GAS DRILLING IN SULLIVAN COUNTY, NY: DRINKING WATER THREAT?
Cat.: State and Local Government, Government in My Backyard (GIMBY), The Forum, Environment, Environmental Protection Agency20. November 2008
Comment
Part of Understanding Government's mission is to examine the way federal and state agencies cooperate on issues of national importance, or -- as in this article by GIMBY reporter Jane Johnston -- don't. Newburgh, NY, Nov. 20, 2008 -- Millions of gallon of water, laced with carcinogenic and other toxic chemicals, are pumped deep into the earth at pressures great enough to break solid rock and release natural gas stored in pockets. The process is called hydraulic fracturing, or “fracking.” Politicians with an eye for economic development cheer for the gas and the hoped for prosperity it will bring; also pleased are some property owners who have received fat signing bonuses for drilling leases. But what becomes of those millions of gallons of now contaminated water? If left in the ground, could they affect the groundwater supply? What about spillage or leakage from above-ground storage tanks? This scenario has alarmed people in many states in the past few years, and New York State now faces its own dilemmas with the prospect of drilling in the Marcellus Shale formation in Sullivan County.



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