New York City Comptroller William C. Thompson, Jr. issued the following statement regarding the State Department of Environmental Conservation’s (DEC) recently released Draft Supplemental Generic Environmental Impact Statement governing the use of the hydraulic fracturing drilling near the City’s water supply system:

“The irresponsible decision by the DEC to open access to areas surrounding the City’s watershed could poison our City’s drinking water, placing the health of millions of New Yorkers at risk.  The controversial process of hydraulic fracturing drilling is not regulated under the Clean Water Act, and has already had devastating impacts in other areas of the country.  As I have indicated previously in a letter to the Governor and comments to the DEC, any decision to drill so close to our City’s water supply must include the strictest oversight to ensure that the nine million people who rely on the region’s water do not suffer ill effects.

I am also concerned that the City and the Water Board have been extremely lax in responding to this threat.  Over a year ago the then-Water Board Chairman and several Board members told the New York City Department of Environmental Protection that it should immediately demand a prohibition on gas drilling in the watershed.  Two months later, these three Water Board members were gone from the Board and the Board voted to engage a consultant to study the issue – a study that was presented to the Board only last week.  I believe our City’s critical watershed would be in a healthier position today if the Mayor’s representatives on the Water Board had responded more appropriately to the threat of drilling.

I strongly urge all New Yorkers to speak out at the public hearings on this matter, and I will continue to direct my concerns about this troubling development to our State’s leadership. While I understand the need to help spur our State’s economy in a time of fiscal crisis, we must not do so at the expense of the health and well being of our City’s and our State’s residents.”

To read Comptroller Thompson’s previous statements on the Marcellus Shale visit www.comptroller.nyc.gov

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