Frank Lovece writes on Habitatmag.com - “Co-op and condo boards and residents can get ready to breathe easier — and to possibly pay through the nose. New York State Governor David Paterson on Tuesday followed a path blazed by Maine and Connecticut as he signed into law legislation mandating low-sulfur heating oil.

Beginning July 2012, the sulfur content of No. 2 heating oil will be limited to no more than 15 parts per million, down from the approximately 2,000 to 15,000 parts per million typical today. Achieving this will require oil companies to refine No. 2 oil more so than now. Whether this will result in higher costs for consumers depends on a plethora of factors, including the supply of oil generally as well as economies of scale as refineries ramp up to produce low-sulfur oil for, now, three Northeast states…

Among the opposition was the Business Council of New York State, which stated that the measure “will increase prices on oil providers who will be forced to make major capital investments to meet the requirements of this bill. These costs will ultimately get passed on to consumers.”"

To read more click here.

The Business Council is pushing for the defeat of S.4315-C in this final week of session. The bill would require the Department of Environmental Conservation to impose restrictions on carbon dioxide and other greenhouse emissions from any source, including but not limited to manufacturing, power generation, fuel processing and others. Presumably, this authority could also be applied to residential and commercial buildings, on- and off-road vehicles, and other sources.

Moreover, the bill mandates that emissions by 2013 not exceed “aggregate levels of greenhouse gas emissions” for 1990, and mandate further emission reductions after that date-20% reduction by 2020; 40% reduction by 2030 and 80% reduction by 2050. This limit would be “enforceable.”

This bill is on the list for possible passage. We have been in discussion with the sponsor and Senate staff urging significant modifications to the bill or to delay passage this year. We need the business community to reach out provide information on what impact this bill would have on business operations if it were to pass.

We urge you to contact your senator’s office and tell them not to pass this bill.

Staff Contact: Marcus Ferguson

The Independent Oil and Gas Association of New York and the Business Council of New York State Inc.,  have joined with a coalition of business and economic development groups to appeal to the New York State Legislature to oppose legislation to establish a statutory moratorium on gas drilling in New York.

The press release issued yesterday stated that “thirty-three groups, including chambers of commerce and other pro-business and pro-taxpayer groups, implored lawmakers to allow the State Department of Environmental Conservation to complete its review of the environmental impact statement governing natural gas exploration.”

“We need your support for this compelling economic development opportunity, one that could benefit the State and localities significantly for years to come,” the groups wrote. “We believe that the way forward to the safe development of the Marcellus Shale is now clear. We should embrace our state’s ability to bring New York-produced gas to New York customers, and by so doing create new opportunity and prosperity in our own state.”

“One bill, A.10490-A (Englebright)/ S.7592-A (Addabbo), would impose a moratorium on hydraulic fracturing until 120 days after the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency completes yet another study on the technique. Another bill, S.8129-B (Thompson)/ A.11443-B (Sweeney) would block all permits for horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing in the Marcellus Shale until at least May 15, 2011.”

To read the press release click here.

A meeting has been scheduled for August 12 in Binghamton to determine the scope and design of the EPA study regarding the potential effects of hydraulic fracturing on drinking water. This is one of four meetings scheduled this summer in regions around the country where hydraulic fracturing is occurring or is likely to occur in the future. According to a pressconnects.com article, “the meetings will provide public information about the proposed study’s scope and design and give the public a chance to comment. The EPA hopes to complete the study design by September. Its Office of Research and Development plans to have initial study results available by late 2012.”

In the same article Assemblywoman Lupardo stated that she believes New York “is at least two years ahead of the EPA in thinking through the ramifications and regulations for hydraulic fracturing.” Once the DEC is finished with its recommendations, Lupardo believes that NYS will have the strictest drilling regulations in the country.

Assemblywoman Lupardo is right in her assertion that New York will have the strictest regulations in the county. The NYS DEC has been working diligently for the past two years on the sGEIS and can best develop regulations regarding hydraulic fracturing and horizontal drilling in New York. The rules should be state specific. The geology of natural gas drilling in New York is different than it is in Texas, Wyoming or Colorado and each state is best equipped to determine its own regulations.

That said, the study is moving forward and will likely result in some form of federal recommendations for the states. Input from geologists and petroleum engineers who understand the drilling process in New York should be presented at the study design meeting as well as a presentations regarding the potential economic uplift NYS will likely achieve from development of the Marcellus Shale. The fact and science of drilling need to be at the center of this debate. Over 1 millions natural gas wells have been fracked in the United States without incident of water contamination and further study is unlikely to yield a different result.

Sen. Antoine Thompson, Chairman of the Senate Environmental Conservation Committee has introduced legislation that would establish a one year moratorium and a suspension of the issuance of permits for horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing in the Marcellus Shale. S. 8129 appears on the Senate Encon Committee calendar for vote today. While it may not be as damaging as the Assembly Englebright bill, A. 10490, which would establish a 120 day moratorium on drilling following the completion of the EPA study that is expected to take at least two years to complete and has yet to be started, the Thompson bill will likely result in energy companies reevaluating their positions in NYS and taking their investment dollars to Pennsylvania or other states that will allow safe, highly regulated drilling.

Energy development is not without risk but it is necessary to keep our economy running. The moratorium supporters seem to forget that energy is a component in everything we do and harvesting it is an industrial operation. Strong regulations contained in the sGEIS minimize the risk. Over 1 million wells have been hydrofracked in the U.S. with no resulting contamination. We need domestic energy cleanly produced in New York State under the strictest regulations in the country and likely the world. Importing our energy not only supports our enemies, it supports environmentally dangerous practices of extraction in less regulated countries.

Senator Thompson and members of the Encon Committee need to understand that the DEC is best equipped to regulate drilling in the Marcellus Shale. The DEC has been working on the sGEIS for two years and it will be the most comprehensive and stringent set of regulations of any state in the US. New Yorkers need the jobs and enormous economic uplift that development of the Marcellus Shale will provide. A continued moratorium to further review drilling is a bad idea. All New Yorkers lose if this is allowed to happen.

Steven Reilly writes on Pressconnects.com - “Busloads of Southern Tier landowners, frustrated with delay after delay to drilling in the Marcellus Shale, trekked to the state capitol Wednesday to let lawmakers know they are tired of Albany raining on their parade.

Fittingly, it rained on their rally.

About 400 people, most of them members of the Joint Landowners Coalition of NY that organized the rally, braved the inclement weather to gather on the lawn in front of the state Senate building. There, they urged lawmakers to let the state Departmental of Environmental Conservation finish its review of the environmental impact of drilling before enacting any more legislation.

Linda Ward of Barker said “there’s no sense in cutting health care and education for people when we have this (Marcellus Shale) here.”

“The property taxes are just atrocious,” said James Ross, also of Barker. “This is growth that will give some relief to the hard-working people of New York state.”

Other landowners said their concerns aren’t that different from those of environmentalists.

“If you’re one acre or 1,000 acres,” Conklin’s Dell Boyle said, “we want to protect the community.”

To read more click here.

The Joint Landowners Coalition of New York will be holding a S.O.S. GAS RALLY at the Capitol West Park, Albany NY on Wednesday June 9th. Buses from dozens of departure locations in the Southern Tier are expected to arrive at 10:00. They are calling upon all residents and voters in NY to stand with them in solidarity to SAVE OUR STATE with the clean energy and revenues natural gas development will generate.

Go to the Joint Landowner’s Coalition of NYS website to read more.

Marnie Eisenstadt of the Post-Standard writes - “If all the people in Onondaga County threw their junked computers, television sets, VCRs and printers into a pile, it would weigh almost 7 million pounds.

Until last month, it was 7 million pounds of trash. But when the state Legislature passed an e-waste recycling law recently, the heap was transformed into 7 million pounds of opportunity.

The law, which requires electronics manufacturers to take back e-waste for free, is expected to throw wide open the doors in a business that has already been on roller coaster ride locally this year.”

To read more click here.

Tom Wilber writes on Pressconnects.com - “Marcellus Shale development may be just the beginning.

The massive gas-bearing shale formation that extends from West Virginia through the Southern Tier of New York, lies above another formation of equal or greater size, called the Utica Shale.

The Utica formation runs from the heart of Pennsylvania through Quebec, and its potential is enormous.

Until now, most of the attention has been focused on the Marcellus, by many estimates the largest reserve in the country. But as more exploration brings more data, new riches are coming to light.”

To read more click here.

A landowner coalition member from the Southern Tier writes a compelling letter advocating for development of the Marcellus Shale appearing in pressconnects.com.

“As an environmentalist, I support natural gas production in New York for a number of reasons. First of all, natural gas burns 40 percent cleaner than oil and 60 percent cleaner than coal. Natural gas does not cause oil spills, black lung disease, mountain top removal, fly ash, slag-choked streams, or acid rain. It is a domestic fuel source, requiring no shipping from volatile foreign countries.”

“Yes, natural gas is a limited fossil fuel and does cause some pollution. However, it is in a position to be used as a transition and supplemental fuel while solar and wind power become viable options.”

To read the letter click here.

Landowners are coming to Albany next Wednesday June 9 to rally in support of Marcellus Shale development. They are organized and have a strong message as articulated in this letter: development of the Marcellus Shale and protecting the environment are NOT mutually exclusive. Landowners are the best protectors of the environment. They love the land and many have held it in their families for generations. They want to see clean, safe development of the natural gas resources in the Marcellus Shale that will result in jobs and economic opportunities for their communities.

For more information on the rally click: Marcellus Shale Rally Information.