Immediate Action Alert

TAKE URGENT ACTION TODAY.

The New York State Department of Health is undertaking a woefully inadequate Review of DEC's "health impact analysis" in the Revised Draft SGEIS (Supplemental Generic Environmental Impact Statement).

The DOH Review is being conducted in total secrecy without any public participation. See press: http://www.toxicstargeting.com/MarcellusShale

If the DOH Review is completed, a Final SGEIS and DEC's Revised shale gas Rulemaking proposal could both be adopted by 2/27/13. DEC has stated that it hopes to complete all three undertakings by that rulemaking deadline.

HELP MAKE SURE THAT THE DOH REVIEW IS DELAYED, SCRAPPED OR SENT BACK TO THE DRAWING BOARD FOR EXTENDED COMMENTS.

I. Please use this simple self-explanatory letter to require DEC Hydraulic Fracturing Advisory Panel members (starting with Sinding, Goldstein, RFK, Jr. and Rob Moore) to rectify the total lack of public participation in the DOH Review proceeding.

See formatted version of the letter below: http://www.toxicstargeting.com/node/37327

See Advisory Panel Members and Contact Info: http://www.toxicstargeting.com/MarcellusShale/dec-fracking-panel

If the enviros do not provide an immediate favorable reply, you can threaten to withdraw your financial support and complain to their leadership. Lean hard.

If they agree to your request, PLEASE THANK THEM PROFUSELY.

I wrote the Governor a detailed letter about this matter. The DOH reviewers and members of DEC's Hydraulic Fracturing Advisory Panel were cc'd.

See: http://www.toxicstargeting.com/MarcellusShale/documents/letters/2012/12/...

II. Please contact the Governor to make the same requests:

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

III. Sign a New Coalition Letter

You can sign a new coalition letter about the DOH Review and DEC’s Revised Rulemaking proceeding that now has more than 2,800 signatories, including elected officials, physicians, scientists, academic researchers, environmental groups, civic organizations and concerned citizens. See: http://www.toxicstargeting.com/MarcellusShale/letters/2012/11/28/cuomo

IV. Misleading Panel Member Response

See below a response by NRDC that notes: "...the Advisory Panel on High-Volume Hydraulic Fracturing was given a narrow scope of work, focusing primarily on identifying resources that would be needed if (emphasis in the original) a fracking program were to move forward in New York State (emphasis added).

NRDC added: "As such, the Panel has had no role to play with regard to the on-going health study being conducted by the Department of Health (emphasis added)."

DEC's news release about the Hydraulic Fracturing Advisory Panel makes it clear that NRDC did not tell the whole truth about the Panel's mandate: http://www.toxicstargeting.com/node/37325

Advisory Panel members are also "charged with:" "developing recommendations to avoid and mitigate impacts to local governments and communities."

Note that Assemblywoman Lupardo references this mandate in the last paragraph of her letter.

V. 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,
____________

VI. “Canned” Response to Concerned Citizens

To:
Cc: "Sinding, Kate"
Sent: Tuesday, December 11, 2012 12:17 PM
Subject: Fracking

Dear ____,

Thank you for your email. We share your concerns about the State’s recent actions regarding fracking in New York.

As you may know, the Advisory Panel on High-Volume Hydraulic Fracturing was given a narrow scope of work, focusing primarily on identifying resources that would be needed if (emphasis in the original) a fracking program were to move forward in New York State (emphasis added). Since a decision on whether to advance fracking has not yet been made, the panel has not been reconvened in months. As such, the Panel has had no role to play with regard to the on-going health study being conducted by the Department of Health (emphasis added).

Nevertheless,  NRDC has repeatedly called upon the state to conduct an independent, comprehensive health impact assessment for fracking.  We have written numerous memoranda, letters and publicly posted blog entries (see, for example, here, here and here) demanding that the state commit to a health assessment that includes, at minimum, the following components:
 
1.       Opportunity for full public participation, including a public comment period and public hearings, to obtain the input of potentially affected New Yorkers, as well as state-based health professionals.
2.       Employment of recognized health impact assessment methodologies that fully assess and, to the extent possible, quantify potential health impacts and costs.
3.       Independent verification by wholly outside, unbiased medical experts.
 
(See, also, news coverage on this issue, here, here, here, as well as the article pasted below.)
 
Meanwhile, we are carefully reviewing every corner of the state’s just revised regulations, which were issued over our strong objections and contrary to sound public policy.   We have engaged highly-qualified external and internal experts to assist in this review, and intend to submit comprehensive comments identifying all gaps in the proposed regulatory approach.
 
NRDC is continuing to insist that the state not move forward with any new fracking program until, among other things, the health and the environmental impacts have been fully and properly considered.  And NRDC continues to support and advocate for an on-going moratorium on any new fracking in New York State.
 
We encourage you to continue to communicate your concerns about the State’s proposal directly to the Governor and the State Health Commissioner.
 
Sincerely,
 
Kate Sinding and Eric A. Goldstein, NRDC