Hydro-fracking - Last call for proposed regulation comments!

The NYS Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) released the draft supplement to the Generic Environmental Impact Statement for Oil and Gas Drilling in New York State on September 30 of this year. These proposed guidelines specifically identify procedures for high volume hydro-fracking shale formations, including the Marcellus formation. There is quite a bit of debate on the potential water quality and infrastructure impacts of drilling into the Marcellus Shale formations. These proposed regulations will have significant impacts on how oil and gas exploration will be handled in the Finger Lakes watersheds. There are many properties that already have signed exploration leases in the Owasco Lake Watershed.

Please become informed and send your comments to the DEC and your elected officials.

All comments on the proposed regulations are due by the end of the day 12/31/09.

Information from the NYS DEC on the DSGEIS:

http://www.dec.ny.gov/energy/58440.html

Information on CCE’s Hydro-fracking campaign:

www.citizenscampaign.org/marcellus

See our earlier blog on this important topic:
http://owlanews.blogspot.com/2009/10/gas-drilling-in-marcellus-shale-of.html

Submit comments to the DEC:

• Email: dmnsgeis@gw.dec.state.ny.us
• Online: www.dec.ny.gov/cfmx/extapps/SGEISComments/
• Written: ATTN: dSGEIS Comments, Bureau of Oil & Gas Regulation, NYSDEC Division of Mineral Resources, 625 Broadway, Third Floor, Albany, NY 12233-6500

Please call or write:

• Governor Paterson: http://www.state.ny.us/governor/contact/index.html
• Your NYS Assembly member: To find out who your Assembly member is and their phone number, visit: http://assembly.state.ny.us/mem/
• Your NYS Senator: To find out who your Senator is and their phone number, visit: http://www.nysenate.gov/senators

Asian Carp threaten the Great Lakes and potentially the Finger Lakes

Several states and concerned citizen groups are seeking help from the Federal Government to stop the migration of this invasive species into the Great Lakes and waterways of the North East. Various mid-west states have already initiated law suits seeking blockage of infected waterways that connect with the Great lakes.

This is a threat that we also need to be very conscious of in the Finger Lakes. We encourage you to become more informed on the issue and urge our representatives in Washington to support controls on this serious threat to Upstate NY's fisheries.

Description of the Threat from the Great Lakes Fishery Commission:

Asian carp are a significant threat to the Great Lakes because of their size, fecundity, and ability to consume large amounts of food. Asian carp can grow to 100 pounds and up to four feet. They are well-suited to the cold water climate of the Great Lakes region, which is similar to their native Eastern Hemisphere habitats. It is expected that they would compete for food with the valuable sport and commercial fish. If they entered the system, they would likely become a dominant species in the Great Lakes.

Two species of Asian carp-the silver and the bighead carps-escaped into the Mississippi River from southern aquaculture facilities in the early 1990s when the facilities were flooded. Steadily, the carp have made their way northward, becoming the most abundant species in some areas of the Mississippi, out-competing native fish, and causing severe hardship to the people who fish the river. The Chicago Ship and Sanitary Canal connects the Mississippi River to the Great Lakes. Currently, the carp are in the canal and have been sighted approximately 40 miles from Lake Michigan.

Links to more information on the Asian Carp threat:

http://www.asiancarp.org/rapidresponse/

http://www.jsonline.com/news/wisconsin/79646167.html

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/chi-asian-carp-suit-22-dec22,0,4864610.story

http://www.outdoorsniagara.com/asiancarp.htm

Planning for Owasco Lake Day 2010 - Looking for interested volunteers!

Dear OWLA members,

Many OWLA members were unable to attend the meeting on December 3, so I offered to send an update and review of the Lake Day 2010 discussions and to ask for input from members.

During the meeting Kathy Cappella distributed copies of a draft outline that she proposed (attached). After much discussion, the date for Lake Day that appeared to work best is Thursday, July 1, 2010, from about 4 pm to 7:30 pm., and everyone agreed that we should expand the event to include more community and area participants. The proposal also includes formation of a “Leadership Team” to carry out the goals of the event. Joe Wasileski, Sue Muldoon, Stas’ Kott, Kathy Cappella and I have already agreed to be on the team, and we welcome other OWLA members to join us. If you are interested, please let me know and also state the area of participation you would like to lead.

Please take a few minutes review the attached proposal and send me your thoughts and ideas for Lake Day 2010. Kathy and I will then update the proposal so that we can move forward early in 2010 to make this the best Owasco Lake Day ever.

I know this is a busy time of year for everyone, but if you can send comments, ideas, suggestions by December 15, it will help us move forward.

Many thanks,

Norma Leone

Please e-mail us at OWLANEWS@gmail.com if you would like more information or get to contact Norma Leone.

December OWLA Meeting notice from Joe Wasileski

Hi Owls!!

We will have our December Meeting at the Springside Inn on Wednesday December 2nd at 6:00 pm not 7:00 pm. We should be through by 8:00pm. That way people from Rochester can get home a little earlier. Some Owls will get there early at 5PM for dinner. Committee heads, be prepared to give a committee update, and outlooks and GOALS for 2010! Send a report via email to me, if unable to attend.

Norma and Kathy will be focusing our attention on Owasco Lake Day 2010, in a planning discussion. I will lead a discussion on our 2009 successes, as well as our anticipated goals for 2010. This should be an IMPORTANT meeting from an organizational standpoint. So PLEASE try to come and add your input!! We thought about a Saturday meeting, but most of you voted for next Wednesday, so be there.

We will meet again in January, and probably take a month off in February, at least that is the game plan. Keep an eye out for last month's meeting minutes along with a compilation of your responses as to the important accomplishments of OWLA in 2010. These will be emailed to you shortly. - Joe W.

Interesting Guide to Weed Management

An interesting guide to weed management was written last summer by a group of Finger Lakes Agencies involved in protecting Water Quality. The guide; "Aquatic Weeds: Nuisance and Necessity; Managing Waterweeds in Cayuga, Owasco and Seneca Lakes" is a must read for Fingerlakes shoreline owners and users. The 28 page PDF guide was published by the Cayuga Lake Watershed Network. It does a nice job of explaining the life cycle of weeds, as well as many options available to combat them.

Here is an excerpt from the Introduction and a link to the full PDF document:

"Lakeshore property owners have concerns that most other landowners do not face. Mighty waves erode the shoreline, fluctuating water levels threaten drinking water wells, activities in the yard can have an immediate effect on water quality – and excessive water weeds can ruin the enjoyment of the property. An overabundance of aquatic plants can prevent swimming, foul boat propellers, stink as they rot along shorelines and reduce property values. Lakeshore residents expect reasonable access to, and use of, the lake. For many this includes the need for weed management, used here to mean activities intended to reduce the abundance or species of aquatic plants in a specific area.

Weed management requires knowledge, time, patience and money. There is no magic bullet that will eliminate excess weeds without continued effort and without harmful side affects. Some management attempts can even make the problem worse. A lake, after all, is not a swimming pool but a dynamic, complex system and expectations should be realistic.

The goal of this booklet is to support weed management in Seneca, Cayuga and
Owasco Lakes that takes into account all of the lake's users, emphasizing a watershed approach."

Link to the WQMA web site and PDF guide:http://co.cayuga.ny.us/wqma/projects/Aquatic_Weeds_Nuisance_and_Necessity.pdf

Take a look and tell us what you think!

- Lakeman

Senator Valeski to speak at OWLA meeting

Message from OWLA President Joe Wasileski:

Hello OWLS!!

Greeting from Joe!!!

We are having an OWLA meeting this Wednesday November 4th at 7 PM at The Springside Inn.

Our guest will be Senator David Valesky. He is coming specifically to hear our concerns about the water quality of Owasco Lake, and what he might do to help OWLA and it's Mission. Please come to meet him and also weigh in on your concerns and solutions. Senator Valesky wants very much to help us, and wants to be known as a Finger Lakes advocate! We have been working on putting together specific propositions that he might choose to HELP us achieve. Please come, and bring your friends, to meet him and see if we can move forward to achieve our goals. A strong turn out, will definitely help our cause. This is not a political event, but merely one additional effort to try to help OWASCO LAKE!

Thanks Joe

Home Electronics Recycling Event

Celebrating America Recycles Day!

Date, Time, Place:
Saturday, November 14, 2009.
Running from 8:00 a.m. to 11:00 am.
Located at the City of Auburn Landfill, 311 North Division St. Auburn, NY.

Acceptable Household Electronics Include:
Computer equipment

Computer monitors and Televisions - $5 each (limit 2 per household)
VCR's
DVD players
Printers
Desktop and Tabletop Copiers
Stereo systems
Telephones
Video Game systems (for example Nintendo or Sega systems)
Cell phones

If you have questions, please call CCE at 315-255-1183, or email solidwaste@cornell.edu.

This event is sponsored by Cayuga County Solid Waste Management Program Office, Cornell Cooperative Extension of Cayuga County, Cayuga County Department of Planning and Economic Development, and the Cayuga County Soil and Water Conservation District. Funding is provided by the NUCOR Steel of Auburn, Inc., Cayuga County and the NYS DEC.

Gas Drilling in the Marcellus Shale of Upstate NY

We had a very interesting discussion at this month's OWLA meeting on the potential water quality issues related to proposed gas drilling in the Marcellus Shale region of NY which crosses the Southern Tier and Finger Lakes. Hillary Lambert, the Lake Steward for the Cayuga Lake Watershed Network gave us some background on the issue and her organizations interest and position on this important regional water quality issue.


A draft Environmental Imapct Statement on proposed regulations was released by the NYSDEC on Sept. 30th for public comment. The comment period runs through the month of October. Link: http://www.dec.ny.gov/energy/47554.html


We encourage you to take a look this potential water quality issue. Much of the land in the Owasco Lake Watershed already has exploration leases in place, signed between land owners and various drilling companies. If the price of natural gas becomes favorable and the proposed regulation structure moves forward, we may start to see this type of drilling in the watersheds of the Fingerlakes. It's your surface water and aquifers which may become affected; you may want to learn more about these proposed activities.

Links to a couple of web sites with more information:

Shaleshock http://www.shaleshock.org/

NYS DEC http://www.dec.ny.gov/energy/47554.html

Sullivan County Drilling task force report http://www.co.sullivan.ny.us/index.asp?orgid=610&storyTypeID=&sid=&


There is also an informational session for landowners coming up later this month:


Gas Drilling: Legal Issues for Landowners (with or without a lease)
October 29, 2009
7:00 pm
to
9:30 pm
Gas Drilling: Legal Issues for Landowners (with or without a lease)A free educational forum, open to all.
With increased natural gas development in the Southern Tier will come new and complex legal issues that affect both landowners and communities. Please join us on Thursday, October 29, from 7:00 to 9:30 pm to hear presentations by legal experts, followed by an opportunity to ask questions.
The forum will be held at Cornell Vet School’s James Law Auditorium on Tower Road, just a block from Rt. 366.
Topics will include lease terms and considerations “force majeure” lease extensions
intricacies of lease extension/expiration compulsory integration (the legal extraction of gas from under unleased lands) liability issues protection of rights and property

All are encouraged to attend this unique event sponsored by the Cornell Cooperative Extension (CCE) South Central NY Agricultural Team, together with Shaleshock Citizens Action Coalition, Community Science Institute, Finger Lakes Bioneers, Interfaith Action for Healing Earth, NYS Assemblywoman Barbara Lifton, Sustainable Tompkins, and Tompkins County Farm Bureau.
For more information, please contact Schuyler CCE at 607-535-7161, or Tompkins CCE at 272-2292, or by email at: cab377@cornell.edu. More details will soon be posted to the CCE Natural Gas Development Resource Center website: http://gasleasing.cce.cornell.edu/ .





http://www.shaleshock.org/gas-drilling-legal-issues-for-landowners-with-or-without-a-lease/

Conference on Phosphorus

The Cayuga Lake Watershed Network is sponsoring a half day conference in Ithaca on October 24th at the Ithaca Unitarian Church Annex (208 E. Buffalo Street). The program sounds very interesting, you may want to take this opportunity to learn about how Cayuga Lake is responding to phosphorus issues in their watershed.

Press release from the CLWN:

A FREE fall conference will be held October 24 in Ithaca, 9am - noon. Entitled Phosphorus Inputs into Cayuga Lake, speakers include Roxy Johnson, Doug Haith, Steve Penningroth, and Todd Walter. A panel discussion will include the above speakers, as well as Jose Lozano and Bob Johnson.

The south end of Cayuga Lake has been listed as impaired by the DEC in part because of excess phosphorous inputs. Rectifying this situation requires a better understanding of what are the main inputs of phosphorous to the south end of the lake and what can be done to reduce them. The lake source cooling scheme of Cornell has been targeted as a significant contributor, but is it?
This public seminar has been organized by the Cayuga Lake Watershed Network and the Cayuga Lake Intermunicipal Organization to address these issues. Ithaca Unitarian Church Annex (208 E. Buffalo Street).

Program:
9 – 9.30 “Phosphorous and sediment monitoring results from three Cayuga Lake creeks,” Roxy Johnson, City of Ithaca.
9.30 – 9.45 “Volunteer monitors, certified lab tests and USGS flow data: a solid basis for estimating nutrient and sediment loading from tributary streams to southern Cayuga Lake,” Steve Penningroth, Community Science Institute.
9.45 – 10.30 “Estimating nutrient and sediment loads to Cayuga Lake,” Professor Doug Haith, Cornell University.
10.30 -10.45 Refreshments
10.45 – 11.15 “Do agricultural best management practices work? Combining monitoring and modeling to find answers,” Professor Todd Walter, Cornell University.
11.15 – 12.00 Panel discussion with authors and additional guests including Jose Lozano of the City of Ithaca and Bob Johnson of Cornell University