Support Our Campaign Against Gas Drilling in the NYC Watershed

Photo Courtesy Giles Ashford

Important developments in our campaign against proposed gas drilling in the New York City Watershed.

Since July 2008, Riverkeeper has been at the forefront of the industrial gas drilling issue in New York State. While gas drilling in New York is not new, what is new is the magnitude, scope, and location of the proposed method of high-volume hydraulic fracturing, or “hydrofracking.”

The entire West-of-Hudson portion of the New York City Watershed (which supplies 90% of drinking water consumed by over half the state’s population) sits on top of part of the Marcellus Shale, a large mineral reserve deposit deep beneath the earth’s surface. Oil and gas companies have known about this shale reserve for decades, but the technology to extract natural gas from such deep deposits has become available only recently. The hydrofracking technology carries with it the risk of a wide range of serious environmental impacts, not least of which is the potential for contamination of the water supplies that collectively provide 17 million people, including 9 million New Yorkers served by the New York City Watershed, with clean drinking water.

In December, Riverkeeper submitted detailed comments on New York State’s draft environmental review for industrial gas drilling in New York. This review will determine how and where gas drilling will be allowed to proceed in New York. Our comments, which totaled over 150-pages and included expert reports and case studies, detailed 240 specific problems with the State’s review that the Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) must now address.

Riverkeeper’s position, shared by dozens of groups and elected officials around the state, is that the draft review is so fatally flawed and legally deficient that the best course of action DEC can take right now is to withdraw it and go back to the drawing board. Our principal concerns include the following:

• DEC’s failure to propose the establishment of exclusionary zones and permanent measures for
  critically important environmental areas such as the New York City Watershed;
• DEC’s failure to properly analyze cumulative impacts to the State’s air and water resources that
  would result from an increase in gas drilling statewide;
• DEC’s failure to adequately analyze the economic costs associated with environmental
  contamination from industrial gas drilling;
• DEC’s failure to consider the findings from other states that demonstrate clear examples of
  drinking water contamination associated with gas drilling;
• DEC’s failure to propose any new regulations to govern the statewide increase in hydrofracking.

Despite widespread scientific uncertainty and concern over hydrofracking, the State of New York still seems bent on opening up as much of the state to increased drilling as possible. With your help, Riverkeeper was able to help generate over 12,000 comments to DEC on this issue. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the City of New York, the New York City Council, the National Parks Service, and DEC’s own union have all expressed grave concerns about drilling in areas such as the New York City Watershed. In addition, the editorial boards of the New York Times, Daily News, Journal News, and Albany Times-Union have echoed our call to Governor Paterson to put certain areas off-limits and to mandate strict environmental safeguards statewide.

However, the battle is far from over and we need your continued support to ensure that no drilling occurs in ecologically significant areas such as the New York City Watershed. Your funds give us the support we need to continue tracking stories from around the country, consulting with experts, testifying at public hearings, and organizing communities to make informed decisions on this important issue.

When making a gift to Riverkeeper, you are making a direct and positive impact on the environment and on your fellow New Yorkers. Together with our members, Riverkeeper is effectively able to protect 73,000 gallons of water for the same amount of money many people spend for 16 ounces of bottled water! Your gift of $5 per month – $60 for the year – will help protect 4,350,000 gallons of drinking water for New York City. You can be sure that whether you choose to make an automatic monthly payment or a one-time gift, you are an important and valued partner in Riverkeeper’s clean water movement!

Sincerely,
Paul Gallay
Executive Director and Riverkeeper

Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.
Chief Prosecuting Attorney & Co-Chair