Honorable Alexander Grannis
Commissioner
New York State Department of Environmental Conservation
625 Broadway
Albany, NY 12233-1010

Re: Spill Number: 0910884

Greetings:

I trust you had a happy holidays. Best wishes for the new year.

Reported Drill Rig Fire in Freeville, NY

I write regarding the above-referenced drill rig fire on Wood Road in Freeville, NY that was reported to the Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) at 3:32 PM on 1/7/10. See attachment.

Please find attached an article in today's Ithaca Journal about the fire. According to the article, "workers drilling a water well hit a pocket of natural gas."

According to the spill profile's Caller Remarks, "WELL RIG ON FIRE WHEN HIT NATURAL GAS POCKET - POSSIBLE RESOURCES AFFECTED."

As you will see, the "Material Spilled" is reportedly "Hydraulic Oil." The "Amount Spilled" is reportedly "10.0 Gal." The "Resource Affected" is reportedly "Soil, Groundwater."

Please note that natural gas is not mentioned as a "Material Spilled" even though natural gas reportedly was the cause of the fire

Review of DEC Oil and Gas Spill Data

I recently reviewed DEC's spills database and identified a total of 270 oil and gas problems involving fires, explosions, polluted water supply wells, home evacuations, massive uncontrolled wastewater releases and various water quality impacts, some of which have exceeded applicable clean up requirements for decades.

One spill (9610441) involved a well being drilled in Freedom, NY when: "Natural gas escaped through fault in shale, affected properties appx 1 and 1/2 miles SW..." That natural gas release caused 12 homes to be evacuated, impacted a dairy farm and polluted private drinking water wells that remain unpotable more than a decade later.

Request for Investigation

According to the Freeville spill's DEC Investigator Remarks, "Cleanup of Hydrualic (sic) is underway by responsible party." Please note that there is no mention of requiring investigation and clean up of any natural gas impacts. I believe this reflects DEC's systematic failure to address the consequences of natural gas releases associated with drilling activities.

As you will see from the attached map, the spill is located in a rural area with multiple nearby "sensitive receptors," including residential homes, private water supply wells, wetlands, surface waters and aquifers. I request the spill to be investigated for potential natural gas as well as petroleum impacts. I request all impacts to be remediated without delay.

Conclusion

This spill exemplifies the environmental and public health risks associated with drilling activities in New York that can cause uncontrolled releases of natural gas and petroleum. I request DEC to remediate this spill in strict compliance with all applicable clean up requirements.

As I stated in my formal comments regarding the Marcellus Shale draft SGEIS, natural gas releases associated with various drilling activites in New York are evidently not required to be reported, investigated and cleaned up on a comprehensive basis and in a timely fashion. That is one of the main reasons why I requested the draft SGEIS to be withdrawn.

I trust you will find my request self-explanatory, but please do not hesitate to contact me if I can answer any questions you or your staff might have.

Best regards,

Walter Hang

Ithaca Journal Article, Freeville Spill Profile, and Sensitive Receptor Map