The Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) conducted a public hearing about Marcellus Shale gas well drilling, in the Murray Kahn Theater on Tuesday, November 10, from 6:30 p.m. until approximately 1:00 a.m. This was the second of four New York State public hearings that allowed the public to express its concerns about the draft Supplemental Generic Environmental Impact Statement on the Oil, Gas, and Solution Mining Regulatory Program (SGEIS), an 809-page document describing the DEC’s plans to regulate natural gas drilling in New York State.

The SGEIS addresses current drilling techniques such as hydraulic fracturing, or hydrofracking, which is when large quantities of water, chemicals, and sand under high pressure are pumped into wells in shale rock in order to crack the shale and release the gas inside. New York drilling companies are targeting the Marcellus Shale basin because of the vast number of gas reserves it contains.

“The gas companies have determined that the Marcellus Shale is a good target for gas drilling,” said Kathy Sanford, an employee of the DEC’s Department of Mineral Resources. “But other people are concerned that the method they want to use could impact water supplies.”

Seniors Marantha Dawkins, Gavin Gallagher, and Lazar Bozic helped publicize the event in school by putting up posters and handing out flyers. All three attended the hearing.

“It’s important for the DEC to have a public hearing because everyone deserves a right to voice their opinion,” said Dawkins, who witnessed the harmful effect of toxic chemicals used in natural gas drilling firsthand while visiting relatives in upstate New York. “So what if natural gas can help us be more independent of oil? That is a major issue, of course, but is it worth opening up even more problems? Humans need to learn to stop being the bane of the earth’s existence.”

The public was allowed to enter the theater and sign up to speak at the hearing starting at 5:30 p.m. DEC representatives stood outside the auditorium during that time to answer questions and present a series of maps showing both the New York watershed and Marcellus Shale basin, and how thick the shale is in each area.

Over 160 people signed up to speak at the hearing, including government officials, environmental organization representatives, and drilling company representatives. Each person was allotted five minutes to speak, and a stenographer was present to record everything down for later review. DEC employees informed the audience that written comments could also be put on record if submitted through either mail or e-mail before Thursday, December 31.

The first speaker was Deputy Mayor for Operations Representative Edward Skyler. Once Skyler began speaking, an audience member marched on stage and said, “We want a total statewide ban. We don’t want more hearings.” The audience cheered while DEC officers escorted the man offstage. Skyler then continued with his testimonial, which advocated banning drilling in the New York watershed.

The second speaker was Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer who said, “The prospect of natural gas drilling in the New York City watershed is the greatest environmental threat facing New Yorkers today.”

According to Stringer, the mitigation measures taken by the DEC to protect the watershed are insufficient. As of now, the DEC requires an environmental review of any site before drilling permits can be issued. This includes requiring the drilling company to identify all chemicals used, and ensuring that the chemicals and waste fluids are handled safely during and after drilling.

Stringer provided Pennsylvania as an example of how problems can be caused by inadequate regulation. “Contaminated drinking water [is] fouled by sludge and sediment and brown bubbles,” Stringer said. “Believe it or not, in some [Pennsylvanian] homes, you can light the tap water on fire.”

Stringer added that the filtration systems New York would have to build would cost between 10 billion and 30 billion dollars to construct and a million dollars per day to operate.

The third speaker was Councilman Jim Gennaro, who advocated replacing the current draft with a ban on hydrofracking, because there is no requirement for full disclosure of the chemicals used during the process.

Other speakers who were critical of the SGEIS were representatives for organizations such as River Keeper, the New York Urban Program at the Natural Resources Defense Council, and Earth Justice.

One of the few in favor of hydrofracking was Business Council of New York State CEO Kenneth Adams, who was met with ‘boos’ and hostile laughter from the public when he began to speak.

“Marcellus Shale natural gas development will create jobs and provide economic growth for many financially depressed communities in upstate,” Adams said. Adams then described the revenue that would be produced from making natural gas a major source of energy in New York.

Vice President of Chesapeake Energy Scott Rotruck also advocated expanding natural gas drilling in New York. Chesapeake Energy is a drilling company that voluntarily decided not to drill in the New York watershed. However, Rotruck said, “We can drill safely in any watershed.” He stated that one benefit of this would be a decrease in dependency on foreign oil. One audience member shouted “liar” during Rotruck’s speech.

Although he did not attend the hearing, biology teacher Jerry Citron said, “The DEC has a mixed track record with respect to environmental regulation. The science still has not come out to suggest that if the gas companies try to extract gas that it’s not going to cause harm.”

After hearing all testimonies from the hearings, the DEC will make any necessary changes to the SGEIS and produce a finalized copy to go into effect next year.