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Gas Drilling: Next Steps 
ADK has been hard at work making sure that the Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) is taking every precaution before allowing natural gas companies to proceed with a controversial new method for extracting natural gas called high volume horizontal hydraulic fracturing (HVHHF). The comment period for the DEC’s draft Supplemental Generic Environmental Impacts Statement (dSGEIS) and proposed regulations has just ended. Now it is time to focus our efforts on convincing the Legislature to enact responsible legislation to prevent some of the potential negative consequences of this technology. Below is information on a few of the bills ADK is lobbying in favor of. Even if you don’t live above the Marcellus Shale, it is of the utmost importance that our members contact their elected officials to let them know you support this legislation as well.
Budget and Hydrofracking
The Governor did not propose any funding for HVHHF in his 2012-13 executive budget, signaling his interest in going slow for now. Ultimately the budget process will be key to the deciding the fate of fracking in the coming year. The state Legislature must commit to keeping fracking out of the final budget, in line with the Governor’s proposal.
Our Ask: Ask our legislators to pledge to keep the 2012-13 budget frack-free!
Local Control over Oil and Gas Development
This bill clarifies that local governments retain the right to enact and enforce zoning laws within their jurisdiction when confronted with the negative impacts from oil and gas development. The burden of oil and gas development is an unfunded mandate on upstate communities if they are not allowed to use the most basic land-use planning tools to protect unique local assets. This bill passed the Assembly in 2011.
Our Ask: Legislators should sign on as co-sponsors and speak with leadership to bring the bill to the floor this session.
Bill Numbers and Sponsors:
Senate S.5830 Seward, Oppenheimer, Bonacic, Griffo, Nozzolio, Valesky
Public Health Analysis
About the Issue: The dSGEIS downplays the significance of public health concerns from drilling claiming that the DEC will only conduct health risk assessments on a case-by-case basis after a contamination event has occurred. With new information coming to light on chemical exposure pathways and the myriad of effects they can have on human health. The legislature must direct the State to conduct a thorough health impact analysis to determine fracking’s impacts and ensure that no permits are issued until an analysis has been conducted.
Our Ask: Contact the Governor and the Department of health to let them know a Public Health Analysis must be completed before this process is to be permitted. The Governor can be reached by email at: http://www.governor.ny.gov/contact/GovernorContactForm.php
Legislators should also be aware of the issue and reach out to the Health Committee chair in their house in support of the issue. They should sign on as cosponsors once a bill is introduced.
The Department of Health and the Governor’s office can also be reached by mail at:
| New York State Department of Health | The Honorable Andrew M. Cuomo |
| Corning Tower | Governor of New York State |
| Empire State Plaza | NYS State Capitol |
| Albany, NY 12237 | Albany, NY 12224 |
| Phone: 518-474-8390 |
Bill Numbers and Sponsors: At this time there are no bills
Close the Hazardous Waste Loophole for the Disposal of Drilling Fluids
About the bill: Even though fracking chemicals arrive at the drilling site as regulated hazardous materials, federal and state exemptions allow drillers to treat the same drilling waste leaving the site as standard industrial waste. This bill will update current law and regulations so that all resulting waste from natural gas drilling which meets the definition of hazardous waste is subject to all hazardous waste generation, transportation, treatment, storage and disposal laws and regulations. This bill passed the Assembly in 2011.
Our Ask: Legislators should co-sponsor the bill and speak with leadership to bring the bills to the floor this session.
Bill Numbers and Sponsors:
Assembly: A.7013 Sweeney, Maisel, Pulin, P. Rivera, Dinowitz, Millman, Zebrowski, Schimel, Benedetto, Gottfried, Englebright, Galef, Colton, Barron, Jaffee, Rosenthal, Weisenberg, Weprin, Russel, Jacobs, Lifton, Lavine, Roberts, Gibson, Peoples-Stokes, Boyland, N. Rivera, Abinanti, Braunstein, Brennan, Cahill, Castelli, Cymbrowitz, Glick, Latimer, Lupardo, Markey, McEneny, Nolan, Perry, Thiele, Titone, Weinstein
Senate: S.4616 Avella, Adams, Addabbo, Ball, Breslin, Carlucci, Dilan, Duane, Espaillat, Gianaris, Grisanti, Hassell- Thompson, Huntley, Klein, Krueger, Montgomery, Oppenheimer, Parker, Peralta, Perkins, Rivera, Sampson, Savino, Serrano, Squadron, Stavisky, Stewart-Cousins
Hydrofracking Permit Suspension (Moratorium) Bill
About the Bill: The bill would suspend the issuance of permits for hydrofracking in low-permeability shale formations until June 1, 2013.
Our Ask: Legislators should sign on as co-sponsors and speak with leadership to bring the bill to the floor this session.
Bill Numbers and Sponsors:
Assembly: A.7400-A Sweeney, Silver, Farrell, Lifton, Jaffee, Zebrowski, Colton, Abinanti, Weisenberg, Brennan, Gottfried, Kellner, P. River, Englebright, Dinowitz, Markey, Paulin, Millman, Jacobs, Cook, Braunstein, Scarborough, Cymbrowitz, Peoples-Stokes, Moya, Simotas, Clark, Perry, Thiele, Titone, Aubry, Barron, DenDekker, Gibson, Glick, Hevesi, latimer, Lavine, magee, Magnarelli, Maisel, McEneny, Nolan, Sayward, Schimel, Weinstein
Senate: S.6261 Ball
To get the most up-to-date information on any of the bills listed above, please refer to:
http://public.leginfo.state.ny.us/menugetf.cgi
Type in ‘A’ for Assembly or ‘S’ for Senate followed by the bill number.