Fracking Found Safe In New York; Let Revolution Begin

Investor Business Daily Editorial 1/4/2013

Though the public is learning about it just now, New York officials said nearly a year ago that fracking is not necessarily a hazard to public health. With that question answered, the state should clear the way for the fracking boom that is already a material economic driver to produce even greater gains.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo reportedly has been long aware of the February 2012 research compiled by state officials, who concluded that hydraulic fracturing could be performed safely in New York. Yet amid political pressure from the environmentalist lobby, he buried the findings. The report became public in recent days when a copy was leaked to a newspaper.

When Cuomo campaigned, he indicated he was open to approving the process, which has been shut down in New York since a 2008 moratorium. But he's apparently nervous about crossing those opposed to it.

We suggest Cuomo stiffen his spine. The benefits of fracking are phenomenal.

Fracking uses fluids injected under pressure to shatter rock and release oil and natural gas. It is not a new process. But it has been modernized and is taking energy output to new heights.

In 2008, the U.S. produced only 6.9 million barrels of oil per day, a significant drop from the 10 million produced during the 1980s. Thanks in part to fracking, output rose to 8.1 million a day by the end of 2011. By 2020 it could reach 11.1 million, the International Energy Agency says. That's 500,000 more barrels a day than Saudi Arabia is projected to produce at that time.

Fracking has also lifted natural gas output. As the Los Angeles Times

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New York's Fracking Phobia

The Wall Street Journal, WSJ.com January 2, 2013 Review and Outlook

Most Americans by now know about the natural gas revolution and its potential. It's become possible through a process called hydraulic fracturing, whereby water and chemicals are used to force previously unrecoverable deposits from shale rock. The technology is bringing new wealth to workers in many states. Except New York. Governor Andrew Cuomo seems content to let the people in the depressed counties of upstate New York watch the rest of the country benefit from fracking.

The state's Department of Environmental Protection is expected to finish an environmental review in February and perhaps issue drilling regulations by the end of that month. Theoretically this would end a four-year moratorium on fracking.

But Mr. Cuomo said recently that he'll have to await word from a newly appointed health review board. His appointees are being cheered by drilling critics, perhaps because they have previously criticized the health risks of fracking. The process of delays gives the strong impression that Mr. Cuomo is looking for a pretext to keep the ban in place. Fracking opponents have vowed to mount legal challenges to any regulatory green light, and the industry is now saying 2013 looks like it will be a lost year in New York.

Fracking was a major issue last year in local elections upstate, where candidates in favor of it trounced those opposed. We doubt residents of these areas are eager for an environmental catastrophe. They've observed that the alleged risks of fracking—such as groundwater contamination—haven't happened as shale drilling boomed in nearby...

Comments (2)

Letter from NYS DEC Commissioner Martens

Dear Friends and Natural Gas Supporters,

Your calls and letters have been heard! Attached below is a letter from Commissioner Martens sent to the JLCNY at the direction of Governor Cuomo. We are cautiously optimistic that the DEC will soon complete the SGEIS and regulations.

Thank you for your support and please keep up your good work. Our state and local communities need you now more than ever.

Warm Regards,
Dan Fitzsimmons, President
Joint Landowners Coalition of New York, Inc

DF/sk/brc

Attachments:
File	File size
Commissioner Martens Letter January 2 2013.pdf	66 Kb

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Gas Drilling Is Called Safe in New York

One might question why this article was even written and published. It really covers no new ground, just look at DEC comments in the article. JLCpulse

By DANNY HAKIM Published: January 3, 2013 in the New York Times

ALBANY — The state’s Health Department found in an analysis it prepared early last year that the much-debated drilling technology known as hydrofracking could be conducted safely in New York, according to a copy obtained by The New York Times from an expert who did not believe it should be kept secret.

The analysis and other health assessments have been closely guarded by Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo and his administration as the governor weighs whether to approve fracking. Mr. Cuomo, a Democrat, has long delayed making a decision, unnerved in part by strident opposition on his party’s left. A plan to allow a limited amount of fracking in the state’s Southern Tier...

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Guest Viewpoint: Natural gas can inspire 'wonderful life'

6:07 PM, Dec 31, 2012 in Pressconnects.com Written by Bob Tiberio

’Tis the season to be jolly. But instead of spreading peace and good will, each side in the natural gas debate accuses the other of deceit. Gas opponents claim all sorts of unholy things will happen if “fracking” is allowed in New York. Gas supporters say opponents are fear-mongering. Environmental activists accuse landowners and the gas industry of greed, irresponsibility and even malfeasance. Say, isn’t that what George Bailey was accused of in the classic holiday movie “It’s a Wonderful Life”?

Before horizontal drilling was perfected, natural gas from vertical (and fracked) wells was getting scarce and very expensive. The fact is, if there’s going to be plenty of affordable natural gas in the future it’s going to be produced mostly from shale. So in the spirit of the season and that beloved Jimmy Stewart movie, let’s see what things would be like if shale gas technology had never been “born.”

To begin with, the air would be more polluted. According to the Union of Concerned Scientists, thousands of people would die prematurely from asthma, bronchitis, lung cancer and heart disease because of the increase in air pollutants like sulfur, mercury and nitrogen oxides produced by burning more coal. But breathe easy, because natural gas produces almost none of these harmful chemicals.

Unemployment would increase and the economic recovery would be even slower. Shale gas development has added tens of thousands of jobs directly and hundreds of thousands indirectly, including 44,000 in New York. Shale gas has made...

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MOVIE REVIEW: 'Promised Land' is a frackin’ mess

By Al Alexander For The Patriot Ledger Posted Dec 28, 2012 @ 07:35 AM

With “Good Will Hunting,” Matt Damon adhered to the writers’ credo of sticking with what you know. But with his latest script, the anti-fracking tale “Promised Land,” he ventures far beyond his New England comfort zone. He also for the first time is opting not to collaborate with someone not named Affleck, teaming instead with Newton native John Krasinski. And while it’s admirable that Damon is so keen on expanding his horizons, the result is a frackin’ mess.

No doubt he and his “Office” boy Krasinski, have good intentions, looking to use their clout to get the message out about a geological practice that poisons soil, water and people’s minds. But like fracking, the injection of undisclosed chemicals into shale to force natural gas to the surface, the way they go about it is a bit dubious. It’s also frequently condescending toward the money-strapped Midwestern agrarians they’re attempting to champion.

I don’t think I’m going out on a limb when I suggest that neither Damon nor Krasinski, who also play the film’s leads, have ever set foot in Iowa or Nebraska, the states they viciously patronize. In their eyes, the residents there are gullible, unworldly and ripe for the taking by corporate shills like Damon’s Steve Butler and Frances McDormand’s Sue Thomason, both of whom display about as much respect for the locals as do our intrepid writers.

But then, “Promised...

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Thank you for providing a summary of your accomplishments in your first 24 months of office.

Letter to the governor

Dear Governor Cuomo:

Thank you for providing a summary of your accomplishments in your first 24 months of office.

As a native New Yorker and 50+ year resident of the State of New York, I commend your accomplishments in your first 24 months. No doubt we are on a good track.

However, I must point out one issue which has not been resolved or for that matter even commented on in your report. That being establishing a long term policy and ruling on natural gas exploration in the State of New York. As a resident of the Southern Tier of NY I have personally witnessed the prosperity of communities, citizens, and businesses in nearby Pennsylvania have realized as a result of natural gas exploration and in particular the shale gas opportunity.

In 2008 your predecessor implemented a moratorium on horizontal drilling, and hydrofracking technology. Since then the NYSDEC has undertaken over 4 years of studies, public comments and research. They have drafted rules, followed processes and allowed for public hearing and comments and now been granted an additional 90 day period before releasing what will hopefully be a final proposal and policy which you will adopt and support.

I wholeheartedly agree that this process is absolutely necessary, and should not be rushed or taken lightly.

There are public health and safety considerations which are every bit as important as the potential economic impact that this industry offers to the citizens, communities and businesses either currently here in NY or potentially...

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Anti-fracking activism

Mr Governor, We wish you would pay attention to the fact that the voices you are hearing the loudest are a vocal, well funded, likely non resident minority. The landowners are the silent suffering group that your actions have hurt! JLCpulse

By Wendy Wiedenbeck Posted: 12/29/2012 01:00:00 AM MST in Dailycamera

Earlier this month, I attended a hearing of the Boulder County commission about oil and gas regulations. I went there to speak for my employer, Encana Oil & Gas, and the 1,150 men and women who work for the company in Colorado. Activists who want to ban oil and gas production hijacked the meeting, chanted slogans and yelled insults at county commissioners Cindy Domenico, Deb Gardner and Will Toor.

When I spoke, I was heckled and threatened. Afterwards, activists followed me and one of my colleagues into the street, continued to threaten us and attempted to block our car. After driving several blocks we parked the car to -- breathe. Things took a strange and even scarier turn when we were blocked in by a large SUV and realized a man had followed our vehicle on foot. This man ultimately caught up with us and pounded on the car window. In the end, we needed a police escort back to my vehicle and ultimately out of town.

It's been more than two weeks since that meeting, and since the Boulder County commissioners denounced the activists for "mob harassment" and "shutting out voices...

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Andrew’s Football Follies

Posted: December 31, 2012 New York Post Post Editorial

So, New York now plays second-fiddle to . . . Ohio?

So noted Wall Street Journal editorialist Jason Riley last week: Two governors in states “well-positioned to take advantage of the nation’s shale gas boom” are going in very different directions.

Thus far, Ohio’s John Kasich has lapped New York’s Andrew Cuomo. Big time.

Seeing what the shale oil and gas extraction process of fracking has done economically for neighboring Pennsylvania, Kasich committed his state to a similar course.

Indeed, he’s using the expanded tax revenues coming from shale exploration to overhaul Ohio’s tax code.

AP

Andrew Cuomo

To wit, Kasich intends to raise so-called severance taxes on shale drillers while simultaneously cutting income taxes — a plan likely to pass next year.

Leaving the Empire State stuck in the starting gate. Again.

As Riley notes, Cuomo’s idea of “development” for the shale-rich yet economically bombed-out upstate region is . . . subsidies for the Buffalo Bills football team.

Seriously.

Cuomo fulfilled an admitted “top priority” by keeping the Bills in Buffalo (the team has been flirting with a move to Toronto for several years) — via $226 million in public subsidies for stadium renovations.

It’s nice that there’s a New York NFL...

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IHS: All Lower 48 states benefiting from shale

Monday, December 24, 2012 10:20 AM ET
IHS: All Lower 48 states benefiting from shale

By Bryan Schutt

The unconventional oil and gas revolution is contributing to the economies both inside and outside the shale boom, according to a recent study from IHS.

The study, part of a series documenting the economic benefits of unconventional oil and gas production, measured the impact of unconventional activities in terms of jobs, economic value and government revenue for each state. Researchers looked at state-by-state results to conclude that, unsurprisingly, the economic contributions of shale are mostly driven by activity in the 16 states with production. Activity in the top 10 producing states supports nearly 1.2 million jobs, according to the report.

While two states with a rich history of development, Texas and Oklahoma, had a combined total of more than 650,000 jobs in 2012 linked to unconventional activity, Pennsylvania, North Dakota and Ohio had a combined 180,000 jobs linked to unconventional oil and gas activity.

The report also found that a significant portion of economic activity is also found in the nonproducing states. The 32 states in the Lower 48 that lack major unconventional...

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Fracking Found Safe In New York; Let Revolution Begin

New York's Fracking Phobia

Letter from NYS DEC Commissioner Martens

Gas Drilling Is Called Safe in New York

One might question why this article was even written and published. It really covers no new ground, just look at DEC comments in the article. JLCpulse

By DANNY HAKIM Published: January 3, 2013 in the New York Times

Guest Viewpoint: Natural gas can inspire 'wonderful life'

MOVIE REVIEW: 'Promised Land' is a frackin’ mess

Thank you for providing a summary of your accomplishments in your first 24 months of office.

Anti-fracking activism

Andrew’s Football Follies

IHS: All Lower 48 states benefiting from shale

More Articles...