ECO-BULLETIN FROM OTSEGO COUNTY CONSERVATION ASSOCIATION

January 26: Vol. 5, No. 1

Eco-bulletin headlines this issue:

EARTH FESTIVAL 2012 TO BE HELD ON APRIL 14

BVA HOSTS TALK ON PEARLY MUSSELS

OCCA RELEASES SGEIS COMMENTS

START SAVING NOW FOR OCCA GARAGE SALE

OCCA CALLS FOR WITHDRAWAL OF SGEIS; ENDORSES TOXICS TARGETING RECOMMENDATIONS, HOME RULE

RECYCLABLES TO BE COLLECTED AT EARTH FESTIVAL

EARTH FESTIVAL 2012 TO BE HELD ON APRIL 14: Planning has begun for the 7^th Annual Earth Festival, set for Saturday, April 14 at Milford Central School. Returning is the traditional information and vendor fair from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. in the gymnasium. The popular pre-festival bird walk, to be led by Bob Donnelly from the Delaware-Otsego Audubon Society, will kick off the event again this year, and the EcoArt/Trendy Trash Contest and expanded children’s activities provided by Milford Central School will also be featured. New for 2012, Master Gardeners of Cornell Cooperative Extension Schoharie and Otsego Counties will host Spring Garden Day in conjunction with Earth Festival, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., with morning and afternoon classes on a wide variety of gardening topics suitable for both new and experienced gardeners. Morning session presentation topics will include garden design, composting, gardening with containers, and gardening using alternative methods. In the afternoon, Master Gardeners will provide new gardening product demonstrations and hands-on opportunities for participants to construct an alternative gardening project using recycle materials, such as a bottle garden or living wreath. Additionally, Master Gardeners will have a table at Earth Festival and will be available to answer any gardening questions. Earth Festival is an environmentally-focused, interactive event featuring exhibits, activities, vendors and entertainment, all with a fun, earth-friendly twist. Financial contributions are most welcome, and an open invitation to earth-friendly exhibitors, food and retail vendors is extended. Earth Festival 2012 is sponsored by Otsego County Conservation Association and WildLearn.com. For more information about Earth Festival, click on http://occainfo.org/documents/EarthFestivalMasterLetter2012FINAL2.pdf , call (607) 547-4488 or e-mail admin@occainfo.org.

BVA HOSTS TALK ON PEARLY MUSSELS: The January meeting of the Butternut Valley Alliance, to be held this Sunday, January 29 at 1:30 p.m. in the New Lisbon Town Hall, will feature a presentation by Paul Lord and Tim Pokorny titled “Butternut Creek Sentinels: Pearly Mussels.” Sentinels are those assigned to look over or guard something of value. Pearly mussels are long-lived animals (100+ years) that move through, breathe and eat from the water. Their presence tells us much about the condition of a waterway. Lord and Pokorny surveyed several Butternut Creek locations in summer 2011, searching for four New York State pearly mussel Species of Greatest Conservation Need. What they found was beyond what they could imagine and contrasts markedly with nearby waters. The meeting is free and open to the public. The New Lisbon Town Hall is located at 908 County Road 16, Garrattsville (east of intersection SH51 and CR16). For more information, contact Ed Lentz at (607) 263-5425 or foxfallsfarm@gmail.com

OCCA RELEASES SGEIS COMMENTS: Earlier this month, OCCA submitted its official comments to the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation regarding DEC’s draft regulations governing high-volume hydraulic fracturing for natural gas. Compiled by OCCA Environmental Planner Rima Shamieh, the comments include recommendations from a number of consultants and contributors. To read the complete document, click onhttp://occainfo.org/documents/SGEISOCCA010912.pdf.

START SAVING NOW FOR OCCA GARAGE SALE: OCCA’s Annual “Reduce, Reuse, Recycle” Garage Sale will be held on Saturday and Sunday, April 28 and 29 in the Cooperstown Farmers’ Market building at 101 Main Street, Cooperstown. Please begin setting aside items now for this fundraising event. The official collection dates for the OCCA garage sale will be April 22-26. All donations are tax deductible: OCCA will provide a donation voucher upon request. Those interested in dropping off materials sooner, or who would like more information about volunteering to assist with the event, should call (607) 547-4488 or e-mail admin@occainfo.org for further details. In addition to raising funds for OCCA programming, the garage sale also benefits the environment through waste prevention, or “source reduction.” Source reduction, including reuse, can help reduce waste disposal and handling costs, because it avoids the costs of recycling, municipal composting, land filling, and combustion. Source reduction also conserves resources and reduces pollution, including greenhouse gases that contribute to global warming.

OCCA CALLS FOR WITHDRAWAL OF SGEIS; ENDORSES TOXICS TARGETING RECOMMENDATIONS, HOME RULE: In official comments submitted this month to the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation regarding DEC’s draft regulations governing high-volume hydraulic fracturing for natural gas, the Otsego County Conservation Association has asked for an immediate withdrawal of the current document.

“OCCA recognizes and appreciates that the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation has worked extensively to improve environmental safeguards in its revised Supplemental Generic Environmental Impact Statement on the Oil, Gas and Solution Mining Regulatory Program. However, we still do not believe the SGEIS adequately addresses the protection of water, air, wildlife or habitat, nor does it sufficiently mitigate possible environmental impacts by high-volume hydraulic fracturing to our ecosystem as a whole,” wrote OCCA President Vicky Lentz.

OCCA questioned numerous findings, procedures, and suggested mitigations in the SGEIS and noted DEC’s failure to evaluate cumulative impacts on the region in terms of water quality, air quality, agriculture, tourism, public health and safety, job markets, housing markets, and quality of life.

“The 2011 rdSGEIS fails to address cumulative impacts and appropriate remediation in any meaningful way,” the letter reads. “The gas isn’t going anywhere – we urge the state to make sure that both the technology and the process are perfected and proven before moving forward.”

On behalf of its 800-plus membership, OCCA’s final recommendation – in addition to immediate withdrawal of the current revised draft SGEIS – is that the DEC suspend all permitting until the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency concludes its study on the potential impacts of hydraulic fracturing on drinking water resources.

In other related news, OCCA has written to Governor Andrew M. Cuomo in support of a November letter by Toxics Targeting which identifies numerous defects and/or omissions within the SGEIS.

“OCCA echoes the conclusion drawn by Toxics Targeting that the revised draft SGEIS fails to provide a meaningful plan to safeguard New York from the irreparable harm that could be caused by the vast industrialization associated with Marcellus shale horizontal hydrofracturing,” that letter read.

Among other recommendations, Toxics Targeting urged Cuomo to:

·         Ban gas drilling wastewaters from being discharged into publicly owned treatment works designed for sanitary waste or adopt strict pretreatment standards

·         Ban land-spreading of toxic gas drilling wastewaters

·         Identify New York areas prone to higher seismic activity and propose measures to prevent earthquakes potentially associated with horizontal hydrofracturing

·         Resolve EPA concerns about inadequate protection of ecosystems and wildlife

·         Assess cumulative impacts on a comprehensive basis

In a second letter to Governor Cuomo, OCCA asked that an amendment to Environmental Conservation Law be considered which: 1) authorizes local governments to consider whether natural gas drilling should be a permissible use within their  borders; 2) authorizes local governments to address natural gas drilling in their zoning or planning ordinances; and 3) allows the municipality regulatory control by special use permit should natural gas drilling be deemed a permissible use.

“Land-use planning touches on the many human activities which have an impact on our shrinking natural surroundings and addresses such concerns as unique natural habitats, water quality, traffic patterns, noise abatement, air quality, and light pollution,” the letter read.

“OCCA would be remiss in its role as partner and advisor to Otsego County’s municipalities if we did not ask for the immediate withdrawal of the current SGEIS and advocate as well for home-rule authority within the regulations proposed by the DEC.”

RECYCLABLES TO BE COLLECTED AT EARTH FESTIVAL: Earth Festival 2012 will be held on Saturday, April 14 at Milford Central School. In keeping with the earth-friendly theme, a number of items will be collected for recycling. Event organizers invite attendees to drop off Styrofoam (white only), bubble wrap, empty inkjet cartridges, cell phones, eyeglasses, videotapes and CDs, and used nylon monofilament fishing line at no charge. An electronics collection will be held (some fees may apply), and Empire Recycling will be back with the ConfiData Shredder from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. For more information about Earth Festival, visit http://www.occainfo.org/EarthFestival.htm, call (607) 547-4488 or e-mail admin@occainfo.org.