Incredible Citizen Letter

Finally, see below a wonderful letter from a local resident that you can use for a guide and inspiration. The pen is mightier than the sword.

Dear Eric and Kate,

I've written and/or spoken to each of you before on the subject of fracking in NYS (and specifically in the Southern Tier, my beloved home). Please forgive me if you've seen parts of this letter before; I am very tired of writing fresh letters and making phone calls and trying to get action from people who don't seem to care. I do a lot of things that get no response and seem to be an exercise in futility, but I do them because I feel it's a moral imperative for all of us to speak up and do our best when facing potentially catastrophic harm. You and the other members of the HVHF Advisory Panel who are supposed defenders of the environment are in a much stronger position to do some good and to take effective action, and I'm asking you again to do so.

As you know, the New York State Department of Health and three outside experts are conducting a "review" of the "health impact analysis" presented in the Department of Environmental Conservation's Revised Draft Supplemental Generic Environmental Impact Statement (SGEIS).

Like Donna Lupardo and everyone else, I have no idea what this review entails. That "review" is being conducted in secrecy without any public participation whatsoever. Such opaqueness about something so critical to the well-being of my family and community and state is shockingly improper and an affront to open and transparent government decision-making.

I respectfully request that you write to Governor Cuomo or DEC Commissioner Martens to require:

a) immediate public notice of the intent and scope of the DOH "health impact analysis" Review;

b) a 30-day minimum public comment period;

c) at least one public hearing to require the reviewers to hear testimony from interested parties; and

d) a restart of the SGEIS proceeding to allow public comment about how best to resolve all the concerns documented about DOH's inadequate review.

The DOH Review is critically important because no final decision will be made about permitting shale gas fracturing in New York until it is completed. That is why it is imperative that the Review be comprehensive and properly undertaken. Until the DOH Review is finished, no Final SGEIS will be adopted and no shale gas revised rulemaking will be finalized.

It is entirely appropriate that Hydraulic Fracturing Advisory Panel members address the shortcomings of the DOH Review. As you know, Advisory Panel members are charged with: "developing recommendations to avoid and mitigate impacts to local governments and communities." See: http://www.toxicstargeting.com/node/37325

Given that mandate, I would like to commend Advisory Panel Member Assemblywoman Donna Lupardo for writing to DEC Commissioner Martens to voice concerns about a lack of public participation in the DOH Review: http://www.toxicstargeting.com/MarcellusShale/documents/letters/2012/12/... See her coverage: http://www.toxicstargeting.com/news/2012-12-06/lupardo-wants-ny-fracking...

Also in light of your mandate, I would appreciate NOT receiving a canned (non)response from you in which you cite the "narrow scope" of your advisory panel duties. Obviously, I've looked at all the links included in this letter, and I know what you COULD be doing on behalf of citizens like me. Why you wouldn't do more is flummoxing.

I am holding out the hope that representatives of organizations I used to believe in and support (like NRDC) will emerge as true leaders in the fight to protect our environmental health and safety. I never wanted to knock on hundreds of doors or get mocked in Town Board meetings by people I grew up with, but I spoke up for my home and science and the precautionary principle and promptly signed every coalition letter that Walter Hang ever produced, each of them clear calls for specific actions that are simple to understand and entirely reasonable.

Please find your courage and stand up for all of us, especially those of us in your Demonstration Project target zone. What you do or don't do matters, and people are paying attention to that.

Very truly yours,
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