Letter to Commissioner Joe Martens

I decided not to write about either Syracuse's Slide or the American Indian health. There were many kids already writing about Syracuse's Slide and it was too difficult to find information on American Indian Health. I decided to write about hydrofracking. Currently, it is a big local issue in the Syracuse area. I found an article in The Post Standard about the negative effects of hydraulic fracturing for natural gas in the Finger Lakes. So I am writing a letter to New York State's Commissioner for Environmental Conservation voicing the concerns of the public.

Dear Commissioner Martens,

            My name is Shahidul Bhuiyan. I am a freshman mechanical engineering student at Syracuse University. I recently learned that New York State is proposing to use hydraulic fracturing to mine for natural gas in the Finger Lakes region. I am writing to you to voice the concerns that I, as a new resident of Central New York, along with my fellow community members have regarding hydrofracking.

Fracking protestors in Syracuse

            The introduction of hydrofracking poses many dangers for this region. The Finger Lakes provide clean drinking water for hundreds of thousands of homes. With hydrofracking operations running 24/7, high volumes of toxic, radioactive, and caustic liquid waste pose storage, treatment, and disposal problems. An accident can adversely disturb the environment and public health. Leading experts fear that conventional water treatment techniques currently applied in the Finger Lakes will not remove all harmful components found in fracking fluids. A study published in the National Academy of Science found that water wells near gas wells had 17 times higher methane levels than normal water.

What really upsets me is that although there has been dramatic developments in the hydrofracking process over the past few decades, New York State is still using rules and regulations from 1985. The proposed regulations for the Finger Lakes calls for the use of large open pits to store flowback fluid. This type of storage is very prone to spills which could devastate the water quality of the lakes. There are solutions already available with the closed-loop drilling which would significantly reduce the risk of water contamination yet New York State has not included it in its regulations. The proposal also allows the use of toxic and carcinogenic chemicals which are unnecessary. Substitutes such as gels, foams, or compressed gases such as nitrogen, carbon dioxide have the same effect but this is also not included in the proposals.

Hydrofracking will also have drastic consequences on the local environment. The Finger Lakes are home to a diverse habitat of fish and wildlife. To preserve this, community leaders and public officials have created the NYS Open Space Conservation Plan. Under this plan, community leaders and public officials have put nearly 13,000 acres of land under conservation. All of their work will be undermined because drilling will surely require the construction of thousands of gas wells and countless miles of road and pipelines.

New Yorkers should not have to sacrifice clean water and the environment for energy. I do admit that introducing hydrofracking would have its benefits such as job creation, lower energy prices, maybe even a boost to the local economy. However, with the current regulations and practices the consequences outweigh the benefits. Commissioner Martens, I trust that you will take our concerns into consideration and will make a sincere effort to revise the current regulations if not abandon the proposal completely.

Sincerely,

Shahidul Bhuiyan

Click here for more info on hydrofracking and here for letters to the Post Standard regarding concerns with hydrofracking