There is a natural gas boom rolling over southern New York, as companies rush to lock up drilling rights above the underground Marcellus Shale formation, which could contain enough natural gas to supply the entire country for two years.
To get that gas, companies will use a drilling technique hydrofracking, in which a high-pressure blend of water, sand and chemicals are injected up to a mile into the earth to fracture the shale and free natural gas bubbles trapped there. Each well can require up to 3 million gallons of water, which must be treated after it is pumped back up to the surface.
Some states where hydrofracking has been done, like Colorado and New Mexico, have wound up with polluted water getting in the environment, and the state Department of Environmental Conservation has promised not to let that happen here.
Dr. Susan Riha, director of the New York State Water Resources Institute at Cornell University, testified at a jam-packed Assembly hearing last week as an expert on water protection issues. And she will be this week’s guest on Capital Green Scene, which airs at 1 p.m. Saturday on WVCR-FM (88.3 The Saint) from studios at Siena College in Loudonville.
Listen to what she has to say on what the state should do to make sure drilling is kept safe. A primer on hydrofracking is available on the institute’s web page here…