CITIZEN POWER ALLIANCE

This week I had the opportunity to moderate and co-produce a panel with the SUNY New Paltz Environmental Task Force at SUNY New Paltz, "The Future of Gas Drilling in New York State," primarily focusing on the process of hydraulic fracturing in the Marcellus Shale formation, including parts that lay in the New York City watershed. Hydraulic fracturing, also known as "fracking," uses massive amounts of water and chemicals to access oil and gas trapped in hard-to-reach shale formations. The EPA has urged state regulators to further study the environmental impact of such techniques primarily because the federal government has no oversight in this matter.

The panelists included James Gennaro, chairman of the New York City Council Environmental Protection Committee, Kate Sinding, senior attorney for Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), Scott Rotruck, vice president of corporate development for Chesapeake Energy, Stuart Gruskin, executive deputy commissioner, New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC), and Wes Gillingham, program director, Catskill Mountain Keeper. There was also a closing keynote by U.S. Congressman Maurice Hinchey, D-New York 22nd District.

Attended by over two hundred people, the session was well received by a well-informed and impassioned audience. The conversation between the panelists was sophisticated, with an incredible amount of information proffered. The issues inherent in this particular situation are quite complicated. First, natural gas trapped in the Marcellus Shale, according to Congressman Hinchey, can satisfy the entire nation's current energy needs for the next twenty-five years. However, based on current science, he is firmly against any drilling that utilizes fracking. He is not opposed to the use of natural gas; he is opposed to this particular method of obtaining it.

(Click to read the entire article)