fresh drinking water supplies will be contaminate, the question being when, not if. Our government, the DOE, and the US EPA know this...is it why Congress under the direction of Dick Cheney exempted this industry from the regulatory requirements of both the Clean Water and Clean Air acts. The industry knows this as well, and it is why they want to GET IN, suck out the gas and be gone before the contamination of our waters is noticed so that they can hide behind their attorneys and say, "Was not us. and even if it was, PROVE IT".

New York's DEC is in the process of approving regulations by which FRACKING will be regulated...the rules are inadequate, and the department does not have the manpower to enforce them even if they were adequate. The only solution for the state of New York that protects citizen health, and our clean water supplies is an OUT RIGHT BAN OF HYDRAULIC FRACTURING in our state, rather than simply banning it in a few protected areas. Locally, both the Town of Fallsburg and Sullivan County should be passing local zoning laws that FORBID FRACKING in our communities.

Articles You Should Read

Fracking rules to be more stringent Youngstown Vindicator By Karl Henkel Ohio plans to scrap some fracking regulations in lieu of more- stringent rules, but some antifracking advocates remain skeptical about the proposed changes. Ohio Legislative Service Commission Final Analysis of Sub. ...

Fracking may test water law Independent Online Asked what international reports on fracking had been studied by her department, she said technical papers and reports “have also been consulted” from Canada, Europe and Australia – in addition to the US – where hydraulic fracturing for shale gas ...

Earthquakes, Water Pollution and Increased Greenhouse Gas Emissions? Fracking ... FXstreet.com The last decade has seen a sustained campaign by the hydraulic fracturing ('fracking") industry against its critics, as the fracking industry in the US alone was worth an estimated $76 billion in 2010 and is projected to grow to $231 billion in 2036 if ...

Ugly Factoid of Day...Haliburton and FRACKING Just Go Together

Dick Cheney, Halliburton, both make most Americans cringe. Well, get ready to cringe...seems that Haliburton stands to reap lots and lots of profits from...drum roll please...increased North American FRACKING ACTIVITIES. Have any of us known Haliburton to do anything RIGHT? Can we all quickly go back to the Gulf Oil Rig explosion and collapse, remember that Halliburton is now accused of DESTROYING evidence?

New Yorkers ask yourselves...do you really want hundreds of thousands of Natural Gas wells being drilled and maintained in our state by HALLIBURTON?

Sullivan County, State of New York Risk Our Water For China?

I have in previous articles alleged that Natural Gas companies like Chesapeake Energy, Conoco Phillips and Exxon have no interest in ending America's reliance on foreign oil, have no interest in providing Americans with a cheap source of fuel for their cars. If one follows the money, two basic facts were clear...before the Marcellus Shale here in New York has been radically drilled, many companies were selling huge stakes to foreign countries (CHINA), and while getting politicians to give huge subsidies to the industry, these companies are using their own money to invest in very large expensive LNG EXPORT facilities to send our Natural Gas abroad (CHINA...CNOOC).

China, India 'to lead natural gas demand'

Gulf Times - ‎8 hours ago‎

ExxonMobil Chairman and CEO Rex Tillerson sees “very strong future demand globally” for natural gas, which he said, will be the “fastest growing” among fossil fuels until 2040.

Which should beg the question, should Governor Cuomo, the NYDEC be risking our environment, our water, our health here in New York so that companies can export said natural resource to China? The reality of these large and expensive LNG EXPORT facilities pokes a huge hole in the propaganda that the Natural Gas industry has been feeding us...truth be told, they have NO INTENTION of getting America off of foreign oil, and if truth be known, they know that Natural Gas is not going to be the cheap alternative fossil fuel they keep touting to us, and to states like Pennsylvania who this year approved $50 million in subsidies for things like governmental vehicle fleet change over to Natural Gas.

Rich Gordon of Gordon Energy Solutions, a research firm in Overland Park, Kan., estimated that since 2005, domestic and overseas operators have spent $135 billion securing shale gas acreage in the U.S.

Start doing the math people, look at where the gas is REALLY GOING TO GO, and ask yourselves the all important question, "Are you willing to risk your health, your safe drinking water supplies for China? How many acres of land do companies like Chesapeake Energy already have the rights to drill under? How many acres in addition to the ones they own will the state of New York allow them to drill without buying rights through forced pulling?

Fact is, our Natural Gas that is SUPPOSED TO GET US OFF FOREIGN OIL is already leaving America, and in a BIG WAY. LNG exports rose sharply to 42.4 billion cubic feet the nine months ended Sept. 30, up from 34.5 billion cubic feet for all of 2010, and these Natural Gas companies want to rape our lands, spoil our safe drinking water supplies to get at the Marcellus Shale Gas for one reason, and one reason only...EXPORT. We need to tell Governor Cuomo to BAN FRACKING in New York, but we also have to cut this industry off at the knees by opening up a second front on the regulatory front...DOE FOLKS....and... the (FERC) Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. We can stop them from getting Federal Government permission to EXPORT OUR NATURAL RESOURCES. We need to be filing comments and objections ON EVERY PERMIT REQUEST...this is a WAR TO SAVE OUR WATER. The real BATTLE LINE!