With gas prices at near-record levels and the rise of the horizontal drilling technique to extract underground deposits of natural gas, drilling companies have been emboldened. They believe that there is a very large untapped supply of natural gas in the Marcellus Shale formation that extends across the Southern border of upstate New York. With many of that region's landowners looking for a way to supplement their income, these companies have been signing leases with landowners to allow them to drill wells on their property.

This summer, while approving legislation to change the required well spacing, the governor directed the State Department of Environmental Conservation to update its Environmental Impact Statement on gas drilling to reflect concerns that might arise from horizontal drilling as a method of extraction. This method has recently become more economical and is preferred by the companies now coming to New York State.

Horizontal drilling to break up the underground shale would require millions of gallons of water mixed with sand and toxic chemicals forced through the rock under great pressure. Companies that use this method claim that this mixture is proprietary information and they do not need to disclose what chemicals are being used or how they are being recovered. A Bureau of Land Management 1998 Environmental Impact Statement lists the hazardous substances potentially used as gelling agents in fracturing the shale. They include such toxic substances as benzene, toluene, naphthalene and methyl tertiary butyl ether (MTBE). While the industry claims that these are recaptured and properly disposed of, very small quantities of these substances can contaminate millions of gallons of water. For example, only 28 tablespoons of MTBE could contaminate millions of gallons of ground water at a concentration that would cause it to be unusable.

Clean, potable water is of utmost concern. We cannot take a chance with the source of safe drinking water for over
9 million people who depend on it daily. We must be sure that the New York City watershed area, as well as the entire Delaware River Basin, which supplies drinking water to a population area of 15 million, is protected from any possible contamination. I am sponsoring a bill to do that: A.11527 of 2008.

Next year, I will reintroduce that bill to prevent the immediate drilling of oil and gas wells in upstate New York. I will amend this bill to permanently prohibit drilling for gas or oil in the New York City watershed to protect water and air quality, and human health. That includes parts of eight counties including Delaware, Greene, Schoharie, Sullivan and Ulster counties in the Marcellus Shale region. In addition, the bill would halt issuance of any permits for well drilling in the state until a complete environmental review is done by the State Department of Environmental Conservation.

The economic realities for New York City are enormous. Should there be any question about contamination of the water from its upstate watershed, the federal government will require the water to be sent through a filtration system. The city estimates that building such a system would cost $10-12 billion in today's dollars.

This measure has already met with approval from many environmental groups, and Senator Frank Padavan has agreed to sponsor the bill in the State Senate.

James Brennan is a Democrat representing parts of Brooklyn in the Assembly.