Dwyer's Flyfishing & Tying Log

TGF Action Alert

Please voice your displeasure with Gas Drilling in the Delaware River Basin!FLASH - News from the DRBC - Letters/Comments to DRBC on the Stone Energy proposed permits are due April 12. 

The initial extension of the written comment period was in response to requests voiced at the DRBC public hearing held in Matamoras, Pa. on February 24 and at the most recent DRBC business meeting on March 3. Over 1,300 comments have been received as of March 30.

YOUR ACTION ALERT FOLLOWS:

PLEASE send a letter by close of business April 12 to the Delaware River Basin Commission on Stone Energy Co.'s proposed surface water withdrawal and natural gas well, the first permits in the Delaware River Watershed actively moving for approval.  One application is for the withdrawal of .70 million gallons of water per day from the West Branch of the Lackawaxen River in Mount Pleasant Township, Wayne County, PA.  The water would be used by Stone Energy for shale gas extraction and development, primarily for hydraulic fracturing, of their gas wells. The other application is for shale gas well "M1" (known as the Matoushek well) in Clinton Township, Wayne County.  This well was drilled by Stone Energy in 2008 without first obtaining approval from DRBC.  This application would "legalize" that well and allow hydraulic fracturing and other gas well development to proceed.

The proposed permits for these applications are available on the DRBC website: Dockets Nos. D-2009-13-1** (water withdrawal) and D-2009-18-1** (natural gas well drilling pad site). 

Written comments on the Stone Energy Surface Water Withdrawal and Natural Gas Well Site dockets must be received by 5 p.m. on April 12 via email to Paula.Schmitt@drbc.state.nj.us or may be submitted to the attention of the Commission Secretary, DRBC, either by

fax to (609) 883-9522;

U.S. Mail to P.O. Box 7360, West Trenton, NJ 08628-0360; or

delivery service to 25 State Police Drive, West Trenton, NJ 08628-0360. Regardless of the method of submission, comments should include the name, affiliation (if any) and address of the commenter and the subject line "Public Comment - Stone Energy Dockets."

additional information, including the draft dockets, can be found at www.drbc.net.

NOTE. We prefer you to use the attached letter (WORD document), but if you are unable to open the attachment, then use the example below in this email. We attach two version of the draft letter, one old and one new word format. 

~ John L. Barone & Stephen Lieb, TGF Vice-Presidents of Conservation.

____________________________________________________________________

_________________

(Date)

Commission Secretary - DRBC

25 State Police Drive

P.O. Box 7360

 West Trenton, NJ 08628-0360

fax (609) 883-9522

Paula.Schmitt@drbc.state.nj.us

RE: "Public Comment - Stone Energy Dockets."

Dear Delaware River Basin Commission Members:

I am opposed to the proposed Stone Energy Co. permits under consideration by the DRBC for shale gas extraction and development.  My concerns arise from the fact that, as you have rightly determined, natural gas projects, individually or cumulatively, will have a substantial impact on the River's water resources.  I consider those impacts to be unacceptable and believe our river, its tributaries and watershed must be protected from degradation from shale gas development.

The DRBC is in the process of developing natural gas-specific regulations that you determined are required to protect the Special Protection Waters of the River which your existing rules say cannot be degraded from current exceptional quality.  These rules are not yet adopted: until they are, it is wrong and unfair for any approvals to be granted for shale gas projects. How will potential harm be averted if no rules are in place to insure protection?  What is the rush to push through these projects prematurely?

The Stone Energy water withdrawal project raises significant questions concerning the potential effect of this and other withdrawals on the flows of the Delaware River.  New York's management of the New York City Delaware River Reservoirs could require substantially alteration based on water consumed by natural gas development in the Watershed.  This could affect the drinking water volume and quality for 7 to 9 million New York City residents.  Section V, Depletive Water Use Budget, Recommendation 13, of the 1982 Good Faith Agreement requires such an analysis and we request that the DRBC fulfill this requirement.

There are many other initiatives underway to provide safety and protection to my water - and the water supply of over 15 million people - and these should also be implemented  first, including but not limited to: PADEP Chapter 78 drilling standards for natural gas wells; PADEP Chapter 95 and 93 effluent and water quality regulations to address natural gas drilling and other high-TDS wastewaters; the federal FRAC Act before the U.S. House (H.R. 2766) and the Senate (S. 1215) to remove the exemption of hydraulic fracturing from the Safe Drinking Water Act; DRBC needs to adopt changes to its Water Code either through the not yet adopted Flexible Flow Management Plan or other vehicle to require that an "ecoflow" model be used to determine conservation pass-by flows in all waterways based on habitat needs of the stream's species; and DRBC must analyze and adopt regulations requiring standards for the re-use of flowback BEFORE the practice is allowed.

As far as the Stone permits are concerned, several essential components are missing from the application: a Non Point Source Pollution Control Plan to protect the West Branch of the Lackawaxen from polluted runoff; a build out analysis documenting the wells to be served by the water withdrawn to justify need and to define the "area served"; and a pass-by flow to protect the unique species in the West Branch and main stem Lackawaxen River. And several crucial permit conditions are so tenuous that the Executive Director can change them without a public revision of the Docket, a bad policy that hides very important decisions from the public until after they are made.

I also consider it key that Stone Energy publicly disclose all of the chemicals that will be used in hydraulic fracturing with a goal of no use of toxic, hazardous, or potentially dangerous chemicals.  And, chief among all needs is a comprehensive analysis that includes the cumulative effects of the water resource impacts of the full build out of all shale gas projects in the Watershed, including the withdrawal of water from the West Branch of the Lackawaxen River and the development of the M1 well, to be completed PRIOR to approval of any natural gas projects in the Delaware River Watershed.

________________________________  ________________________________________________

Signature                                                 Print Name

_________________________________________________________________________________

Address

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Those of you planning to attend, please let me know as soon as possible so we can order food and identify the number of sites to work on.  My e-mail is slieb@flhlaw.com.  Or you can call me at (201) 788-7299.

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