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Coalition Letter Request That Governor Hochul Prohibit All Forms of High-Volume Hydraulic Fracturing Combined With Horizontal Drilling in New York In Order to Prevent Carbon Dioxide Marcellus Shale Natural Gas Extraction



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The Honorable Kathy Hochul
Governor of New York
The State Capitol
Albany, NY 12224

Re: Request That You Prohibit All Forms of High-Volume Hydraulic Fracturing Combined With Horizontal Drilling in New York In Order to Prevent Carbon Dioxide Marcellus Shale Natural Gas Extraction

Greetings:

We, the undersigned, write respectfully to request that you take immediate action to prohibit on a comprehensive basis all forms of High-Volume Hydraulic Fracturing (HVHF) using Carbon Dioxide, water, nitrogen, natural gas, propane, also known as Liquid Petroleum Gas, or any other substances in combination with horizontal, directional or vertical drilling in New York's Marcellus and Utica shale and other geologic formations.

In 2020, New York codified the HVHF prohibition adopted pursuant to the Findings Statement for the Final Supplemental Generic Environmental Impact Statement (SGEIS) for Oil, Gas and Solution Mining, but that definition was limited to hydrofracturing involving "the stimulation of a well using 300,000 or more gallons of water (emphasis added) as the base fluid for hydraulic fracturing for all stages in a well completion, regardless of whether the well is vertical or directional, including horizontal."

This inadequate HVHF prohibition could be avoided by simply using one gallon of water less than 300,000 gallons or a variety of non-water HVHF methods that have already been proposed in New York involving pressurized Carbon Dioxide and gelled propane that can serve as hydraulic fracturing fluids. These fatal flaws must be immediately resolved as proposed herein.

Proposed Carbon Dioxide Fracturing in New York's Southern Tier

In the autumn of 2023, Southern Tier CO2 to Clean Energy Solutions reportedly sent 6,500 mineral rights leasing letters to Southern Tier landowners outlining a vast proposal to extract natural gas from Marcellus Shale using non-water carbon dioxide fracking.

See: Carbon Dioxide Marcellus Shale Leasing Letter from Southern Tier CO2 to Clean Energy Solutions

We request that you immediately prohibit all forms of water and non-water HVHF in order to fulfill the shale fracking prohibition specified in the Findings Statement for the Final SGEIS.

High-Volume Hydraulic Fracturing and Environmentally Friendly Non-Water Fracking Methods Deemed Unacceptable by Final SGEIS

DEC's Final SGEIS determined that non-water HVHF methods associated with the “environmentally-friendly chemical approach," including "Liquid CO2," "Nitrogen-based foam" and "Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG)," "all fail to limit unavoidable adverse environmental impacts and fail to address the risks and uncertainties of high-volume hydraulic fracturing (emphasis added)."

See: NYSDEC Final SGEIS Chapter 9.3 "Green" or Non-Chemical Fracturing Technologies and Additives

DEC also declared, "Based on unavoidable adverse environmental impacts and uncertainty regarding the science surrounding high-volume hydraulic fracturing and its potential impacts to public health and the environment, the Department finds that the best course of action is to select the No Action alternative. Selection of the No Action alternative means that the Department will not establish a high-volume hydraulic fracturing permitting program; that no individual or site-specific permit applications for wells using high-volume hydraulic fracturing will be processed; and that high-volume hydraulic fracturing will be prohibited in New York State (emphasis added)."

See: DEC Final SGEIS: Unavoidable Adverse Environmental Impacts and Environmentally-Friendly Chemical Alternative Unacceptable

DEC concluded, "In the end, there are no feasible or prudent alternatives that would adequately avoid or minimize adverse environmental impacts and that address the scientific uncertainties and risks to public health from this activity. The Department’s chosen alternative to prohibit high-volume hydraulic fracturing is the best alternative based on the balance between protection of the environment and public health and economic and social considerations."

See: DEC Final SGEIS: High-Volume Hydraulic Fracturing Prohibition Statement

Comprehensive High-Volume Hydraulic Fracturing Prohibition Proposal

With that goal in mind, we request that you immediately fulfill our request and adopt the following revised HVHF language pursuant to Section 1. Subdivision 3 of Section 23-0501 of the Environmental Conservation Law:

3. (a) No permits shall be issued authorizing an applicant to drill, deepen, plug back, or convert wells that use horizontal, directional or any other form of drilling combined with high-volume hydraulic fracturing to extract, complete or recomplete natural gas or oil resources. For purposes of this section, high-volume hydraulic fracturing shall be defined as the injection or stimulation of a well using any amount of water, carbon dioxide, propane, nitrogen, natural gas or any other substance as the base fluid for hydraulic fracturing for any individual stage or the combined total of all stages in a well completion, regardless of whether the well is vertical, or directional, including horizontal.

New York's Existing Oil, Gas and Solution Mining Regulatory Program is Woefully Inadequate and Unacceptable

Our request is underscored by DEC's own data which document a wide array of public health and environmental hazards associated with oil and gas extraction efforts in the years since the Final SGEIS decision was adopted. It would be unthinkable to permit Marcellus Shale fracking using carbon dioxide and other non-water HVHF methods because your administration's existing regulatory enforcement activities are woefully inadequate.

See: 44 New York Natural Gas and Oil Extraction Problems That Reportedly Were Associated With Fires, Explosions, Drinking Water Contamination, Wetland Pollution or Uncontrolled Environmental Discharges Between 2011 - 2023 and Were Never Cleaned Up in Strict Compliance With All Applicable Regulatory Requirements According to State Department of Environmental Conservation Spill Records

Conclusion

We trust that you will find our respectful request self-explanatory, but please do not hesitate to contact us if you have any questions that we might be able to answer.

Thank you very much for your consideration.

Very respectfully yours,

cc:
Hon. Members of the New York State Assembly Environmental Conservation Committee
Hon. Members of the New York State Senate Environmental Conservation Committee
Hon. Members of the Broome, Chenango, Chemung, Tioga, Steuben, Allegany and Cattaraugus County Legislatures
Hon. James V. McDonald M.D., DOH Commissioner
Hon. Basil Seggos, DEC Commissioner

Total Signatory Count: 708

Kenny Derr
Human
103 Virginia Ave
Johnson City, NY
Greg Heist
1667 Slaterville Rd
Ithaca, NY
Duane Diviney
230 Valley Rd
Ithaca, NY
Russel Oliver
11 Sherman Rd
Kerhonkson , NY
James Hamilton
Town of Ithaca Conservation Board, Six Mile Creek Water Quality Monitor
1603 Slaterville Rd
Ithaca, NY
Lisa Montanus
Concerned CItizen
Salutation*
105 Cardinal Ct
WOODSTOCK, NY
Deborah Kahkejian
398 State Route 69
Williamstown , NY
Ronald Lytel
Lytel Design
87 Pioneer St
Cooperstown, NY
Linda Wiley
Po box 276
North Beach, MD
Joan Ross
36 Madison Avenue East
New Baltimore, NY
Paul Baumann
Team member
Toxics Targetting
101 Oak St
Brooklyn, New York
Molly Glesmann
9732 Starr Hill Rd
Remsen, NY
Curt Dunnam
5244 Perry City Rd.
Trumansburg, NY
Christine Bainbridge
1450 Mecklenburg Road
Ithaca, NY
Judy Hyman
Member
ENSAW
632 Bostwick Road
ITHACA, New York
Robert Nickerson
412 Hook Place
Ithaca , New York
Richard Andrews
2663 Slaterville RD
Slaterville Springs, NY
Tara Sumner
Vice President
Advocates for Springfield
PO Box 302
Springfield Center, NY
Raymond Stiefel
336 Rachel Carson Trail
Ithaca, NY
John Burns
8048 Lookout Point
Ovid, NY
John Stuhr
PO Bo 771
Rock Stream, NY
Susan Gateley
Lakeshore Environmental Action
14550 Lake street
sterling, NY
Bridget Wilson
P.O. Box 4224
Ithaca, Ny
Catherine Nolan
retired member of the nys assembly
6105 Grove Street
Ridgewood , NY
Samantha Romero
Delmar, NY
Christopher Mack
Associate Professor
SUNY Oswego
100 South St.,
Auburn, NY
Steve and Nancy Hallock
822 CENTER ST
Cleveland, NY
Elizabeth Poreba
New Lebanon, New York
BOX 338, New Lebanon
NEW YORK, NY
Richard Young
31 Stuyvesant Manor
Geneseo, NY
Peter Reese
49 Starin Avenue
Buffalo, New York
Maude Rith
540 Main St
Etna, NY
Bruce MacInnehs
739 Oquaga Lake Rd
Deposit, NY
Greg GRUNDTISCH
King
000
256 IROQUOIS AVE
LANCASTER, NY
Naomi Grundtisch
Queen
000
256 IROQUOIS AVE
LANCASTER, NY
Peter Bianco
190 Clinton Road
New Hartford, NY
Sharon Michales
4411 Vinegar Hill Rd
Skaneateles, New York
John Davis
Mr.
AA
10 Crownwood Lane
Queensbury , New York
Billie Sanders
1548 Sterling Station Road
Sterling , Ny
Ann McLaughlin
892 Butternut Ridge Rd.
Canton, NY
Robyn Bem
3 Ringwood Ct W
Ithaca, NY
Patricia Heaton
Member
Toxicstargeting
8 Morse Ave
Norwich, NY
Lynn Pritchard
8081 Martin Rd.
Wolcott , NY 14690
Carol LaBorie
3B Vista Lane
Ithaca, NY
Jane Fasullo
volunteer for a non-profit environmental club
68 Old Field Rd., Setauket, NY 11733
East Setauket, NY
Hubert Kimball
8223 Dexter Parkway
Baldwinsville, NY
Nancy Kasper
9393 York Settlement Rd
North Rose, NY
John McClelland
3507 Oakland St.
Ames, IA
Martha Sullivan
Mrs.
107 Henley Street
Rochester, New York
Anna Gibson
311 Bailor Rd
Brooktondale, NY
Sue Staropoli
506 panorama trail
Rochester, NY

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