AquaNexus Information Services

The AP (7/12, Esch) reports the blueprint for hydraulic fracturing posted Friday by New York's Department of Environmental Conservation has drawn concerns from both sides of the issue. API Chief Economist John Felmy highlighted concerns over "the restrictions that have been added" for "the New York City and Syracuse watersheds, and taking state lands off the table. Those are big areas." Felmy expressed the belief that drilling in watersheds "can be done properly. To unilaterally take it offline is a concern." Meanwhile, "Kate Sinding, an attorney for the Natural Resources Defense Council, said the proposal to place the watersheds off-limits to drilling doesn't go far enough because it doesn't include a sufficient buffer around the ancient underground tunnels that carry water to New York City from its upstate reservoirs."

        New York DEC Posts Fracking Regulations Online. The AP (7/12) reports the state Department of Environmental Conservation posted online "its proposed regulations for hydraulic fracturing of natural gas wells in the lucrative Marcellus Shale region of southern New York." The document is over 700 pages long and "outlines proposed rules for permitting gas-drilling companies to pump water, chemicals and sand into deep wells at high pressure to release natural gas from shale." These proposed rules, "while now available for public reading, will not be released officially for public comment until August, when an analysis of economic and community impacts is scheduled to be finished."

The AP (7/12) provides some tips on how to conserve water during summer months. "Four inches of rain dumped from the sky on the Fourth of July, with none again until the first of August, would meet July's quota. But much of it might run off the surface of the soil or down through the soil beyond the reach of roots. Plants could be thirsty again by the middle of July." The AP warns that water shouldn't be wasted on weeds. "A full-grown ragweed plant sucks about 2 gallons of water per day from the soil, water that could be plumping up juicy, red tomatoes." The article also recommends you care for plants that require annual flowers and leafy vegetables before you water the roots of full-grown trees or perennial flowers.