| Watershed Post

Pete Grannis cops to political skullduggery

The New York Times story on the DEC's recent announcement on gas drilling, posted this morning, has been beefed up with some more reporting since then. Here's DEC Commissioner Pete Grannis baldly admitting that the DEC's goal was to tread the narrow path between gas wells in New York City's drinking water and lawsuits from upstate landowners:

The conservation department’s commissioner, Pete Grannis, said that landowners’ property rights had weighed heavily in the decision not to issue a ban on drilling in the two watersheds. He said that about 70 percent of watershed property is privately owned and that a ban would have undoubtedly brought on lawsuits from owners deprived of lucrative leasing deals with gas companies.

“At the end of the day, an outright ban risks very substantial litigation,” he said.

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DEC's Friday Surprise

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Bloomberg and DEP Commissioner Holloway weigh in on DEC's ruling

The DEC's announcement that it will make gas drilling in NYC's watershed extremely difficult drew a statement from Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg this afternoon:

The portions of the Marcellus Shale where the City’s watershed lies must be treated differently and the Department of Environmental Conservation’s decision today recognizes that crucial fact. We firmly believe, based on the best available science and current industry and technological practices, that drilling cannot be permitted in the City’s watershed. We are confident that the additional reviews now required for any drilling proposal in the watershed will lead the State to that same conclusion.

DEP Commissioner Cas Holloway issued a statement, too:

The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation’s decision that hydraulic fracturing cannot be permitted in the New York City and Syracuse watersheds based on the information we have today recognizes that protecting New York’s water supplies must be our top priority.

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DEC's Friday Surprise

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Energy

Water

Area Teen On Movies: Kick-Ass

Area Teen Joe Harris, the Watershed Post's newest columnist, critiques Aaron Johnson, Chloë Moretz and Nicolas Cage in Kick-Ass.

For an avid comic book fan, watching a movie like Kick-Ass – yet another film adaptation of a Marvel license – can be like watching your best friend get mauled by a pack of vicious badgers.

Kick-Ass, directed by Matthew Vaughn (Stardust, Layer Cake) and produced by Brad Pitt, along with series creator Mark Millar (also the writer of the comic series that has become the hit action flick, Wanted), chronicles the trials and tribulations of an “average” teen, Dave Lizewski. He’s a stereotypical loser who reads comics, has a dirty mind, and doesn't accomplish much else. Dave wonders why people outside of comics don't fight crime, so he takes it upon himself to become a superhero. He calls himself Kick-Ass. (We have a title!)

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Catskill Mountainkeeper's Ramsay Adams on DEC's Friday surprise

The DEC's announcement that their road map for gas drilling in New York State doesn't apply to New York City's watershed caught us by surprise. (See our ongoing coverage here.) Looks like they called a bunch of beat reporters to break the story: Binghamton reporter Chris Strub was on Twitter last night wondering what DEC spokesman Yancey Roy was sitting on. Even now, with a New York Times story already live, the DEC doesn't have anything on their press-release page about the announcement.

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catskill mountainkeeper

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DEC's Friday Surprise

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DEC issues de facto ban on gas drilling in NYC watershed

This just in: The DEC has declared that their draft regulations on natural-gas drilling don't apply to New York City's watershed. (Or, for that matter, Syracuse's Skaneateles Lake watershed, also among a handful of water systems in the nation allowed by the EPA to operate without filtration.) From the New York Times:

While not an outright ban, state officials said, leaving the watersheds out of the regulatory plan would make it virtually impossible for a natural gas company to seek to drill in the watershed because of the costs and bureaucratic hurdles involved.

Stand back for a blast of outrage from local pols, some of whom have been claiming that any ban on gas drilling in the watershed amounts to a regulatory taking of property.

See our continuing coverage here.

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DEC's Friday Surprise

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Government

Energy

Water

Rock Snot, Bad Bugs and Other Bio Bullies

Wanna buy a health food store?

There's one for sale in Ulster County:

Whether you're looking to get out of the rat race or your looking for a growth industry with a heart, this is for you. This business provides the finest quality fresh, natural, organic and whole foods. Product lines include nutritional products and body care products. Current owner spends NO time at this business. An owner operator could take home nearly 70k. Little or no competition in the area.

The listing doesn't give the name of the store in question or even name the town in which it's located. But since there's "no competition in the area," it shouldn't be too hard to guess which one it is, right? If the aisles pictured in the listing's photos look familiar, email us and give us your guess.

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small business

health

Catskills real estate

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Local author, 1; Facebook, 0

Welcome to the hall of mirrors that is the Internet. The Daily Freeman recently wrote a story about Martha Frankel's new book, Brazilian Sexy. Frankel posted the Freeman clip on Facebook, along with a quip about being naked in her hometown paper. Some quisling among her Facebook friends flagged it, and Facebook put the kibosh on the link.

And then, just to bring everything full circle, the Freeman wrote about the whole virtual debacle. Now we've blogged it too: Bloggers blogging about newspapers writing about social media sites censoring authors blogging about newspapers reviewing their books! The mind boggles.

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Cornell scientist tarnishes natural gas's clean image

While battles rage over Marcellus shale gas drilling, Cornell scientist Robert Howarth has quietly released a report that could change everything. His surprising claim: Natural gas has a far greater carbon footprint than oil, and could even be more harmful to climate than coal. (See table below.)

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Earth Day roundup

Photo of a Delaware County sunset by Catskill05, via Flick. http://www.flickr.com/photos/catskill05/ / CC BY-ND 2.0

Ah, Earth Day, one of the most nebulous holidays of the year. Celebrations and commemorations are underway, and it seems like pretty much anything goes.

New York State Environmental Conservation Commissioner Pete Grannis stood on the banks of the Hudson in Albany to celebrate the river's progress from "open sewer" to "renewed resource."

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greene county legislature

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