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Received January 17th from Kevin McCabe via Steve Herz:
I want to get the word out to all
the coalition and pro drilling people who are sending me e-mails that I am
getting them and reading them. However, I am getting hundreds of e-mails and it
is impossible to answer them all. If you could get that word around that would
be helpful. I don't want to discourage them from writing, but I don't want them
to think I am ignoring them either.
Thanks
Kevin
January 14, 2009
We received this today via email. Participation in this effort is extremely important.
Good
Afternoon-
A couple of weeks ago, I asked you to send our County Executive a note letting
her know that you support her reasonable pro-natural gas drilling stance.
The response was overwhelming and has made her understand that she has
support. Thank-you.
Now, I am again asking you to send an email, this time to Kevin McCabe letting
him know that you support safe gas drilling. Kevin is the representative
for Governor Patterson for this area. Kevin has requested that you drop
him an email at Kevin.McCabe@chamber.state.ny.us
He has been receiving many emails from those opposed to gas
drilling & it’s time we became pro-active. I believe that Kevin will
take all responsible emails to the Governor. Please be certain to make a
logical statement as to why you are urging him to do whatever is possible to
have DEC complete their SGEIS study as quickly as possible & then begin
permitting for Marcellus drilling immediately. He will not accept any
anonymous emails, so let him know who is sending it.
You may feel free to pass this email along (in fact, I urge you to do so) to
any reasonable, pro-drilling advocate & to ask any coalitions to place this
request on their website, and for those of you who are involved in an
organization-please spread the word. It’s important that our Governor
understand the need for this opportunity to proceed.
Thank-you.
Steve Herz
January 11, 2009
In early November 2009 Toxic Targeting, Inc. President Walter Hang released a report claiming there were 270 incidents of gas & oil spills in NYS over the past 30 years. Here is a letter from Commissioner Grannis to Assemblyman Parment in response to the report.
Letter from Grannis to Parment
On December 21st the Joint Landowner's Coalition (JLC) composed a letter to Commissioner Grannis as part of the public comment period for the dSGEIS. This letter was signed by all members of the JLC and represented 16, 240 households.
December 21, 2009
Friday, December 18, 2009
Contact:
Jeff
Eshelman • 202-857-4774 • jeff@energyindepth.org
Chris Tucker • 202-346-8825 • chris@energyindepth.org
*
* *
Lies, Damned Lies, and Walter Hang’s Statistics
Ithaca
activist scores lots of coverage over claim of “270 oil and gas spills in New
York” – but what do the data ACTUALLY say?
Walter
Hang knows his way around a government database. And it’s a good thing he does.
As president of the Ithaca, N.Y.-based Toxics
Targeting, Inc., Mr. Hang’s entire business depends on being able to access
and track all sorts of state, local and federal environmental data, and then
distill that information into accurate, up-to-date reports for his customers.
So when Mr. Hang released
a report last month listing “270 oil and gas spills” in New York over the
past 30 years, data he derived from government sources, the public took notice.
And the media did too.
A
lot of notice. A quick internet search for “Walter Hang” and “270” returns more
than 1,000 individual media and blog mentions, including prominent
pieces in several area newspapers, plenty
of extended radio spots, and on local television
from far Upstate to the Southern Tier.
And
to his credit, Mr. Hang gives a great interview. His argument, always
impassioned, goes something like this: “DEC’s own data,” found right here in my
report, prove that oil and gas exploration is unsafe; DEC has severe
“regulatory shortcomings” and cannot be trusted to oversee shale gas
exploration; and finally, the draft DEC regulatory document governing the
Marcellus is “inadequate.” It cannot be fixed. It cannot be amended. It can
only be destroyed. My report – have I mentioned that? – well, it proves it.
In
reality, it’s not much of a “report” at all. Found
here on Mr. Hang’s website, it appears simply to be a compilation of
incident sheets downloaded directly from DEC’s spill database (available for
public search here)
and marked up furiously with a highlighter. But what do the numbers actually
say? Well, Energy In Depth took a look at the data -- for real this time. And
what we found might just knock you off your chair.
First,
let’s have Mr.
Hang set the baseline for us:
|
“I just posted data at [on my website] for 270 oil and gas spills in New York State that have caused fires, explosions, home evacuations, polluted drinking water wells as well as long-term impacts on forests, streams, wetlands, ponds and other waterways.” |
270 oil and natural gas spills – a claim, remember, that Mr. Hang makes in support of his larger argument that DEC cannot do, and indeed has not done, an “adequate” job of regulating the exploration and production of oil and natural gas in the state of New York.
Now let’s compare that assertion with the actual facts:
|
· Total number of spills over past 30 years, across entire state, related to oil and natural gas exploration & production: 161 (not 270) · Total number of spills documented in DEC’s database over the past 30 years: 354,615 · Percentage of total spills tied to oil or natural gas exploration: 0.045% (45 thousandths of one percent) · Number of incidental spills reported over same period at gas stations (and in no way related to oil or gas exploration): 30,122 |
Catch all that? The process of exploring for, and eventually producing, oil and natural gas in New York over the past three decades is responsible for one-forty-thousandth of one percent (!) of the total spillage recorded over that time. Still too high? Let’s take a look at the numbers just for natural gas:
|
· Number of DEC-recorded spills tied to the exploration or production of natural gas: 45 · Out of a total, 30-year spill total of: 354,615 · For a total spill percentage of: 0.0123% |
It’s important to keep in mind here that New York is not Rhode Island. New Yorkers have been producing natural gas in their state longer than anyone; indeed, the world’s first commercial gas well was developed in Fredonia nearly 190 years ago. Today, the state supports more than 14,000 individual natural gas wells. And over the past 30 years, those wells have delivered more than 800 billion cubic feet of natural gas to consumers in New York and elsewhere.
We’ll say it again: More than 800 billion cubic feet of natural gas in 30 years. And in that time – 45 spills.
From where do the remaining 354,000 spills originate? Let’s run through the list:
|
· 100,929 (28.5%) -- commercial/industrial sites · 69,719 (19.7%) -- residential (private dwelling) sites. · 63,121 (17.8%) -- transportation (automobile, railroads, trucks) · 35,072 (9.9%) -- institutional sites · 30,122 (8.5%) – simple spills at gas stations. |
No one should doubt Mr. Hang’s sincerity and passion, and certainly no one can discount his ability to organize a crowd. Indeed, according to reports, Mr. Hang has secured more than 6,000 signatures from folks who apparently believe, like he does, that natural gas exploration is responsible for hundreds of catastrophic spills over the past 30 years, and is bound to account for many, many more in the future. His report “proves” it.
But
as our analysis indicates, one that is easily corroborated by simply taking the
time to look through the sheets, Mr. Hang’s well-publicized efforts to target
and eliminate sources of oil and gas spillage in New York would be more
appropriately directed at several other places: starting with his local gas
station, and extending all the way through to his office space. Now that’s a
report we’ll be anxious to read.
In
the meantime, we’ve got jobs to create, revenue to generate, and a public
comment period to show up for – one that closes in 13 days. Click here to make your views
known to DEC. And here to
keep up on what’s going down.
Additional
resources available at Energy
In Depth:
- Send a Letter to DEC: Through the Energy In Depth portal, or (and?) via our friends from IOGA NY.
- Issue Alert: Gangs of New York
- Issue Alert: Sign of the Times
- Fact Sheet: HF Opponents Say the Darndest Things
- Graphic: What’s In Frac Fluids?
- EPA Study: Study to Evaluate the Impacts to USDWs by Hydraulic Fracturing of Coalbed Methane Reservoirs
______________________________________________________________
December 15, 2009
There are many opportunities out there now to show your support of a forward movement of responsible gas drilling. Almost everyday different groups and elected officials are making their positions heard in the news. Many of these voices are against drilling. Many of these groups have been active for years and have the time, staff and finances to lobby against gas drilling. Those of us for drilling need to work even harder to let those in decision making rolls know that there is also support for drilling. Please visit our One Voice page to learn how you can help.
December 18, 2009
We have uploaded some photos of wells in downtown Ft. Worth. Check them out now.
