In addition to the New York City Department of Environmental Protection and the Natural Resources Defense Council, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) has submitted comments on the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation’s (“DEC”) Draft Supplemental Generic Environmental Impact Statement (“DSGEIS”) addressing natural gas drilling in the Marcellus Shale formation.
In a letter dated December 30, 2009, EPA expresses several concerns with the DSGEIS. EPA notes that the original GEIS that the DSGEIS supplements was issued in 1992 and expresses concerns that existing conditions may have significantly changed since that time. In addition, EPA asserts that the analysis and discussion of cumulative and indirect impacts in the DSGEIS should be significantly expanded. EPA encourages both the New York State Public Service Commission, which has regulatory authority over the pipelines that would transport the natural gas, and the New York State Department of Health, which has primary enforcement responsibility under the Safe Drinking Water Act, to take a more active role in the SEQRA process.
EPA joins with the DEP in expressing serious concerns over potential adverse impacts to the New York City water supply, and notes that water sources serving upstate communities deserve similar protection. Accordingly, EPA suggests that EPA, DEC and DEP work together to “develop an enhanced oversight approach” that would allow for the coordination of applicable regulatory programs to better protect drinking water supplies that could be impacted by natural gas drilling. EPA also encourages DEC to release information regarding the chemical composition of hydrofracturing solutions, which to date has been closely guarded by industry under claims that such composition represents a trade secret not subject to public disclosure. Access a complete copy of EPA’s comment letter here (pdf).
