New Coalition Letter to Governor Cuomo: Oppose a Possible Southern Tier Fracking Demonstration Project and Require Full Enforcement of Executive Order No. 41

Honorable Andrew M. Cuomo
Governor of New York State
The Capitol
Albany, NY 12224

Dear Governor Cuomo:

We, the undersigned, write to request that you take immediate action to fulfill the mandates specified by Executive Order No. 41. We ask you to:

1) Withhold issuance of shale gas drilling permits for any demonstration project in Broome, Tioga and Chemung counties, or any other areas of New York. The Executive Order requires that "pursuant to SEQRA, no permits may be issued prior to the completion of a Final SGEIS [Supplemental Generic Environmental Impact Statement, not in the original]..."

2) Withdraw the Revised Draft SGEIS in order to expand its scope to address a) Liquid Petroleum Gas (LPG) hydraulic fracturing recently proposed for 135,000 acres in Tioga County and b) New York State mortgage lending programs involving properties with gas and oil leases. These two issues are not analyzed "comprehensively" by the Revised Draft SGEIS. As a result, your Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) cannot "ensure that such impacts are appropriately avoided or mitigated consistent with the State Environmental Quality Review Act..."

3) Require DEC to provide a report on "the status of the Final SGEIS and the regulatory conditions that are necessary to include in oil and gas well permits to protect public health and the environment." That report is mandated "subsequent to the conclusion of the public comment period..."

Executive Order No. 41

As one of your first official acts as Governor, you signed an official "continuation" of Executive Order No. 41: http://www.toxicstargeting.com/MarcellusShale/documents/cuomo-continuation

Highlighted below are the key provisions of the Executive Order referenced by our requests:
NOW, THEREFORE, I, David A. Paterson, Governor of the State of New York, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and laws of the State of New York, do hereby order as follows:

1) The Department shall complete its review of the public comments, make such revisions to the Draft SGEIS that are necessary to analyze comprehensively the environmental impacts associated with high-volume hydraulic fracturing combined with horizontal drilling, ensure that such impacts are appropriately avoided or mitigated consistent with the State Environmental Quality Review Act (SEQRA), other provisions of the Environmental Conservation Law and other laws, and ensures (stet) that adequate regulatory measures are identified to protect public health and the environment (emphasis added);

2) On or about June 1, 2011, the Department shall publish a Revised Draft SGEIS, accept public comment on the revisions for a period of not less than thirty days, and may schedule public hearings on such revisions to be conducted in the Marcellus shale region and New York City; and

3) Recognizing that, pursuant to SEQRA, no permits may be issued prior to the completion of a Final SGEIS, the Department, subsequent to the conclusion of the public comment period, shall report to the Governor on the status of the Final SGEIS and the regulatory conditions that are necessary to include in oil and gas well permits to protect public health and the environment (emphasis added).

Conclusion

In conclusion, you have gained national renown as a champion of equal rights for all New Yorkers. That is why we request that you afford all New Yorkers equal protection from horizontal hydrauic fracturing hazards. Shale gas extraction must not be allowed in the Southern Tier or any other areas of New York until it is safe for all areas of our state, including the New York City and Syracuse watersheds.

With that goal in mind, the status report mandated by the Executive Order would allow the public to know prior to the adoption of a Final SGEIS precisely how DEC would fully resolve the 40 pages of detailed technical comments submitted by the U. S. Environmental Protection Agency since 2009 as well as the 17 critical shortcomings documented in the Withdraw the Revised Draft SGEIS coalition letter with more than 22,000 signatories.

See: http://www.toxicstargeting.com/sites/default/files/Marcellus_dSGEIS_Comm... ; http://www.toxicstargeting.com/sites/default/files/EPA%20R2%20Comments%2... and http://www.toxicstargeting.com/MarcellusShale/cuomo/coalition_letter/2011

Until there is a consensus among local, state and federal government authorities as well as potentially impacted parties that these concerns have been fully resolved, we request that you maintain New York's horizontal hydraulic fracturing moratorium.

Thank you for your consideration.

Very truly yours,