Ithaca Workshop on the New Fracking Regs

Link to this: TinyURL.com/2012IthacaFrackingRegsWorkshop

Archived Live Stream:  
How to Comment on the NY Regs
(Martha Robertson, Tony Ingraffea, Sandra Steingraber, Helen Slottje)
12-17-2012

Live stream by Llewellyn Lafford / Cris McConkey
Second Camera: BH
Editing and Production: Cris McConkey

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Listen to HIGH-QUALITY AUDIO:

BIGGEST NEWS OF THE EVENING:

Helen Slottje dropped a couple of the bombshells last night.

The rdSGEIS is "rulemaking" subject to SAPA.
This means the DEC missed the Nov 29 deadline (as with the regs) so the process MUST BE RESTARTED!

This means (as I understand it), there will be no permits for HVHF in 2013.
If the DEC issues permits, then there is a basis for a lawsuit.


PLEASE GIVE TO CEDC:

Helen and David Slottje provide their services FREE to towns, and rely upon our donations. Their Community Environmental Defense Council public law firm, CEDC, has a $25,0000 matching fund if you give before the end of the year.

http://www.cedclaw.org/news/2012/12/another-chance-to-learn-more-about-responding-to-dec-fracking-regulations/

Please share on all lists.
TinyURL.com/2012IthacaFrackingRegsWorkshop
Below are notes by Peter Hudiburg:

Tony Ingraffea looked at how they treated comments on the last version of the regulations last year, not substantively. They tended to be too often dismissive. He noted that the DEC tends to use absolute terms such as prevent as in the DEC’s regulations will “prevent” future water contaminations when we all know that they have not successfully prevented contaminations in the past and these regulations certainly wouldn’t prevent contaminations in other states.
 

The number of well casings was a case in point. In Dimock they were using 5. The DEC claims that their regs requiring 3 should make us safe.

He suggests that we use terms such as minimize probability rather than prevent. We should also give the rationale for our criticisms and site published literature. He suggested that we use websites such as www.psehealthyenergy.org I don’t see a page devoted to commenting on the NYS regs there yet.

Martha Robertson said comment on the socio economic impact on local communities and local governments. Martha recommends that people refer to the NYElectedOfficials.org website. Again I don’t see a page devoted to commenting on the proposed regulations yet but it is dealt with to some extent at http://www.nyelectedofficials.org/our-concerns-about-fracking/
 

Sandra Steingraber said that we need a comprehensive health impact assessment and the only thing the DEC has done so far is to submit a secret document to 3 outside experts, all of whom have signed contracts with nondisclosure agreements. She said that this is not in keeping with scientific research that should be open to peer review.
 

She said that the last version of the regs elicited about 680 comments. This time they have already generated 20,000. If we keep this up we could reach over 100,000 comments before Jan 11th. http://www.thirtydaysoffrackingregs.com/dec12reg.php
 

Helen Slottje is approaching the problem from a radically new direction. She suggests that we should be able to rein in corporate power with the law.
 

She says that the DEC is not following the State Administrative Procedure Act. SAPA defines agency policy as rules. DEC must not violate SAPA. DEC’s authority over gas law is subject to a public process. DEC cannot have any other authority. They must also follow SEQR concerning the issuance of generic environmental impact statements. But those statements are also rules and must also comply with SAPA.
 

In 1992 SEQR was used to circumvent SAPA.
 

Governor Paterson in his 2008 directive said that an SGEIS must be issued on horizontal high volume hydrofracking with full public participation.
 

What they have constructed by failing to follow advised procedures as defined by SAPA and by coming out with proposed regulations supposedly based on a so far unreleased and unfinalized SGEIS is arbitrary, irrational and capricious.
 

We must be able to look at what the DEC is proposing to do as a complete package open to public comment.
 

CEDC Law not only intends to challenge these fractured procedures but is also contemplating challenging every permit issued by the DEC. What the DEC is doing is illegal.
 

DSGEIS rule making is subject to deadlines as defined by SAPA. They blew those deadlines.

Helen says that their Community Environmental Defense Council public law firm, CEDC, has a $25,0000 matching fund that they hope to use if they can raise adequate funding from us. http://www.cedclaw.org/news/2012/12/another-chance-to-learn-more-about-responding-to-dec-fracking-regulations/
 

So in answer to the first question of the evening (before we lost live streaming) can we sue the DEC, Helen says YES!
 

Martha Robertson reminded people that NY elected officials are subject to Open Meetings Law and can be FOILED and said that the DEC should be subject to the same law.

Maybe we’ll learn more from the Binghamton event tomorrow night.

(Binghamton, UU Church, 183 Riverside Drive, Binghamton 7pm)

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