Environmental Impacts of Gas Well Drilling

The final scoping document for the Draft Supplemental Generic Environmental Impact Statement on the Oil, Gas and Solution Mining Regulatory Program has just been released by the DEC. The pdf files that you can download are on the right hand side of this page. I will post more comments after reading through it.

Susan Riha, WRI Director

The period for comments on the draft scoping document for the Supplemental Generic Environmental Impact Statement (SGEIS) on unconventional gas well drilling is closed.  Here are comments on the draft scoping document from Cornell faculty  (cornell-comments-on-the-draft-scope-of-the-dsgeis-regarding-gas-well-drilling), Tompkins County (tcpd-scoping-comments), and the US Geological Survey (scope-dsgeis-081015-usgs-comments).  I will keep you posted as to when the final scoping document will be released.

Susan Riha, WRI Director

Now is the time to submit your comments on the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation draft scoping document (http://www.dec.ny.gov/energy/47554.html) for a Supplemental Generic Environmental Impact Statement (SGEIS) on unconventional gas well drilling.  This is a long scoping document, but the key part is the last few pages.  Comments are due by Dec. 15 and can be submitted via email to dmnog@gw.dec.state.ny.us with “Scope Comments” as the Subject.

Why is this important?  The scoping document determines what issues and concerns will be addressed in the SGEIS.  The SGEIS establishes the type and degree of environmental mitigation that will be required of gas companies in order to be issued a permit to drill for gas using horizontal hydrofracing techniques.

Susan Riha, WRI Director