Uncalculated Risk

Scott Stringer, 3/12/2009

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Executive Summary

This report from Manhattan Borough President scott M. stringer is intended to better inform New York's lawmakers and the public about the potential risks associated with a method of drilling for natural gas called "hydraulic fracturing." If approved later this year, this drilling technique could be employed throughout New York state on a massive scale.

Presented here are some two dozen examples of alarming incidents from nine states around the nation which must be part of New York's discussion about whether to proceed with hydraulic fracturing. As these examples reflect, there are many environmental and public health hazards implicated by this means of extracting natural gas, and the hazards threaten New Yorkers from Hobart in Delaware County, to Harlem in Upper Manhattan.

However, for the 1.6 million New Yorkers represented by the Manhattan Borough President, one danger posed by hydraulic fracturing is paramount: The risk to New York City's water supply.

Ninety percent of our city's water comes from the largest unfiltered surface water system in the world. (Only four other municipalities in the country drink unfiltered water.) As a result, New York City's water is of great quality and also is highly vulnerable to contamination.

With the stakes so high, we cannot dismiss the documented cases of environmental dangers connected to hydraulic fracturing, as unearthed by Pro Publica and other enterprise journalists: a water well in Wyoming with a concentration of benzene 1,500 times the level safe for human consumption; a house in Bainbridge, Ohio that exploded in a fiery ball; and contaminated wells discovered just two months ago right across the New York state line in Dimock, Pennsylvania. Many similar incidents are presented on the following pages.

As with most environmental matters - especially where there may be substantial revenues available to private concerns and local governments - there are differences of opinion about the dangers posed by this drilling technique. But on this, there is no dispute: despite the enormous stakes, there has been far too little public discussion of this issue in New York City.

In part, this is due to the decision by the state department of environmental Conservation to not include New York City among the venues where the first public meetings were held to discuss the environmental impact of hydraulic fracturing. This is an oversight that can and must be corrected.

Until the experiences of other states are fully considered, and until the people of New York City are properly engaged on this matter of vital concern to them, Borough President Stringer is calling for a moratorium on the issuance of drilling permits. In addition, the Borough President calls for a ban on drilling in the city's watershed.

Other recommendations made in this report focus on safeguards that could mitigate potential risks and possibly allow drilling to move forward on safer footing. These include: disclosing the ingredients of "frac-fluid"; tracking the movement of "frac-fluid" with the use of so-called "tracer" chemicals; and exploring the use of safer versions of "frac-fluid" now employed in off-shore drilling.

This report is released against the backdrop of an overpowering need throughout the state for new engines of job creation, economic growth, and tax revenue. And the dangers highlighted here, though supported by considerable evidence, remain the subject of debate. And still, the decision to proceed with hydraulic fracturing must turn on the long term interests of all new Yorkers and be informed by our best judgment and a thorough discussion of the benefits and risks. The goal of this report is to advance that discussion.