Writer welcomes longer period for comment on N.Y. environmental statement on deep gas drilling

The New York Department of Environmental Conservation has extended by 30 days the comment period for its draft Supplemental Generic Environmental Impact Statement on natural-gas drilling and fracturing in the deep Marcellus Shale formation. That's a good idea, opines Sue Heavenrich of Broader View Weekly in Candor, N.Y., and her blog, The Marcellus Effect. (The paper has no Web site.)

In the draft, "The first thing you notice is that pages and pages of the document focus on water: water withdrawal, water impoundments, wastewater disposal and protection of water resources," Heavenrich writes. "Breaking shale to release gas is a water-intensive activity. But farmers and rural residents depend on those same water resources for watering livestock, irrigating crops and cooking up hot soup for supper. And those of us who depend on private wells and springs for everything from drinking water to washing our clothes want assurances from DEC that the rules they adopt will provide adequate protection of our groundwater resources."