Donna Lupardo (126th Ass'bly Dist) asks DEC Comm. Martens to convene Fracking Panel

Wow! Check this, from Donna Lupardo (126th Assembly District of NY)
Posted to Facebook:

QUOTE:

I sent a letter to DEC Commissioner Joe Martens yesterday requesting
that he convene a meeting of the High Volume Hydraulic Fracturing Advisory Panel
to give us a briefing regarding the recently released rulemaking document and to
answer numerous questions related to health impacts.
The letter can be found here: http://www.donnalupardo.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/DECletter.pdf

:ENDQUOTE

Donna's letter is reproduced here:

DONNA A. LUPARDO, 
Member of Assembly 126TH District
THE ASSEMBLY STATE OF NEW YORK
December 5, 2012

Commissioner Joe Martens
New York State Department of Environmental Conservation
625 Broadway
Albany, NY 12207

Dear Commissioner Martens,

In light of the recent release of a revised set of proposed regulations for hydraulic fracturing and your
agency's request for a 90-day extension to the rulemaking process, I am respectfully asking that you
convene a meeting of the High-Volume Hydraulic Fracturing Advisory Panel as soon as possible.
I would appreciate a briefing on what specific changes were proposed in the rulemaking document. I also
have a number of questions about the the health "review" that I would like to see addressed. My main
concerns are as follows:

1. What specifically have the three health experts been asked to review?
   
   
2. How does the health "review" differ from a comprehensive health impact assessment?
   
   
3. Have the contracted health experts been provided with copies of the New York State
   Association of County Health Official's (NYSACHO) report to the HVHF panel?
   Have they been asked to factor in the concerns expressed by these county health professionals?
   
   
4. Will the public have any input into the health review?
   
   
5. How do you plan to integrate the recommendations of the health experts into the SGEIS?
   
   
6. How can the public comment on the regulations by January 11th
   if the recommendations from the health experts are not due back until February?

I also have several other concerns that I have been waiting to discuss with the panel. We never fully
completed our analysis of potential negative economic impacts and mitigation strategies. As you know,
I am especially interested in urban impacts given the nature of my Assembly district.

Thank you for your time and attention.

Sincerely,
Donna A. Lupardo
Member of Assembly

Cc: Commissioner Nirav Shah
Cc: Speaker Sheldon Silver

Also in the Press and Sun:
http://www.pressconnects.com/article/20121206/NEWS01/312060050/Lupardo-asks-What-ever-happened-NY-s-hydrofracking-panel-

This is excellent!

Looks like Donna may be stepping forward
to be a leader on this issue in this coming term,
something we've all been asking for.

If you live in Donna's district,
please email her or call her office and thank her
for this excellent letter.

http://assembly.state.ny.us/mem/Donna-A-Lupardo/contact/

Also, urge her to continue to be a strong advocate for the environment,
the people, and our local economy, which all will be harmed
if fracking comes here.

BH

--
--
May you, and all beings
be happy and free from suffering :)
-- ancient Buddhist Prayer (Metta)