February 24, 2013
Honorable Andrew M. Cuomo
Governor of New York
The State Capitol
Albany, NY 12224
Dear Governor Cuomo:
We, the undersigned, write respectfully to request that you:
a) immediately put on-hold your Department of Health's (DOH) Public Health Review of High Volume Hydraulic Fracturing (HVHF) pending fulfillment of formal public participation requirements;
b) resolve the fundamental shortcomings of your Department of Environmental Conservation's (DEC) draft Supplemental Generic Environmental Impact Statement (SGEIS); and
c) withhold completion of the DOH Review pending review of the final results of three investigations that your Health Commissioner Dr. Nirav R. Shah called "...the first comprehensive studies of HVHF health impacts at either the state or federal level."
d) require all these critical concerns to be addressed openly and transparently before your DOH completes its Public Health Review and DEC adopts a Final SGEIS based on the findings and recommendations of that DOH Review.
DOH Commissioner States That HVHF Review Requires Additional Time to be Completed
On February 12, 2013, Dr. Shah wrote to your DEC Commissioner Joseph Martens and stated:
"In September, you asked me to initiate a Public Health Review of the Department of Environmental Conservation's (DEC) draft Supplemental Generic Environmental Impact Statement for High Volume Hydraulic Fracturing (HVHF)."
"The Department of Health review is considering whether the final draft SGEIS adequately identifies potential public health impacts of HVHF and whether additional mitigation measures are needed beyond those already proposed in the draft SGEIS."
"The decision to permit HVHF is important, and involves complex questions about the impact of the process on public health. The time to ensure the impacts on public health are properly considered is before a state permits drilling (emphasis in the original)."
Dr. Shah concluded: "the DOH Public Health Review will require additional time to complete based on the complexity of the issues."
You were quoted on February 13, 2013 that hydraulic fracturing is "too important to make a mistake (emphasis added)." You were also quoted that you would not rush Dr. Shah to meet an "arbitrary (emphasis added)" deadline for completing the DOH Review.
DOH Review Requires Public Participation and Major Revisions
We could not agree more with your sentiments. That is why we write to ask that you fulfill the following requests.
A. Above all, it is inconceivable that the critically important DOH Review is being conducted totally in secret without any opportunity for public input. That is completely contrary to the "open" and "transparent" government you promised your administration would provide.
We also believe that you are required to provide formal public participation for the DOH Public Health Review. State law and regulations are clear about the reason for environmental impact statements (EISs). New York has an "obligation to protect the environment for the use and enjoyment of this and all future generations." In defining the word "environment," "human health" is specifically noted. The statute on environmental impact statements also makes explicit the requirement to "solicit comment" for proposals "that may significantly affect the quality of the environment."
We request that you immediately:
1) Put on-hold the DOH Public Health Review of HVHF pending fulfillment of all requested public participation requirements;
2) Provide written public notice of the intent and scope of the DOH Public Health Review as well as how it is being undertaken and all other appropriate disclosures regarding the proceeding;
3) Hold at least one public hearing to allow Dr. Shah and the three outside experts to hear testimony from interested parties about how the DOH Public Health Review should be undertaken in order to fulfill its mandate; and
4) Require a minimum 30-day public review and comment period regarding the DOH Review.
B. The DOH Review must resolve the shortcomings of a draft SGEIS that fails to document: 1) the full spectrum of air, land and water pollutants generated by HVHF; 2) the environmental fate and transport of those HVHF contaminants; 3) if the public is exposed to HVHF contaminants and for how long and at what concentration; and 4) the potential health outcomes caused by those exposures.
A previously secret State Health Impact Assessment document was recently reported by the press. It reports:
"...human chemical exposures during normal HVHF operations will be prevented or reduced below levels of significant health concern. Thus, significant adverse impacts on human health are not expected from routine HVHF operations."
"When spills or accidents occur, the Department has identified numerous additional mitigation measures, including emergency-response planning, setbacks and buffers, so that significant exposures to people and resources on which they rely are unlikely."
These critical assertions are directly contradicted by extensive information that DEC deliberately excluded from earlier draft SGEISs, including hundreds of natural gas/oil fires, explosions, polluted water supply wells, uncontrolled drilling wastewater discharges, abandoned and unplugged wells, illegal brine pits and home evacuations due to gas intrusion. These hazards are documented in New York State by DEC and local health departments in Chautauqua, Cattaraugus and Allegany counties.
Many of these incidents caused public health impacts far beyond the setbacks and buffers proposed by DEC in its Revised Rulemaking proposal.
Given these concerns, we request that the DOH Review include a detailed analysis of all these documented incidents with regard to DEC's proposed mitigation measures.
See Appendix A: New York State Data Sources Requested to be Included in DOH Public Health Impact Review of High Volume Hydraulic Fracturing
Link: http://www.toxicstargeting.com/node/37736
C. We request that the DOH Review must not be completed until it includes an assessment of the final results of at least the three investigations referenced in Dr. Shah's letter to Commissioner Martens. He wrote that: "These are the first comprehensive studies of HVHF health impacts at either the state or federal level (emphasis added)." We believe "prudence dictates (emphasis added)" that the DOH Review must assess the final results of these "first comprehensive studies (emphasis added)."
Conclusion
You have repeatedly vowed that your final decision whether to allow HVHF Marcellus Shale gas extraction in New York would be based on "facts and information." With that goal in mind, we request that you require the actions specified in this letter to be fulfilled without regard to any "arbitrary" deadline.
We trust that you will find our request self-explanatory. Thank you for your consideration. We look forward to receiving your prompt reply.
Very truly yours,
David Kauber
3080 Rt. 90
Aurora, New York |
Daniel Sternglass
Chairman and CEO
403 Highgate Road
Ithaca, NY |
A. Lindsay Groves
Interim Principal Cellist
1246 Minnow Cove
Skaneateles, NY |
Nedra Harvey
Co-founder
275 Berkeley St.
Rochester , New York |
John King
Life Member
2517 Rhonda Dr.
Vestal, New York |
jerome nosanchuk
964 Cayuga Heights Road
Ithaca, NY |
Judith Hyman
632 Bostwick Road
Ithaca, NY |
Steven Gallow
894 Salt Road
Groton, NY |
Rachel Dickinson
31 Main Street
Freeville, NY |
Julie Mundt
P.O. Box 313
Newark Valley, NY |
George Mundt, Jr.
P.O. Box 187
Newark Valley, NY |
Donna Mundt
P.O. Box 187
Newark Valley, NY |
Peter Mundt
P.O. Box 549
Brant Rock, MA |
Jennifer Mundt
P.O. Box 549
Brant Rock, MA |
Eric Mundt
100 Imperial Circle
Rochester, NY |
Laurie Mundt
100 Imperial Circle
Rochester, NY |
Miriam Barrows
President
2218 Lewis Road
Erieville, New York |
yvonne taylor
Co-founder
PO Box776
Burdett, NY |
Ezra Sherman
308 Beckhorn Hollow Road
Van Etten, NY |
Christopher Furst
215 N. Cayuga St.
Ithaca, NY |
Neal Rosenthal
1219 Route 83
Pine Plains, New York |
Marie Burns
2409 Slaterville Road
Slaterville Springs, New York |
James Wade Leftwich
122 Valley View Rd
Ithaca, NY |
judith paskin
881 bostwick road
ithaca, ny |
Daniel Flerlage
881 Bostwick Road
ithaca, New York |
Nathan Hilgartner
533 Cayuga Heights Rd
Ithaca, NY |
Jeremy Schwed
111 Quad Drive; Lafayette College
Easton, PA |
Kyllikki Inman
110 Halcyon Hill
Ithaca, NY |
Nicole A. Dillingham, JD
President, Board of Directors
Po Box 101
Springfield Center, NY |
Richard Franke
129 Rachel Carson Way
Ithaca, NY |
Jason Green
6405 Palmiter Road
Alfred Station, NY |
MARC DENNIS
402 NORTH TITUS AVENUE
ITHACA, NEW YORK |
Lori Anderson Moseman
1120 East MLK Jr. Street
ithaca, NY |
Jesse Bennett
Sole Proprietor (Musician/Educator)
373 Broad Street
Waverly, New York |
Joel Wysong
2675 Agard Road
Trumansburg, New York (NY) |
John Bijarney
co-founder
101 South Street
Chenango Forks, New York |
betsy bonsignore
1 E Pulteney Stcon
Corning, NY |
Ann Stickel
Ms
7 Redwood Ave
Whitesboro, NY |
Michael Goldstein
28 Cemetery Lane
Mc Lean, NY |
Sondra Lazarowitz
3 Bean Hill Lane
Ithaca, NY |
Barbara Harrison
Disaster Preparation Coordinator
510 Ellis Hollow Creek Road
Ithaca, NY |
Esther Racoosin
112 Roat Street
Ithaca, NY |
Richard Grover
Owner
2 Railroad Ave
Canton, NY |
diane cox
professor of sculpture
593 lever hill rd.
ANDOVER, New York |
John Saylor
Associate University Librarian for Scholarly Resources
261 Canaan Rd
Brooktondale, NY |
John Cisne
Professor
27 N. Landon Road
Ithaca, New York |
Christopher Errante
39 Union St
Johnson City, NY |
Sharye Skinner
4522 Syracuse Rd
Cazenovia, NY |
deb benzer
714 N. Cayuga st
Ithaca , NY |
John Stuhr
The Seneca Institute
PO Box 771
Rock Stream, NY |