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
Tuesday, February 26, 2008
Catskills topic of talk
Catskills topic of talk
ONEONTA _ Wes Gillingham, program director for Catskill Mountainkeeper, will give a talk titled "The Future of the Catskills: Can Catskill Mountainkeeper Help?" on Tuesday.
The event will be at 7 p.m. in the Strawbale House at Hartwick College's Pine Lake Environmental Campus as part of the ongoing "Conversations at the Lake" series.
Gillingham will discuss his work with Catskill Mountainkeeper, a nonprofit advocacy organization whose mission is to protect the ecological integrity of the Catskill Mountain range and the quality of life of those who live there.
Through a network of concerned citizens, the organization works to promote sustainable economic growth and the protection of natural resources essential to healthy communities, he said.
Gillingham is program director at Catskill Mountainkeeper, as well as the leader of its volunteer program. He lives in the Catskills, where he and his wife Amy have been growing organic vegetables and herbs commercially since 1997.
For more information, contact Pine Lake program coordinator Dan Morse at 431-4520 or morsed@hartwick.edu, or visit the spring 2008 events listing online at www.hartwick.edu/x22674.xml.
link is here:
ONEONTA _ Wes Gillingham, program director for Catskill Mountainkeeper, will give a talk titled "The Future of the Catskills: Can Catskill Mountainkeeper Help?" on Tuesday.
The event will be at 7 p.m. in the Strawbale House at Hartwick College's Pine Lake Environmental Campus as part of the ongoing "Conversations at the Lake" series.
Gillingham will discuss his work with Catskill Mountainkeeper, a nonprofit advocacy organization whose mission is to protect the ecological integrity of the Catskill Mountain range and the quality of life of those who live there.
Through a network of concerned citizens, the organization works to promote sustainable economic growth and the protection of natural resources essential to healthy communities, he said.
Gillingham is program director at Catskill Mountainkeeper, as well as the leader of its volunteer program. He lives in the Catskills, where he and his wife Amy have been growing organic vegetables and herbs commercially since 1997.
For more information, contact Pine Lake program coordinator Dan Morse at 431-4520 or morsed@hartwick.edu, or visit the spring 2008 events listing online at www.hartwick.edu/x22674.xml.
link is here:
Tuesday, January 29, 2008
Conservation Groups Sue to Block Electric Transmission Corridors
Conservation Groups Sue to Block Electric Transmission Corridors
WASHINGTON, DC, January 10, 2008 (ENS) - Eleven regional and national environmental organizations today announced plans to file suit against the Department of Energy over its final designation of a mid-Atlantic National Interest Electric Transmission Corridor.
On October 5, the Energy Department published its order designating two National Interest Electric Transmission Corridors - the Mid-Atlantic Corridor, and the Southwest Corridor.
Led by the National Wildlife Federation and the Piedmont Environmental Council, the groups are challenging the designation on grounds that the Energy Department violated the National Environmental Policy Act and Endangered Species Act by failing to study the potential harmful impacts of the corridor on air quality, wildlife, habitat and other natural resources.
"The Department of Energy has ignored the public interest in favor of the private interests of power companies," said Randy Sargent Neppl, wildlife counsel at the National Wildlife Federation. "Our federal government should be working to find solutions that protect our natural heritage and promote a clean energy future so that our children and grandchildren will have healthy communities, clean air and abundant wildlife and wild places to enjoy."
"The Department of Energy has failed to do even the basic due diligence and analyze responsible and cost effective alternative ways of meeting the region's energy needs," said Christopher Miller, president of the Piedmont Environmental Council.
"Efficiency and conservation should be the first order of business. Reducing both peak and base load demand through energy efficiency, conservation and expanding demand response programs should be a priority," he said. "The mid-Atlantic corridor designation puts an enormous area of the region at risk while sending our energy policy a major step backwards towards continued reliance on coal-fired generation."
High voltage transmission lines near Rochester, New York (Photo credit unknown)
The groups plan to file suit on Monday, January 14 in the U.S. District Court in the Middle District of Pennsylvania.
The Center for Biological Diversity today is filing a similar lawsuit in the Central District of California challenging the Energy Department's designation of the Southwest National Interest Electric Transmission Corridor, which includes counties in California and Arizona.
Joining the lawsuit are Sierra Club, National Parks Conservation Association, Environmental Advocates of New York, Clean Air Council, Pennsylvania Land Trust Association, Civil War Preservation Trust, Catskill Mountainkeeper, Brandywine Conservancy and Natural Lands Trust.
In 2005, Congress passed the Energy Policy Act, which directed the U.S. Department of Energy, DOE, to designate large geographic areas as National Interest Electric Transmission Corridors.
This designation gives power companies blanket approval to build new high-voltage interstate transmission lines within the corridor, even on environmentally sensitive and protected lands. The designation also allows power companies to bypass local, state and federal environmental laws.
The groups' lawsuit claims that the Energy Department has overstepped what Congress called for in the Energy Policy Act and designated lands that lie outside of the identified congestion area.
The groups are asking the U.S. District Court in the Middle District of Pennsylvania to compel the Energy Department to perform an environmental impact statement on the corridor and consult with U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service over impacts to endangered species as required by law.
Because the current designation would rely on some of the country's oldest and dirtiest coal-fired power plants to service the region's power demands, the groups are asking that the Energy Department consider more environmentally friendly alternatives.
"Unfortunately, rather than take this opportunity to promote renewable energy sources and encourage energy efficient solutions, the Department of Energy has put forth a plan that favors dirty coal and undermines regional efforts to combat global warming," said Glen Besa, regional field director of the Sierra Club.
"The lack of environmental scrutiny given to proposed high-voltage transmission lines under this plan is alarming," he said. "The DOE has not even a made a token effort to study the region-wide impact of this corridor on wildlife, forests or water."
The ambiguous definition of "corridor" has allowed the Energy Department to designate more than 116,000 square miles in the mid-Atlantic, including parts of New York, New Jersey, Delaware, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Maryland, West Virginia and Virginia. The Mid-Atlantic corridor designation affects over 49 million Americans.
Gettysburgh National Military Park (Photo courtesy National Park Service)
Within the area are dozens of state and national parks, refuges and recreation areas, including the Gettysburg National Military Park, the Shenandoah National Park and the Upper Delaware Scenic and National Recreation River.
"The National Park Service is mandated to 'conserve the scenery' of our national parks. Adding new power lines near or through national park sites could severely compromise our national heritage," said Bryan Faehner of the National Parks Conservation Association. "It is simply inappropriate for energy corridors to be built within the geographic boundaries of, or even within view of national parks such as Gettysburg."
In November, the states of New York, Pennsylvania and Virginia petitioned the federal government to reconsider designating dozens of their counties for the siting of the high-speed electricity transmission corridor.
Also filing a petition with the department for a rehearing on the designation of the transmission corridors in the Southwest and mid-Atlantic were 20 environmental and conservation groups.
The states and groups say the Department of Energy disregarded key energy issues, failed to consult with the states and failed to adequately assess environmental impacts of the transmission corridors.
Wednesday, December 5, 2007
Catskill Mountainkeeper joins fight against NYRI
Link is here: http://www.midhudsonnews.com/News/NYRI-CatMtn-02Dec07.htm
SundayDecember 2, 2007
Copyright © 2007 Mid-Hudson News Network, a division of Statewide News Network, Inc.This story may not be reproduced in any form without express written consent.
Catskill Mountainkeeper joins fight against NYRI
Press Release
Youngsville -- Catskill Mountainkeeper has joined several other environmental advocacy organizations and state officials by filing a rehearing petition contesting the Department of Energy's designation of two National Interest Electric Transmission Corridors. The preservation group’s action is on response to New York Regional Interconnection’s proposed plan to build a power line from Oneida County to Orange County.
One main argument stressed in the rehearing is that the "DOE did not effectively communicate with states in determining the corridors." Along with that argument the Department of Energy has not yet completed an Environmental Impact Statement on the corridor designations, the Catskills group said."The Department of Energy, in its ruling regarding NYRI, has not complied with the National Environmental Policy Act, the Endangered Species Act, the National Historic Preservation Act, or the Federal Power Act by designating these NIETCs," Catskill Mountainkeeper Executive Director Ramsay Adams said. "Catskill Mountainkeeper is committed to fighting on behalf of the communities in the regions affected by this proposal." The group said the NYRI power line would run some 190 miles and “undermine our region’s fragile economic development (and) permanently devastate and displace local wildlife, including endangered and threatened species.”
SundayDecember 2, 2007
Copyright © 2007 Mid-Hudson News Network, a division of Statewide News Network, Inc.This story may not be reproduced in any form without express written consent.
Catskill Mountainkeeper joins fight against NYRI
Press Release
Youngsville -- Catskill Mountainkeeper has joined several other environmental advocacy organizations and state officials by filing a rehearing petition contesting the Department of Energy's designation of two National Interest Electric Transmission Corridors. The preservation group’s action is on response to New York Regional Interconnection’s proposed plan to build a power line from Oneida County to Orange County.
One main argument stressed in the rehearing is that the "DOE did not effectively communicate with states in determining the corridors." Along with that argument the Department of Energy has not yet completed an Environmental Impact Statement on the corridor designations, the Catskills group said."The Department of Energy, in its ruling regarding NYRI, has not complied with the National Environmental Policy Act, the Endangered Species Act, the National Historic Preservation Act, or the Federal Power Act by designating these NIETCs," Catskill Mountainkeeper Executive Director Ramsay Adams said. "Catskill Mountainkeeper is committed to fighting on behalf of the communities in the regions affected by this proposal." The group said the NYRI power line would run some 190 miles and “undermine our region’s fragile economic development (and) permanently devastate and displace local wildlife, including endangered and threatened species.”
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