Friday, April 11, 2008
Monday, April 7, 2008
Neutral for now, UDC explores gas drilling saga
NARROWSBURG, NY -
Claiming neutrality at this point on the gas drilling issue, the Upper Delaware Council (UDC) in Narrowsburg is seeking information and expecting to work with the National Park Service on presenting a public seminar on what is going on.
Vidal Martinez, Park Service Superintendent on the Upper Delaware Scenic & Recreational River, told the UDC Thursday night that the Park Service has been asked numerous times to present information on the issue. Also stating they are not taking a position, Martinez asked the UDC to help.
How gas drilling will impact the region is unknown, said UDC Director William Douglass. “We need a lot more information; will it leave a farmer’s fields a mess, will it tear up the roads?” The Council approved going ahead with setting up a program. Douglas stated that the Delaware Highland Conservancy and the Catskill Montainkeeper organization both offered assistance.
They may not always be able to stay neutral. George Fluhr, who represents Shohola Township on the UDC, reminded that ultimately a position will be needed, once they determine what impact gas drilling may have on the River Management Plan.
The UDC was formed in 1988 to oversee the River Management Plan, a document authorized by Congress as a guide to protect the natural, cultural and historic resources of the Upper Delaware river corridor.
Fluhr noted there is concern to what extent the Wayne County townships bordering the river will defend the Plan, since they have not joined the UDC. Once researched to satisfaction, the UDC must decide whether to oppose or support gas drilling in the region, and may decide to work closely with the townships which have concerns about the impact as well.
Quarry quandary
• UDC is closely watching a planned expansion of the Holbert Bros. bluestone quarry in Lackawaxen Township. A protracted conditional use hearing held its first session in March, to be continued April 10 (5:30 p.m., Lackawaxen Twp, Municipal Buidling). Douglass noted that the applicant is requesting a 40 acre quarry within the bounds of the river corridor, and the River Management Plan only allows four acres. The UDC is deciding whether to seek legal counsel to represent the UDC at the hearing sessions. Charles Wieland, Town of Tusten delegate, raised the question of what action the UDC could pursue to enforce the Plan, should the Township rule in favor of the applicant. Lackawaxen is currently in “substantial conformance” with the River Management Plan meaning the township ordinances conform to the Plan.
• Reservoir levels affecting the Upper Delaware are high, said Robert Tudor, Delaware River Basin Commission (DRBC). In fact, the Cannnonsville on the West Branch and the Pepacton the East Branch are both spilling. The average river flow in March, measured at Montague, NJ, was 24,623 cubic feet per second, which is way over the norm of 8,820 cfs for that time of year. Reservoir storage is 115.3 billion gallons over the DRBC’s drought warning line.
• Pa. Governor Ed Rendell can expect a thank you note soon from the UDC, for taking an unusually proactive stand on the need for accelerated spring time releases from the reservoirs, for flood mitigation. Given the high reservoir levels, and the predicted wet spring, further releases now would allow for empty reservoir space and less chance for a catastrophe. New York City manages the reservoirs for drinking supply and requires them to be full in time for the normally drier summer when water demand is highest.
• Phil Chase, UDC’s Town of Deerpark delegate, also raised concern how excess water in the reservoirs will be addressed should the Delaware Aqueduct System tunnel be closed in 2011 as expected, and water no longer channeled to the City that way. The notoriosly leaky Rondout-West Branch tunnel would be shut down for repairs. Tudor said that the DRBC is investigating the same question.
• The UDC’s 20th Annual Awards Ceremony banquet is set April 27 in Hancock. Individuals, organizations and projects that have enhanced the quality of life or protected the resources of the river corridor will be honored. Contact the UDC for details.
The UDC meets on the first Thursday at 7:30 p.m. at their offices, 211 Bridge St., Narrowsburg, NY. The office may be contacted at (845)252-3022.
link is here:
http://www.wayneindependent.com/news/x1056546431
Claiming neutrality at this point on the gas drilling issue, the Upper Delaware Council (UDC) in Narrowsburg is seeking information and expecting to work with the National Park Service on presenting a public seminar on what is going on.
Vidal Martinez, Park Service Superintendent on the Upper Delaware Scenic & Recreational River, told the UDC Thursday night that the Park Service has been asked numerous times to present information on the issue. Also stating they are not taking a position, Martinez asked the UDC to help.
How gas drilling will impact the region is unknown, said UDC Director William Douglass. “We need a lot more information; will it leave a farmer’s fields a mess, will it tear up the roads?” The Council approved going ahead with setting up a program. Douglas stated that the Delaware Highland Conservancy and the Catskill Montainkeeper organization both offered assistance.
They may not always be able to stay neutral. George Fluhr, who represents Shohola Township on the UDC, reminded that ultimately a position will be needed, once they determine what impact gas drilling may have on the River Management Plan.
The UDC was formed in 1988 to oversee the River Management Plan, a document authorized by Congress as a guide to protect the natural, cultural and historic resources of the Upper Delaware river corridor.
Fluhr noted there is concern to what extent the Wayne County townships bordering the river will defend the Plan, since they have not joined the UDC. Once researched to satisfaction, the UDC must decide whether to oppose or support gas drilling in the region, and may decide to work closely with the townships which have concerns about the impact as well.
Quarry quandary
• UDC is closely watching a planned expansion of the Holbert Bros. bluestone quarry in Lackawaxen Township. A protracted conditional use hearing held its first session in March, to be continued April 10 (5:30 p.m., Lackawaxen Twp, Municipal Buidling). Douglass noted that the applicant is requesting a 40 acre quarry within the bounds of the river corridor, and the River Management Plan only allows four acres. The UDC is deciding whether to seek legal counsel to represent the UDC at the hearing sessions. Charles Wieland, Town of Tusten delegate, raised the question of what action the UDC could pursue to enforce the Plan, should the Township rule in favor of the applicant. Lackawaxen is currently in “substantial conformance” with the River Management Plan meaning the township ordinances conform to the Plan.
• Reservoir levels affecting the Upper Delaware are high, said Robert Tudor, Delaware River Basin Commission (DRBC). In fact, the Cannnonsville on the West Branch and the Pepacton the East Branch are both spilling. The average river flow in March, measured at Montague, NJ, was 24,623 cubic feet per second, which is way over the norm of 8,820 cfs for that time of year. Reservoir storage is 115.3 billion gallons over the DRBC’s drought warning line.
• Pa. Governor Ed Rendell can expect a thank you note soon from the UDC, for taking an unusually proactive stand on the need for accelerated spring time releases from the reservoirs, for flood mitigation. Given the high reservoir levels, and the predicted wet spring, further releases now would allow for empty reservoir space and less chance for a catastrophe. New York City manages the reservoirs for drinking supply and requires them to be full in time for the normally drier summer when water demand is highest.
• Phil Chase, UDC’s Town of Deerpark delegate, also raised concern how excess water in the reservoirs will be addressed should the Delaware Aqueduct System tunnel be closed in 2011 as expected, and water no longer channeled to the City that way. The notoriosly leaky Rondout-West Branch tunnel would be shut down for repairs. Tudor said that the DRBC is investigating the same question.
• The UDC’s 20th Annual Awards Ceremony banquet is set April 27 in Hancock. Individuals, organizations and projects that have enhanced the quality of life or protected the resources of the river corridor will be honored. Contact the UDC for details.
The UDC meets on the first Thursday at 7:30 p.m. at their offices, 211 Bridge St., Narrowsburg, NY. The office may be contacted at (845)252-3022.
link is here:
http://www.wayneindependent.com/news/x1056546431
The search for natural gas
The search for natural gas
Western Sullivan County might contain vast reserves
By Victor Whitman
Times Herald-Record
March 08, 2008 6:00 AM
LONG EDDY — Is Sullivan County sitting on a pot of gold?
Gas companies think so. Competing energy companies are exploring the possibility of drilling into long-suspected natural gas reserves in western Sullivan.
Several river towns, including Fremont, Delaware and Cochecton, are on the eastern edge of the Marcellus Shale, where a "supergiant" field of natural gas is believed to be locked in the rock nearly 8,000 feet below, but has been out of reach of technology.
With new drilling methods, companies have been tapping huge, and previously inaccessible, reserves in the Barnett Shale in Texas. And with the price of natural gas at a 10-year high, the Marcellus Shale is considered the next great opportunity.
Chesapeake Energy and Cabot Oil & Gas Corp., among other companies, have signed up homeowners in Wayne, Pa., and recently pushed into western Sullivan and southern Delaware counties.
Companies have drilled a few wells in Susquehanna, Pa., and also are interested in Lycoming, Pa., and Broome and Chenango in the Southern Tier.
"It is exploratory now, but I believe it is inevitable that they will get what they can," said Gary Lash, a professor of geoscience at SUNY Fredonia, who has studied the Marcellus Shale for two decades. "There's a lot of gas right there. I think it will end up being well worth the effort."
That could become controversial in Sullivan, where some drilling might take place near the Upper Delaware Scenic Byway, where eagles soar and pristine forests border the Delaware River in one of the most beautiful areas of the state.
While the landsmen — the agents of about six competing energy companies interested in the Marcellus Shale — have been quietly knocking on doors to sign leases for drilling rights, environmentalists have been watching them.
"We are trying to get to the bottom of it, literally," said Ramsay Adams, executive director of the Catskill Mountainkeeper, a watchdog group based in Youngsville.
"From our perspective, we are not against natural gas, which is cleaner than coal. What we are concerned about is the environmental health — the roads to be developed, clear-cutting and the effects on ground water," Adams said.
"If it is environmentally sound, we would potentially support it. The key is, there are so many unanswered questions, but there is a real push by the energy companies to sign leases, especially in Sullivan and Delaware counties. To sum it up, one needs to be concerned."
Dozens of Sullivan landowners already have visions of striking it rich, with companies now offering leases at about $750 an acre and a royalty.
"The smart money is not signing," said Noel van Swol, whose family owns land around Long Eddy and is organizing property owners to negotiate directly with the energy companies.
"What they haven't been telling people is that they (the landowners) are sitting on the greatest unconventional gas reserves in the history of the United States."
vwhitman@th-record.com
Unconventional natural gas
The Marcellus Shale is thought to contain at least 168 trillion cubic feet, and up to 516 trillion cubic feet, of natural gas. A supergiant field contains 30 or more trillion cubic feet. The Marcellus Shale extends all the way to the eastern half of Ohio and through West Virginia, but exploration efforts have been focused in Pennsylvania and New York.
Sources: Gary Lash, SUNY Fredonia; Terry Engelder, Penn State University.
http://www.recordonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080308/NEWS/803080323/-1/rss01/gnews
Western Sullivan County might contain vast reserves
By Victor Whitman
Times Herald-Record
March 08, 2008 6:00 AM
LONG EDDY — Is Sullivan County sitting on a pot of gold?
Gas companies think so. Competing energy companies are exploring the possibility of drilling into long-suspected natural gas reserves in western Sullivan.
Several river towns, including Fremont, Delaware and Cochecton, are on the eastern edge of the Marcellus Shale, where a "supergiant" field of natural gas is believed to be locked in the rock nearly 8,000 feet below, but has been out of reach of technology.
With new drilling methods, companies have been tapping huge, and previously inaccessible, reserves in the Barnett Shale in Texas. And with the price of natural gas at a 10-year high, the Marcellus Shale is considered the next great opportunity.
Chesapeake Energy and Cabot Oil & Gas Corp., among other companies, have signed up homeowners in Wayne, Pa., and recently pushed into western Sullivan and southern Delaware counties.
Companies have drilled a few wells in Susquehanna, Pa., and also are interested in Lycoming, Pa., and Broome and Chenango in the Southern Tier.
"It is exploratory now, but I believe it is inevitable that they will get what they can," said Gary Lash, a professor of geoscience at SUNY Fredonia, who has studied the Marcellus Shale for two decades. "There's a lot of gas right there. I think it will end up being well worth the effort."
That could become controversial in Sullivan, where some drilling might take place near the Upper Delaware Scenic Byway, where eagles soar and pristine forests border the Delaware River in one of the most beautiful areas of the state.
While the landsmen — the agents of about six competing energy companies interested in the Marcellus Shale — have been quietly knocking on doors to sign leases for drilling rights, environmentalists have been watching them.
"We are trying to get to the bottom of it, literally," said Ramsay Adams, executive director of the Catskill Mountainkeeper, a watchdog group based in Youngsville.
"From our perspective, we are not against natural gas, which is cleaner than coal. What we are concerned about is the environmental health — the roads to be developed, clear-cutting and the effects on ground water," Adams said.
"If it is environmentally sound, we would potentially support it. The key is, there are so many unanswered questions, but there is a real push by the energy companies to sign leases, especially in Sullivan and Delaware counties. To sum it up, one needs to be concerned."
Dozens of Sullivan landowners already have visions of striking it rich, with companies now offering leases at about $750 an acre and a royalty.
"The smart money is not signing," said Noel van Swol, whose family owns land around Long Eddy and is organizing property owners to negotiate directly with the energy companies.
"What they haven't been telling people is that they (the landowners) are sitting on the greatest unconventional gas reserves in the history of the United States."
vwhitman@th-record.com
Unconventional natural gas
The Marcellus Shale is thought to contain at least 168 trillion cubic feet, and up to 516 trillion cubic feet, of natural gas. A supergiant field contains 30 or more trillion cubic feet. The Marcellus Shale extends all the way to the eastern half of Ohio and through West Virginia, but exploration efforts have been focused in Pennsylvania and New York.
Sources: Gary Lash, SUNY Fredonia; Terry Engelder, Penn State University.
http://www.recordonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080308/NEWS/803080323/-1/rss01/gnews
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