delivered testimony of josh fox, producer/filmaker of "gasland" at hydrofracking forum (4/25/12)

8/2/2019 Delivered Testimony of Josh Fox, Producer/Filmaker of "Gasland" at Hydrofracking Forum (4/25/12)

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Testimony from Josh FoxI have asked the following questions of the Cuomo Administration and of JoeMartens and they have not been answered. I believe that the SGEIS is a fatallyflawed document and must be withdrawn immediately.Josh Fox

Questions for the Cuomo Administration for GAS LAN 0 2, 3/13/12

1. We have heard that the DEC is going to speed up its review of the over60,000 comments received on the SGEIS and come out with final regulations thisspring. Is this true? Since the first round of 14,000 public comments took over ayear to process, in what ways has the process changed to allow for this fast trackprocess to be done in an adequate and careful way?

2. The DSGEIS did not include a statistical evaluation of the rate of well failuresand subsequent methane migration into Underground Sources of Drinking Water(USDW) in the Pennsylvania Marcellus play. Are you aware that in 2011 alone,operators were cited over 120 times for methane migration resulting withcementing and/or casing failures, and that, despite the use of modern techniquesand additional regulations, this failure rate, over 6%, is similar to that which ischronic and well-known by the industry? Oil and gas wells in NYS commonlyalready have 3 or 4 strings of casing, as do wells in PA that have been found inviolation of methane migration restrictions. On what scientific basis can it bestated that having an intermediate casing string reduces the probability of loss ofwell integrity? Can the administration address the well known industry problemof well casing failure, which has been shown by industry documents to beupwards of 50% failure over a 30 year time frame. To protect groundwater thesewells have to last forever. What is the plan for dealing with this here to foreunsolvable problem?3. Can you address issues of radon in the Marcellus Shale? There are variousreports that show that the Marcellus shale contains radon gas that might nothave time to dissipate to an acceptable level if piped from locations in NY or PAinto New York City and that the radon in the gas would cause significant healthimpacts including a significant rise in cancer rates in consumers in New YorkCity. How does the Cuomo Administration address this potentially lethalproblem?In your answer, address the following: a) shale gas tends to have more radonthat conventional gas, as the gas has much more recently been in contact withthe parent radium that produces the radon; b) shale gas from the Marcellus has


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a lot more radon than does most shale gas, as the shale has more radium,thorium, and uranium in it; and c) radon decays with a half life of 3.8 daystherefore. moving gas from the Marcellus quickly into NYC will give consumershigh levels of radon.4. Questions about Fracking and Climate Change:4a) How do you address the new information that fracked shale gas wells releasemuch larger quantities of raw methane, a very potent greenhouse gas, into theatmosphere and that unconventional natural gas from shale is worse than coal interms of its potential to increase runaway climate change? (See enclosedcitations from NOAA, Cornell University, National Climate Assessment, et al.)4b) Renowned author, climate change expert, and grassroots leader BillMcKibben writes in the NY Review of books that a worldwide move towardsshale gas would be disastrous for the planet. He states that burning the worldreserves of shale gas would raise global temperature by 3.5 degrees. He writes:"As the International Energy Agency reported last summer, the numbers aresignificant: their projections for a "Golden Age of Gas" scenario haveatmospheric concentrations of C02 peaking at 650 parts per million andtemperature rising 3.5 degrees Celsius, far higher than all the experts believe issafe." Given that a rise in global temperature of 3.5 degrees Celsius and thecorresponding rise in sea level would have grave implications for coastal areas inNew York including New York City, why is the impact of shale gas on globalwarming not a consideration in the SGEIS or in any of the CuomoAdministration's statements about large scale gas development?

5. Why was there no attempt to include representatives from the vast array ofgrassroots organizations that have sprung up throughout New York in the pastthree years on the Cuomo Administration's advisory panel on fracking? Whopicked the members of the panel? Why were no scientists appointed to thepanel?6. Recently the Ohio Department of Natural Resources released a report whichconcluded that waste disposal from fracking into UIC waste injection wells hascaused earthquakes, because of injection into regions with unmapped faults.Additionally, an operator has admitted that its fracking, not waste injection,operation caused earthquakes in England. Have these threats been addressedby the Cuomo Administration? How can the administration be certain thatearthquakes caused by fracking would notdamage the vital aqueducts that bringwater to New York City from the watershed or damage cement jobs in nearbywells?

OHIO DNR:


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http://www.ohiodnr.comlhome page/NewsReleases/tabid/18276/Entryld/2711/0hios-New-Rules-for-Brine-Disposal-Among-Nations- Toughest. aspxENGLAND: http://www.reuters.com/article/2011 111/02/us-gas-fracking-idUSTRE7 A 1600201111027. Will the New York City watershed be exempted from drilling? Will theSyracuse watershed be exempted from drilling? Will the Delaware River Basinbe exempted from drilling? Why? Why not extend those protections to all watersources/private water wells in the state?8. Real estate values have plunged in certain areas where heavy gas leasinghas occurred; what will the Cuomo Administration do to address the drop inproperty value in areas drilled for the residents who have not signed leases andhave had their property devalued simply by being adjacent to a drilling zone?What will the impact be on property tax collections for already struggling NYSlocal governments?9. What effect has the over 2 million dollars in gas industry lobbying had onAlbany and on the Cuomo Administration? What kinds of interactions with thegas industry has the administration had?10. The Governor has said numerous times that he wants science to inform theissue, then why not wait until the federal EPA studies on fracking effects onUSDWand on USDW contamination in Wyoming are released?11. Please tell me five chief points of Region 2 EPA's criticism of NY's DSGEISand how the new SGEIS and the Cuomo administration will address them.

12. Are the gas industries jobs numbers exaggerated? How many jobs can weexpect? How do gas industry jobs compare to jobs in renewable clean energysuch as solar, wind, hydropower and geothermal?13. What protections will New York afford to workers who are working withdangerous chemicals in the gas fields? Gas and oil workers in other states areregularly required to sign non-disclosure agreements with gas companies, whichstipulate that even if they get sick as a result of exposure to chemicals and otherhazardous wastes that they will be in violation of their non disclosure agreementsif they call a doctor that is not employed by the gas company. Will workers in gasoperations in New York be subject to this practice, or will more openness aboutworker safety and illness be mandated? How aggressively will New York stateprotect its workers from injury and potential chemical exposure?14. Has the Obama Administration's new position on Natural Gas, as stated inthe State of the Union address, influenced the Cuomo Administration? Whatconversations between the Obama Administration and the Cuomo Administration
http://www.ohiodnr.comlhome/http://www.reuters.com/article/2011http://www.reuters.com/article/2011http://www.ohiodnr.comlhome/


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have taken place in the last year about Natural Gas?15. It the SGEIS is approved, approximately how many shale gas wells can weexpect in New York state, and over what period of time?16. New York has given birth to a huge anti-tracking movement across the statein places that were not traditionally politically charged. Why hasn't GovernorCuomo addressed the movement in specific? Is the strength of the movementand the power of some of its most influential and outspoken participants beentruly assessed by the Cuomo administration?

17. Has the Natural Gas industry made specific campaign contributions to theCuomo Administration or promised to contribute to future campaigns?18. It has been shown that traffic accidents, traffic deaths, violent crime, sexualcrime and drug use all rise significantly in gas drilling boomtown areas. How willNew York deal with these issues? Will the cost of additional police and/ordamage to roads, communities, insurance rates, housing prices, individuals, etcbe born chiefly by tax payers of New York State or by the gas industry? Whatplanning has taken place to address these social costs?

19. Despite frequent statements by the operators in PA that they are recyclingalmost 100% of their flowback wastes, are you aware that in 2011 only 38% offlowback waste reported to the PA DEP was recycled? Given the absence of oiland gas industrial waste processing facilities and UIC disposal wells in NY, whyisn't recycling proposed as a regulation in the DSGEIS?20. What effort has there been to map abandoned and orphaned oil and gaswells throughout the state that could become conduits for the migration of frackfluid and/or gas and volatile organic compounds into underground sources ofdrinking water as was shown by EPA to occur in West Virginia? (see enclosedNY Times article) What effort has there been to map the natural fractures inpotential drilling areas which could also cause migration of frack fluid or VOCsand gas/oil into USDWas was shown to occur at Divide Creek in Colorado? (seeenclosed report)NYTIMES:http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/04Jus/04natgas.html?pagewanted:::allDivide Creek:http://cogcc.state.co.us/Ubrary/Presentations/GlenwQod Spgs HearingJuly 2009/(2 C) WestDivideCreek-2009.pdf21. Can you address the rumors that continue to abound about a pilot drillingprogram that would allow for hundreds of test wells to be drilled in NY State
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/04Jus/04natgas.html?pagewanted:::allhttp://cogcc.state.co.us/Ubrary/Presentations/GlenwQodhttp://cogcc.state.co.us/Ubrary/Presentations/GlenwQodhttp://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/04Jus/04natgas.html?pagewanted:::all


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before the approval of the SGEIS? Where would these wells be drilled? Whatcompanies would drill them? What has been the tenor of the conversations .between the Cuomo Administration and Industry. Doesn't a pilot drilling plan goaround the democratic SGEIS process? If no, why not?22) The DOE has slashed the estimates for the Marcellus by 66% and stated thatthe entire Marcellus play will only provide the nation with 6 years worth of gas atcurrent consumption rates. How would your administration justify the potentialand probably permanent contamination of water supplies for mill ions of peopletogether with the potential job losses in other industries which could be severelyimpacted by gas drilling such as wineries, tourism and basic agriculture for amere 6 years worth of gas? Particularly given that we now know other shaleplays around the country (Barnett and Fayetteville) are officially in decline only afew years after inception in spite of the claims that such plays would be economicpowerhouses for 30-60 years.23) Will the DEC continue to take the position of requiring the gas companies tofully disclose all the chemicals used in every phase of hydraulic fracturing? Howwill the DEC be certain that ALL of the chemicals are being disclosed? How willthe use of chemicals be monitored on site? Will the health effects of chemicalsused be widely distributed to landowners in drIlling areas and otherstakeholders? Will regular water testing be conducted In areas where chemicalsare used and will all chemicals known to be used in the drilling process be testedfor and if so, who wIll pay for these tests, tax payers or the gas industry? Whowill be responsible for baseline testing before dril ling begins?

delivered testimony of josh fox, producer/filmaker of "gasland" at hydrofracking forum (4/25/12)

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