Assembly Bill A10090A

                                BILL NUMBER:A10090

TITLE  OF BILL:   An act to amend the environmental conservation law, in
relation to the prohibition of the on-site disposal of drill cuttings

Purpose Or General idea of Bill:  The purpose of this bill is to provide
greater oversight of natural gas drilling.

Summary of Specific Provisions:  This bill would  prohibit  the  on-site
disposal  or  burial  of  drill  cuttings and drill cutting samples from
natural gas well,

Effects of Present Law Which This Bill  Would  Alter:    Amends  section
23-0305 of the ECL to add a new paragraph K.

Justification:   New York is home to rich natural gas reserves. In 2006,
there were 6,213 active natural gas wells that generated a state  record
of  55.3 billion cubic feet of natural gas. The Marcellus formation that
extends from the Southern Tier into Ohio, Pennsylvania and West Virginia
is estimated to have $1 trillion worth of natural gas,  and  is  largely
untapped. The rising price of natural gas has led to an increased demand
for new sources and made formations like the Marcellus even more attrac-
tive.

The  extraction of these reserves is accompanied by considerable risk to
the environment, In order to fully examine this risk, the Assembly Envi-
              

ronmental Conservation Committee has held a series of hearings to  exam-
ine  the  environmental protections needed in the Department of Environ-
mental Conservation's (DEC)  natural  gas  and  oil  drilling  regulator
structure  in  order  to  safeguard  natural resources. In the course of
these hearings, expert testimony was presented  on  necessary  steps  to
ensure the safety of New York's precious water resources.

In  their  hearing testimony, the United States Geological Survey (USGS)
indicated that a multiple horizontal well site will generate 100 to  500
times  the  volume  of cuttings generated at a vertical well site.  More
importantly, the Marcellus formation  has  been  shown  to  be  high  in
pyrite.  Oxidation  and  leaching  of  pyretic  shale produces Acid Mine
Discharge (AMD) which can lead to significant water impairments.  Unfor-
tunately, in the Draft Supplemental Generic Environmental Impact  State-
ment  (DSGEIS), the Department of Environmental Conservation proposes to
prohibit only the on-site disposal of cuttings contaminated with  drill-
ing  mud. The difficulty of determining which cuttings resulted from the
use of drilling mud versus non-drilling mud seems  problematic.  Coupled
with  concerns about the potential for Acid Mine Discharge, the prohibi-
tion on on-site storage and disposal  makes  more  sense.  In  addition,
companies  from Pennsylvania have successfully utilized full containment
that would eliminate any exposure from drill cuttings.

Prior Legislative History:  This is new legislation.

Fiscal Implications for State And Local Governments:  None

Effective Date:  This act shall take effect 90 days after enactment.