Gas drilling for big money?

The issue of gas drilling is starting to come to a head. Every fisherman and all your conservation groups should start taking action and get involved ASAP to prevent the possible destruction of our rivers and water supply. The State of Pennsylvania already shut down some companies and wells due to the kill of fish in some areas as well the contamination of some water. The draft environmental impact study was released on the DEC website-www.dec.ny.gov/energy/58440.html. Everyone needs to tell Gov. Paterson (fax 518-474-1513 and the DEC Comm. Pete Grannis, (fax 518-402-9018) that time is needed for our citizens to review and submit comments so a 90 day extension for comments should be granted. Additionally at least seven regional public hearings should be scheduled, including one in New York City to adequately advise our citizenry of what is going on and give them a chance to voice their concerns in an appropriate forum. Please get involved NOW. For continuing information go to catskillmountainkeeper.org. By the way, on my rt up the thurway this past sunday, I listened to an amazing radio discussion about how bad this gas drilling will be for both wildlife and groundwater for the local communities.. To me it would be a crime to allow such drilling ..imho roscoe trout capital of ny would certainly be ruined ... Jimbo, you have anything to add?

jk, all we can do is ramble! we know the wildlife can't! Sheesh! when I heard that lady conservationist explain how this gas drilling exploitation will pollute and destroy what we hold dear.. It is like allowing terrorists in our backyards for crying outloud!! all those toxic chemicals known to cause cancer will be in the drink! What the hell happened to the green alternative energy program?!!! Under who's authority should such drilling be allowed? This is mind blowing man! But sadly, it is going to be what it is going to be no matter what we post.I guess I'll be a rambling on too jk

Good post Mr.jigs! Those catskill streams been through alot in past, I could see huge ecological disaster drilling anywhere near those streambanks! What happens when those mt streams flood and all that drilling equipment floats all those deadly chemicals downstream? man that photo looks scarey!

That's a helluva' fire...  I have fished around the natty gas rigs off Alabama (Dauphin Island) many times during stopovers each spring and fall while traveling alot.  My little boat was fun there.  I was always amazed by the offshore gas rigs.  And the fact that choppers were constantly flying from one rig to another dropping dudes off.  You could see the lights of the rigs at night from the beach- it was like a surreal city on the sea or something.
 
The gas is great stuff, and as far as USE, ecologically pretty awesome.  And cheap, of course.
 
The horizontal fracture rigs are quite different, I think.  From what I always heard from my neighbors in the Neversink watershed, the properties drilled were going to be private lands that would be leased from the owners.  In fact, my sister in Texas has the same deal on her property and actually does pretyt good (dependant on the current trading rate of the gas, etc.)  I don't know if the rigs on her property are horizontal or not though, I will have to ask.
 
I haven't heard much about it the past year or two, it seems.  Maybe it's cause there has been so much other news or something.  But from what I understand the scary thing is not the drilling itself but the method of fracture.  On the shale bedrock downstate (we've got greenstone/basalt up in Albany) they can drill a vertical shaft, then spin the bore 90 degrees so they can drill sideways to extract the gases from each rift in the rock.
 
The shale is pretty fragile and they can smash it with water and lots of chemical (sort of like the 'drilling mud' used offshore).  Then they jam sand into the fissure and fractures to hold it open so that gas flows out without obstruction.  Pretty amazing, really.  The rumors around Neversink, Grahmsville and Claryville always focused on Benzene being used in the process.  I have heard that many times but can't vouch for it's use- I really have no clue.  But what I do know is that Benzene is bad stuff, and I speak about it often when presenting.  One shotglass of that stuff can contaminate a whole crapload of surface water...  Bad news.
 
But I think the DEC is the agency managing the permitting process...  Yet its the DEP that has the most to lose.
 
(Remember that lecture, Backin? )
 
All I know is that if I were overseeing the protection of drinking water quality for 12,000,000 people (half the states population, basically) I would not be too excited about additional chemicals being brought into the watershed.  But I never heard much of an outcry from the DEP, or the DEP employees I hung out with all the time.  So either they know something I don't, or the technology is still so **** new that no one knows WHAT to think about it! 
 
There is surely a wastewater being produced in this process, and its bound to contain some pretty wicked stuff (Benzene or not)...  But like Jigs pointed out, they do some incredible stuff these days.  Don't even get me started on concrete production or other business within our states river systems, right Tuna? 
 
I think it's ultimately going to come down to who wants to lease their land, etc.  And truth is, Ulster and Sullivan are the two poorest counties in New York...  Anyone owning land is bound to make more cash from leasing mineral and gas rights than renting an apartment to a questionable tennant or something.
 
The DEC is going to have their hands full with this situation.  The region may really want it (cheap heating for everyone within 100 mi, extra cash for landowners) but the anglers and outdoor enthusiasts may not (obviously).
 
Once again, it may spur NYC to buy even more property along the watershed to ensure they can keep providing enough clean water and avoid that ten BILLION dollar filtration plant.  And heck, maybe more DEP land wouldn't be such a bad thing?  After all, they are paying taxes on it...  If it was state land it wouldn't make a penny for anyone... 
 
There has been a "sky is falling" approach to the gas thing since I lived there in 2005.  But I guess I have to do my homework and see if any advances have been made in the technology.  I know it's REALLY new stuff.

Good post Jimmy excellent points. And though the new drilling and production techniques are safer than ever. I still believe that what can go wrong(no matter how slight the chance) it will go wrong. This is a true story and can be looked up in Louisiana news back in the early 70s A gas pipeline ran through an area we often hunted and along several country neighborhoods specifically one trailer park where lived a small family that my mother baby sited for.
A young boy named billy joe, a younger brother named Doug, same as my brothers and a little sister cant remember her name. A road grader trying to level the bumps out of a gravel road that crossed the pipe line cut to deep into the road bed ditch and hit the line that wasnt buried as deep as it should have been. The pipe ruptured and under tremendous pressure blew up. unbelievably the operator wasnt killed even though you could no longer even tell he was driving a road grader. the pipe line ignited and sent flames arcing back and forth across the pipe line and through the trailer park.They surmised from witnesses that survived that this women my mom sat for was probably injured that way and sent her kids out to run but they returned not wanting to leave her. after it was over they found them in the tub together dead as they tried to use the water for protection we will never know just exactly what happened in the short time they had. the fire was so intense it melted the shoes of firefighters and rescuers. many people died in that disaster. It's not how safe something is or not that we should measure, I believe its the how valuable something is and what the terrible cost of losing it would be if we lost it. This was a true story from memory from when I was a kid. I still remember the smell of wood ash mingled with the smell of wet burnt trailers as i walked the site weeks after. dont get me wrong I am for drilling but not just anywhere.Oh the fire in the picture is along side I-10 in Lafiette louisiana

Jimmy, the one hr.talk show on the way up was out of poughkeepsie .. benzene was mentioned along with other bad****chemicals WILL contaminate ground water. I am with mr.jigs in that it is too close to such a unique ecosystem.. guess I can only imagine the health risks outweigh the reward.. wait did I say rward??!!! what reward! no reward! it is only money!!! 1 Timothy:6 so like the how much (long term) pollution and contamination can we expect should A fourth 100 year flood hit home? We know this hancock region IS headwater to the BIG D ! The main stem inhabitants will be subjected to higher levels of contaminants cause they understand they need money ,,wait..did i say money? no no i meant reward! REWARDS FOR EVERYBODYS TO THE PEOPLELESS!..Of coarse nothing manmade will go wrong,only a naturaldisaster should something go wrong.. I seen what spring floods did to rt 206 twice! took them a decade to build that stretch and a half day if that to wash it all away..I witnessed what mother natures fury can spill from the catskills.. How they going to secure let alone contain such a facility situated along the drink? I seen years of road/bridge projects/reparations/maintenance dams blowout by extreme downpours in these catskill mts. This is where it all starts and they want to mess with it for gas in the ground? Even if they built it safe they will fit all to hell.. okay i'm done, i said my peace..it will be what it is going to be no matter what we post..again good read jimmy and all ty