Monday, February 14, 2011

Helpful audio for NY municipal governments regarding Gas Drilling

Permalink: http://tinyurl.com/GasRegHelpForNYTowns


The following audio may be useful for people in local NY municpalities for learning about the opportunity of using local zoning laws to regulate gas drilling activities.

Local NY municipalities MUST do this regulation if any regulation is to occur.

These gathering lines are typically low pressure pipelines less than 125 psi usually connecting several well sites together, and are NOT regulated by the DEC, the PSC, or the DPS, nor do these lines have to be oderized.

Local municipalities can regulate gas drilling in the following ways:

  • Road use laws, to regulated heavy truck traffic
  • Drilling pads
    • mandatory set-backs from houses
  • Pipeline related:
    • Set max PSI to be 125 psi (the question is that the gas companies will claim they are installing 125 psi lines to avoid regulation, then increase pressure when no one is looking)
    • mandatory pipeline set-backs from houses
    • presently, they can be 2-4" deep. Pass laws that they must be 6-8" deep.
    • Town planners and first responders must be present when pipelines are installed, and must be provide with maps showing pipeline locations
    • Pressure of these lines must be inspectable 24x7

2 comments:

Unknown said...

Do you know what the current setback requirements are from houses, rivers and streams? Also, do you know of any current setback requirements or special rules regarding floodplains?

Bill Huston 1 said...

Hi Judith, do you live in NY? Some of this varies by state, and also by local municipal laws and zoning codes.

You may be thinking about well pad set-backs, and this is important, but we should also think about set-backs for pipelines.

If you email me at WilliamAHuston@gmail.com or call me at 607-321-7846 I can try to get you more answers, and get you plugged in to a group local to you working on this issue.

(There are dozens of groups just in NY: NYRAD, ROUSE, NYH2O, ShaleShock, GDACC, Damascus Citizens, etc.)