Greetings,
This is a last minute alert for every activist concerned about Marcellus Shale gas hazards to VOTE TODAY, particularly residents of the Southern Tier. Please make sure that everyone you know votes. Every single vote could be crucial.
Check out some radio spots by NYRAD (New York Residents Against Drilling) that will air 25 times today on local Binghamton radio:
http://toxicstargeting.com/sites/default/files/audio/nyrad_ad/nyrad_ad_1...
http://toxicstargeting.com/sites/default/files/audio/nyrad_ad/nyrad_ad_1...
http://toxicstargeting.com/sites/default/files/audio/nyrad_ad/nyrad_ad_1...
Congressional candidates who have taken strong positions on safeguarding New Yorkers from fracking hazards include Dan Lamb and Nate Shinagawa.
You can review NYRAD's Fracking Voter Guide at: http://www.nyrad.org/
Thank you Ben and Elaine Perkus, Karen Glauber and all their colleagues at NYRAD.
Unplugged and Abandoned Gas, Oil and Other Wells
I mentioned earlier that I will be writing to alert Town officials about unplugged and abandoned well concerns in their jurisdictions.
Many thanks to the activists who are working to document concerns at 5,046 reported unplugged and abandoned gas, oil and other wells in 38 counties of New York State. Please be careful if you go into the field. The ground around old wells could be unstable. Try not to go by yourself. Just take a pic. Do not try to collect samples or come in contact with any pollution leaking out of a well. When in doubt, back away. Let someone know where you are going and when you will return. Bring your cell phone. Contact me if you have questions.
If you have an iPhone, you can email me an interactive map image of the unplugged and abandoned wells that you are concerned about. I will then email you latitude/longitude coordinates that you can use with your iPhone's GPS system to guide you to the well locations.
If you spot a problem, call the DEC 24 Hour Spill Hotline 1-800-457-7362 (within NY State) or (518) 457-7362 (outside NY State). Also let me know.
Use Toxics Targeting's interactive web map to search for unplugged wells (brown circle) near any address in New York's Marcellus Shale formation: http://www.toxicstargeting.com/MarcellusShale/interactive_map
Check out the overview map and DEC's entire unplugged and abandoned wells database at: http://www.toxicstargeting.com/MarcellusShale/documents/2012/10/26/dec-w...
This is what unplugged and abandoned wells look like in the interactive map:
(Click here to download the pdf.)
Here is a pic of an unplugged and abandoned well:
See my letter to Governor Cuomo about this long-standing problem: http://www.toxicstargeting.com/MarcellusShale/documents/letters/2012/10/...
Until all unplugged and abandoned gas and oil well hazards in New York have been cleaned up, it would be irresponsible of Governor Cuomo to permit shale gas fracking, even on a limited basis. The Revised Draft SGEIS must be withdrawn because it provides no meaningful plan to remediate 5,000+ unplugged wells.
Email Governor Cuomo: http://www.governor.ny.gov/contact/GovernorContactForm.php
Call Governor Cuomo:
Albany: 518-474-8390
New York City: 212-681-4580
Binghamton: 607-721-8367
Twitter the Governor: @NYGovCuomo
Facebook him: https://www.facebook.com/GovernorAndrewCuomo?sk=wall
DEC might restart its shale gas regulatory rulemaking effort because an 11/29/12 deadline could be missed as Health Commissioner Nirav Shah reviews public health data compiled for the Revised Draft SGEIS. As a result, a new public comment period might be required. See: http://statepolitics.lohudblogs.com/2012/09/28/state-anticipates-missing...
I wrote Governor Cuomo to say that the proposed review is fundamentally inadequate due to a paucity of available shale gas environmental pollution data. I requested that the SGEIS be restarted to allow public comment on how to expand the scope of that proceeding to address public health and environmental concerns.
Note that New York's shale gas moratorium is tied to the SGEIS proceeding, not the rulemaking effort.
See: http://www.toxicstargeting.com/MarcellusShale/letters/2012/10/24/restart...
Conclusion
Thanks, again, for all your help.
Very gratefully yours,
Walter