New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman filed a lawsuit on Tuesday against the federal government to stop the development of natural gas drilling in the Delaware River Basin. The suit alleges the government's agencies have failed to comply with federal law requiring the study of environmental consequences of new natural gas drilling, known as 'fracking'
The complex suit's outcome could directly affect water quality and recreational opportunties for millions of residents of New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania.
Schneiderman's suit names the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the Fish and Wildlife Service, the National Park Service and the Department of Interior, as well as top individuals working at those agencies. The New York Attorney General's suit alleges that the federal government didn't perform a required full environmental review of proposed natural gas drilling regulations, including fracking regulations, for the Delaware River Basin.
Last month, the Attorney General demanded that the federal agencies represented on the DRBC comply with the nation’s bedrock environmental law, the National Environmental Policy Act, before moving forward with allowing new gas production in the basin. Gas development using fracking has been associated with drinking water contamination, as well as air pollution, significant waste issues, agricultural impacts, community disruption and other environmental and health impacts across the country.
The federal government and representatives of the governors of New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Delaware, are working together to write new rules for gas drilling within the watershed of the Delaware River.
The Delaware River Basin Commission, has already published draft regulations and opened them for public comment. The DRBC is reviewing those comments and considering changes to the draft. It estimates that its proposed regulations would allow 15,000 to 18,000 gas wells to be drilled within the Basin, most of which are expected to be developed by fracking.
Ultimately, the federal and state governments together will write rules for gas drillers. But Schneiderman's suit could slow down the process significantly if a judge finds in his favor.
Schneiderman's office said in a release that even after federal agencies determined that natural gas drilling in the Basin would potentially result in significant environmental impacts and that the study of those impacts should be performed, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers made clear last week that it would make no such commitment. The NY Attorney General claims that the National Environmental Policy Act mandates a full review of the impact of the proposed natural gas development regulations.
The federal government is being represented by the Department of Justice, which is reviewing the suit.
The headwaters of the Delaware lie above the Marcellus Shale, a gas-rich geologic formation. Thanks to recent technical advances, including horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing, these lands now look like a rich source of energy. But like any industrial activity, gas drilling comes with risks.
The fracking technique is a high-pressure method of horizontal drilling that pumps a combination of water, sand and chemicals into shale to create fractures and allow natural gas to be collected at the surface. The chemicals used in the process have never been disclosed by the natural gas industry, though pressure is mounting on the industry to deal directly with the fracking disclosure issue. The fracking chemicals have come under attack for their potential to cause widespread harm to the environment and human health.
Fracking uses clean water, and critics contend, puts that water back into the aquifer in a polluted form through its pressure pumping technology.
Among the energy companies wishing to drill in the Upper Delaware are Chesapeake Energy Corporation and Bronco Drilling Company, Exxon Mobil and Chevron. Chesapeake Energy is the largest leaseholders in the Marcellus Shale (which runs beneath a significant portion of the Delaware River Basin). Chesapeake Energy describes the fracking process in a fact sheet posted on its web site in April as being "99% water and sand, with a small amount of special-purpose additives." Chesapeake includes a long list of special-purpose additives which it says are common ingredients in consumer products, including in glass cleaner. Last week, ExxonMobil and Chevron faced shareholder pressure at
annual meetingsto disclose the chemicals used in the fracking process, but the measures were voted down.
The New York Attorney General's lawsuit is the latest twist in the long battle over "fracking" the controversial drilling method used to gain access to hydrocarbons located in the Marcellus Shale deposits that run under several Northeast states. In December, former NY Gov. David Paterson placed a six-month moratorium on fracking. PA's Gov. Tom Corbett appointedenergy company CEO and campaign contributor C. Alan Walker to the post of oversight of state energy matters, and NJ Gov. Chris Christie wants fracking operations to start.