Cayuga County | Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | New York | Public Opinion | Regulation | Wastewater
Auburn, NY Rescinds Ban on Gas Drilling Wastewater
Wiser heads have prevailed in the upstate New York Finger Lakes community of Auburn—the Auburn city council has voted to once again allow the municipal sewage treatment plant to accept gas drilling wastewater.
As you may recall, MDN told you about protesters who descended on the tiny city of Auburn last year to protest not Marcellus wastewater being treated at the sewage plant, but local conventional gas drilling wastewater—something that had been going on for 15 years with no adverse effects (see this MDN story). In the rush to condemn fracking and prevent horizontal drilling in the state, ignorant protesters have fallen into the trap of protesting all gas drilling in the state—drilling that has gone on for decades.
This week will be important for the effort to get shale gas drilling moving in New York State. The state Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) is conducting a series of four public hearings nominally to accept comments on the most recent changes to the draft drilling regulations, also known as the SGEIS (Supplemental Generic Environmental Impact Statement). MDN says “nominally” because each of the four events will be used by both those for and against drilling to try and show their side has the most support.
It appears the fine, upstanding protesters of the Occupy Wall Street movement—the same people who want to abolish capitalism and redistribute all wealth from producers to those who won’t work—are prime targets to be recruited to oppose fracking. Birds of a feather…
Central and northwest Pennsylvania saw record-breaking amounts of rainfall from Tropical Storm Lee, and massive flooding along with it. It brought devastation to a wide area of Pennsylvania. Although some accuse the Marcellus drilling industry of only being in it for the buck, a number of drillers stepped up to the plate to help with flood relief.
A list of 250+ physicians and other health care professionals, along with the usual group of opposition groups, sent a letter to New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo yesterday requesting more study of shale gas drilling’s affects on health before approving new regulations and issuing permits to drill. A copy of their letter is embedded below.
Daniel Yergin, a Pulitzer Prize-winning author and member of President Obama’s energy subcommittee examining shale gas, says the debate about whether or not to drill for shale gas is already over and decided—shall gas drilling is here to stay.