The Joint Landowner’s Coalition of NYS is sponsoring a S.O.S. GAS RALLY in Albany on June 9th.

The Joint Landowners Coalition of New York will be holding a rally at the Capitol West Park, Albany NY on Wednesday June 9th. Buses from dozens of departure locations across the southern tier of New York will transport landowners, their friends and neighbors to converge on Albany in an attempt to be heard by the legislature before their summer recess. 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 - the S.O.S. Rally!

“Its time to go to ALBANY again! Only this time landowners, trade union members, and members The Business Council and Unshackle Upstate New York will be there in partnership to show our leaders that all of New York supports developing gas now. But, you need to be there in solidarity to make this a success! Do not rely on your neighbors to do this! S.O.S!!

This will be BIG! This will make HISTORY! Be a part of it!

Previous pro-gas events have been successful but now we need to show our leaders that NYers from all walks of life are united in supporting gas NOW! Every voice counts! Every landowner, worker, and business person is needed! ALL HANDS ON DECK NOW! S.O.S!!”

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

To read the flyer click: Marcellus Shale Rally Flyer.

Last week at the NYS Democratic Convention, gubernatorial candidate Andrew Cuomo released the 224 page “The New NY Agenda: A Plan for Action” detailing his position on issues facing New York. On page 136 under the heading of “A Cleaner and Greener New York” the document states that;

“New York is home to some of the greatest natural resources in the world. We need to protect our environment to make sure that we leave our State clean and inhabitable for generations to come. As Governor, Andrew Cuomo will continue to be an environmental champion, by:

• Making sure health and environmental risks are comprehensively studied before natural gas exploration in New York’s Marcellus Shale formation occurs;”

The document also discusses the EPF fund, environmental justice, and finding and alternative to the Indian Point nuclear facility under the cleaner, greener heading.

It is hard to determine from this statement whether candidate Cuomo means to further study the potential health and environmental risks of drilling in the Marcellus Shale or if the comprehensive sGEIS study currently underway by the DEC in comprehensive enough. Let’s hope it’s the former. Whoever becomes the next governor of New York needs to examine the sGEIS review history over the past two years and see that an extensive and comprehensive review has already been conducted and final regulations are hopefully only a couple of months away.

If, however, candidate Cuomo means that further review is necessary then New York will be delaying one of the greatest economic opportunities to come along in generations at a time when New York desperately needs help. Some say that the gas will always be there. That may be true but investors may not wait. Energy companies need the green light to drill soon or they could take their investments elsewhere and New York will continue its economic decline.

“Raising hazardous waste fees by more than 20 percent is really a new tax that will harm many New York businesses, especially upstate manufacturers, which are already struggling with a difficult economy,” said Kenneth Adams, president and CEO of The Business Council of New York State, Inc.

In its memo in opposition to the bill The Business Council State: “Contrary to earlier commitments for no new taxes, this imposes in effect a new tax on manufacturing operations that result in the generation of hazardous wastes.

To read more click here.

The Business Council opposes this legislation (S.7592/A.10490) which would establish a statewide moratorium on conducting hydraulic fracturing for the extraction of natural gas or oil until 120 days after United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issues a report thereon.

First, a moratorium is unnecessary. Hydraulic fracturing has been safely employed in this state for over 60 years under the regulatory oversight of the Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC). The Department’s ongoing and long-standing regulation of hydraulic fracturing has proven sufficiently protective of groundwater resources and will continue to be protective under the enhanced permitting requirements proposed in the SGEIS.

Hydraulic fracturing is a proven technology that has allowed natural gas producers to safely and economically recover natural gas from deep shale formations across the country. It is vital to today’s shale gas revolution, which is reducing reliance on foreign oil, lowering air emissions generated by dirty coal, and vastly increasing America’s supply of clean natural gas.

Thousands of horizontal wells have been drilled across the United States with hydraulic fracturing without contamination. Our neighbor to the south is a testament to the success of this drilling. Economic revitalization is underway across Pennsylvania’s northern border.

Secondly, the proposed moratorium would significantly delay economic development opportunities, which will drive jobs and economic growth for many financially strapped communities and provide extraordinary end use savings for customers who burn clean, abundant and domestically produced natural gas.

New York has a long history in natural gas production. Some of the first natural gas wells were drilled in the early 1800’s near Fredonia. New York drilling companies drill approximately 1000 wells each year in New York.

Marcellus production will yield extensive new job opportunities, provide increased state and local tax collections and boost local economies and provide long-term growth particularly to the Southern Tier, an area in desperate need of economic growth.

We encourage DEC to begin permitting these wells and policing New York’s production operations. Only then will New York achieve its long-term energy security goals, its environmental compliance objectives, and economic opportunities that are sure to follow Marcellus development.

For these reasons the Business Council respectfully recommends against adoption of S.7592/A.10490.

In a statement release this morning Kenneth Adams, president and CEO of the Business Council, expresses the business communities concerns over the Legislature’s failure to act on renewing the Power for Jobs program that supports more than 250,000 jobs across the state.

“We are deeply disappointed that the legislature has not completed work on a new economic development power program to replace the current program that expires tomorrow, May 15,” said Kenneth Adams, president and CEO of the Business Council of New York State, Inc. “With everyone focused on preserving and creating jobs in New York, it is inexplicable that a state energy program that supports more than 300,000 good paying jobs will expire, even temporarily.”

More than 500 New York companies that get competitively priced electricity from the state’s Power for Jobs and related programs will face higher energy prices next week unless the Governor and the legislature act on new legislation immediately.”

To read the full statement click here.

According to The Public Policy Insitute - Currently, Power for Jobs supports nearly 240,000 jobs at approximately 440 businesses and not-for-profits organizations in every region of the State. Since its inception 13 years ago, the program has provided hundreds of millions of dollars in energy cost savings for its customers, spurring job creation and having a positive economic impact throughout the State. The Energy Cost Savings Benefit program, an umbrella program that merged three older economic programs in 2005, supports another 72,000 jobs at nearly 80 businesses. Over the years, the savings for customers have typically ranged from five to 20 percent for their allocations. In 2009 alone, it is estimated the two programs saved their customers between $50 and $100 million in energy costs.

Brad Gill, Executive Director of the Independent Oil and Gas Association of NY, wrote in the Syracuse Post Standard today challenging claims by environmentalists opposed to drilling in the Marcellus Shale. He along with members of the association are trained in petroleum engineering, geology, hydrology and other related fields and have made good careers drilling safely in New York State. They understand the fact and science of drilling and have been working in the industry for decades. Yet fear-promoting environmentalists continue to spread misinformation about the drilling process. Brad sets the record straight at:http://blog.syracuse.com/opinion/2010/05/to_the_editor_drilling_foes_de.html

Ray Finger reports in the Star Gazette -”A special panel has begun to gather information so Chemung County can move forward if the state approves a new natural gas drilling technique.

With nearly two dozen members, the Chemung County Executive’s Advisory Commission on Natural Energy Solutions first met April 29, and three or four of the panel’s eight subcommittees have already begun meeting, County Executive Tom Santulli said Wednesday.

The environment, water quality, public safety, impact on roads and economic opportunities are among the commission’s areas of focus.”

To read more click here.

NYISO president warns that new regulations could reduce reliability

Larry Rulison reports in the Times Union - “Environmental regulations come with a price. And in some cases, that price could be a less reliable electricity grid.

That’s what Stephen Whitley, president of the New York Independent System Operator, told attendees Wednesday at the spring conference of the Independent Power Producers of New York, a group that represents power plant owners.

“It’s going to put a stress on the system,” Whitley said. “It’s going to be pretty consequential for reliability.”

To read more click here.

In yesterday’s Wall Street Journal, Amy Myers Jaffe writes about the potential of shale gas to transform not only the world’s energy markets but the geopolitics associated with its development and delivery.

“In the end, what’s important to understand is that shale gas may be the key to solving some of our most pressing short-term crises, a way to bridge the gap to a more-secure energy and economic future.

The trade deficit has crippled our economy and shows no signs of abating as long as we remain tethered to imported energy. Why ship dollars abroad where they can destabilize global financial markets—and then hit us back in lost jobs and savings—when we can develop the resources we have here in our own country? Shall we pay Vladimir Putin and Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to develop our natural gas—or the citizens of Pennsylvania and Louisiana?”

While New Yorkers are focused on the DEC’s tightening of its drilling regulations, it is important not to lose sight of the bigger picture: development of the natural gas resources in the Marcellus Shale will help to strengthen our nation’s security while providing good jobs at home.

To read more click here.

In a recent article in Syracuse .com, Syracuse University hydrology professor Don Siegel describes his astonishment when, after delivering an unbiased scientific presentation about the hydraulic fracturing process and horizontal drilling for natural gas in New York, an audience member rose and stated that “it is not about the science”. The science and safety of drilling should be at the center of this debate. If it’s not about the science, then what is it about?

Advocates for development of the Marcellus Shale have studied the science of drilling and understand that clean, safe drilling is not only possible, it has been demonstrated to be enormously successful in other parts of the US with minimal environmental costs. Drilling opponents rely on fear to scare the public into believing that drilling will contaminate their water supplies and ruin the environment. The truth is in the science and attempts to dismiss it signal the lack of any evidence by drilling opponents that hydrofracking is harmful. Advocates for drilling should continue to focus on the science and safety of drilling as well as the associated economic benefits to communities and the state of New York.

To read more click here.