CITIZEN POWER ALLIANCE

Chesapeake Energy Corp. has warned that new rules proposed by New York regulators over shale gas drilling already are unnecessarily onerous and may deprive New York of badly needed revenue by scaring off energy firms.

"The measures proposed…will be more burdensome than any of those placed on our industry throughout the United States and will more than adequately ensure that the development of the Marcellus shale natural gas formation in New York will occur with sufficient environmental safeguards," Chesapeake said.

Objections concerning the methods used to extract the gas arose after the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) extended the public comment period on the draft supplemental generic environmental impact statement (DSGEIS) governing natural gas drilling activities in the Marcellus shale formation to Dec. 31, 2009, from Nov. 30, 2009.

The DEC invited comments on the DSGEIS, which it said “addresses the range of potential impacts of shale gas development using horizontal drilling and high-volume hydraulic fracturing and outlines safety measures, protection standards and mitigation strategies that operators would have to follow to obtain permits.”

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