DEC Circles the Wagons

Share/Bookmark

When will the DEC issue its fracking regulations ? When their criminal defense lawyers think they can defend them in court. Isn’t that a fine way to run an environmental agency ? They’re still trying to figure out how to get enough lipstick on the fracking pig. . . As if there was really any fracking rush.

Andrew Revkin has the latest on Frack Regs. Ground Hog Day 26.

The DEC has known it was going to get sued the day it issues it’s fracking regulations. They have known this from the outset, as we noted some time ago, when the press was saying regs. would be out by Labor Day. Andrew Revkin did a dot.earth post about the Groundhog Day phenomena: the DEC came out of their hole, saw the lawyers and went back down into the bunker. They known they are going to get sued by the environmentalists - which they have openly admitted, as indicated in the article below – over their failure to do a Health Impact Assessment (among other things). And they know that dry shale gas is DOA in New York State for now, which they have yet to admit openly. The gas companies certainly know it, which is why the big ones are already pulling out, letting leases lapse, and the little speculators are trying to unload their New York properties – cheap and fast. While they are still doing talk shows and Truthland panels and getting town boards to turn into fracking collaborators that will roll out the red carpet to landmen.

So no fracking rush no more in New York. Which gives Cuomo time to reassess his hasty gamble on shale gas, at a runty $2.50 mcf. Realize that, if they removed everything in the SGEIS that was not put there by a fracking lobbyist or is a political carve-out or a made-as-paid bit of fracking hyperbole, there would be nothing fracking left but the flyleaves and the front and back covers. So room for improvement, even for New York’s finest environmental agency – in name only.

Meanwhile, the Binghamton court concurred with the Dryden and Middlefield Home Rule rulings. So towns are best advised to adopt road and land use ordinances to protect themselves from fracking.

As Mary Menapace, RN has pointed out, having the DOH take a look at the DEC’s spin on health impacts is not a Health Impact Assessment, it’s just bureaucratic log-rolling, having Peter tell his twin Paul he got an A+. Good luck trying to defend that bit of window dressing in court.

On Martens’ Press Release on DEC ‘studying the health Impacts - the call from medical professionals has rightly been for a Health Impact Assessment. What Martens has said is that the DEC “will study the health impacts” is not the same as a Health Impact Assessment. What Martens has proposed, a closed review of whatever data it is they have gathered, is not acceptable.

Mary Menapace RN

Skaneateles

From The World Health Organization
http://www.who.int/hia/about/why/en/index.html

Why use an HIA?

Values
HIA is based on four values that link the HIA to the policy environment in which it is being undertaken.

Democracy – allowing people to participate in the development and implementation of policies,
programs or projects that may impact on their lives.

Equity – HIA assesses the distribution of impacts from a proposal on the whole population, with a particular reference to how the proposal will affect vulnerable people (in terms of age, gender, ethnic background and socio-economic status).

Sustainable development – that both short and long term impacts are considered, along with the obvious, and less obvious impacts.

Ethical use of evidence – the best available quantitative and qualitative evidence must be identified and used in the assessment. A wide variety of evidence should be collected using the best possible methods

The DEC is not going to do an HIA – because the DEC is the state’s minerals management agency. And minerals management agencies do not do health impact assessments – they sell drilling permits.

New day, new fracking spinner, same fracking spin:

Note: To listen to this morning’s interview with Howard Glaser, please visit http://www.talk1300.com/podcast/#Fred%20Dicker%20Live%20from%20the%20State%20Capitol . An mp3 of the 09-24-12 program can be downloaded here- http://www.talk1300.com/CMT/podcast/FREDPODCASTSEPT242012.mp3 . Fred Dicker begins discussing the health assessment and the SGEIS around the 11:46 mark. The interview with Howard Glaser begins at the 28:55 mark.

“…In a radio interview Monday, Director of State Operations Howard Glaser said the Health Department’s review is a preemptive move, in part to help prevent lawsuits…”http://blogs.democratandchronicle.com/voteup/2012/09/24/cuomo-aide-no-timetable-on-health-department-fracking-review/ , http://www.democratandchronicle.com/article/20120924/NEWS01/309240025/ , http://www.pressconnects.com/article/20120924/NEWS01/309240011/ & http://www.lohud.com/article/20120924/NEWS/309240069/

Cuomo Aide: No Timetable on Health Department Fracking Review

12:58 PM, Sep 24, 2012

Written by

Jon Campbell, Albany Bureau

ALBANY — A There is “not a timetable” on a newly added layer to the state’s review of hydraulic fracturing for natural gas, a top aide to Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Monday.

Last week, the state Department of Environmental Conservation asked the Department of Health to review its analysis of the health impacts of hydrofracking and gas drilling, likely delaying a final decision on whether to allow the technique in New York.

In a radio interview Monday, Director of State Operations Howard Glaser said the Health Department’s review is a preemptive move, in part to help prevent lawsuits. The DEC has been criticized extensively by environmental groups, who have said two draft versions of permitting guidelines and regulations for high-volume hydrofracking didn’t do enough to analyze potential health effects. The state received close to 80,000 comments on drafts of its policy document — known as the Supplemental Generic Environmental Impact Statement — and many called for a more extensive look at medical side effects, Glaser said.

“In order for the document — whatever its ultimate decision — to be protected against legal challenge, it has to respond to these comments and you have to show that you’ve done a reasonable job of responding to the comments,” Glaser said on Albany’s WGDJ-AM.

Translation: You have to show the court that you weren’t a complete fracking sellout. In simple English, you have to go thru the motions of appearing to do the right thing.

The state first began studying large-scale hydrofracking in 2008, and a decision on whether to allow it in New York has been pending ever since.

Glaser suggested that the decision would have waited even longer without the Department of Health being asked to review it. “If you have a legal challenge on the health impact and the work has not adequately responded to, then you have a longer — you have a bigger problem, which is you’re subjected to challenge and protracted litigation,” he said.

So they are going to let the DOH take a look at the nonsense that is the dSGEIS. . .

Exactly what the Department of Health is assessing, however, remains unclear. In a statement last week, DEC Commissioner Joseph Martens said the state’s health commissioner will tap outside experts to assist him in the department’s review.

When asked about the review, DEC spokeswoman Lisa King said Health Commissioner Nirav Shah will assess “all relevant portions of the final draft SGEIS and additional related material.”

Including the “science” behind the absolute worst fracking regulations of any state in the US.