What's New

New York State Health Department 2010 Regulatory Issues Released

          Below is a summary of the water-related issues on the DOH Regulatory Agenda for January - June 2010:

• 5-1 Public Water Systems: Amend the regulation to incorporate mandatory federal regulations to improve control of microbial pathogens (federal LT2ESWTR) while limiting risks associated with formation of and exposure to dis-infection byproducts (federal Stage 2 D/DBP); revise the provisions applicable to variances and exceptions; update provisions pertaining to control of lead and copper in public water supply systems; and update and clarify specific code references.
  
• 5-1 Public Water Systems: Amend the regulation to incorporate mandatory regulations (federal Groundwater Rule) to protect against microbial pathogens occurring in ground water sources.
  
• 123 Conesus Lake Watershed Rules: Amend the regulations to incorporate rules to protect the public water supplies of the Villages of Avon and Geneseo and the Town of Livonia.
  
• 128 New York City Watershed Rules: Amend the regulations to incorporate regulations intended to protect NYC's Watersheds and preserve NYC's Filtration Avoidance Determination by providing various limitations on watershed activities and construction.
  
• 132 Canandaigua Lake Watershed Rules: Amend the regulations to incorporate rules intended to protect the public water supplies of the City of Canadaigua, Villages of Rushville, Palmyra and Newark, and the Town of Gorham.

 To see the full legislative agenda, click here

NYSAWWA Water Utility Council Responds to State Impact Statement on Marcellus Shale Drilling

Letter to NYS DEC Commissioner on Natural Gas Drilling

Re: Draft Supplemental Generic Environmental Impact Statement (dSGEIS) on the Oil, Gas and Solution Mining Regulatory Program (dated 9/30/2009)

Dear Commissioner Grannis:

On behalf of the Water Utility Council of the New York Section of American Water Works Association, representing over 200 drinking water utility members and public water systems, I write to convey our concerns relative to the potential impacts of natural gas development on the quality and quantity of our source waters and offer the following comments on the dSGEIS referenced above.  Modern technologies such as horizontal drilling and high volume hydraulic fracturing offer great promise for extracting natural gas from unconventional or "tight" shale formations such as the Marcellus and other formations nationwide. Such development is expected to have positive regional economic impacts, bolster US energy independence, and help the US during the transition to fuels with less climate impact.

However, these benefits will prove illusory if the development of natural gas resources results in the contamination of New York’s most precious asset of all, our water supplies. Horizontal drilling and high volume hydraulic fracturing technologies rely on large volumes of water mixed with a variety of largely undisclosed and potentially toxic chemicals (including known endocrine disrupting compounds). Many of these chemicals are not removed during conventional water treatment and may have adverse impacts to human health at very low concentrations. The dSGEIS (e.g. Section 3.2.2) discusses disclosure of the chemicals to NYSDEC, but not to nearby public water suppliers to allow for meaningful surveillance monitoring. The drilling process also generates substantial volumes of “flowback” water that typically contains elevated levels of salinity, radioactivity and chemical additives, which are not amenable to conventional wastewater treatment processes.  This wastewater should be safely contained and receive appropriate treatment prior to its release into the environment.

Despite the extensive discussion in the dSGEIS, we believe that the recommendations are simply not sufficiently protective for drinking water sources.  The potential water quality impacts that are of utmost concern to New York water utilities include contamination of our ground and surface water sources via subsurface migration of chemicals and naturally occurring high salinity and radioactive groundwater during the hydraulic fracturing process, failure of on-site waste handling facilities and illicit discharge or accidental release of wastewater directly into watershed streams. Given the increasing number of reports of water quality impacts in other states with active shale drilling we urge New York State to adopt the most conservative stance with respect to public water supply protection, by increasing the setbacks proposed in Section 7.1.12, requiring full disclosure of chemical additives used in hydraulic fracturing and prohibiting the use of additives containing known and regulated drinking water contaminants.

The high volume hydraulic fracturing process also requires substantial amounts of clean freshwater per well.  Drillers have an economic incentive to obtain this water from the nearest possible source.  We urge the state to ensure that such withdrawals are subject to Department of Environmental Conservation approval, giving consideration and priority to potable water needs, wastewater discharges and environmental quality impacts, particularly during times of drought or other water instances of high demand.

In closing, we are not opposed to the development of domestic natural gas resources, but we encourage NYSDEC to ensure that it occurs with environmentally responsible safeguards that will protect our water resources, the environment and public health.

Sincerely,

 David Fitch

Chairman,

New York State AWWA Water Utility Council