By Paul Riede and Glenn Coin

Staff Writers

The state Department of Environmental Conservation will release a long-awaited report today that will set the stage for the controversial gas-drilling technique known as hydrofracking to begin in New York.

The recommendations will put forward the ground rules for energy companies eager to access the gas-rich Marcellus shale, an underground rock formation that stretches from Virginia to Central New York.

In highlights of the report released late Thursday, the DEC said it would open about 85 percent of the Marcellus shale in New York to high-volume hydraulic fracturing, commonly known as hydrofracking.

But the agency will recommend that the drilling be prohibited in the watersheds around Skaneateles Lake and in the Catskills, which supply water to Syracuse and New York City, respectively. Those watersheds were singled out because they are the only unfiltered supplies of municipal water in the state.

In other states, drillers use hydraulic fracturing to harvest the natural gas trapped in shale formations. They inject water, sand and chemicals deep into the ground under high pressure to shatter the rock and release the gas. The contaminated water then flows back out of the ground and must be treated and stored.

Concerns over the environmental safety of hydrofracking — and calls for either an outright ban or stringent regulation — have been debated in New York for more than three years. During that time energy companies have bought up leases on thousands of parcels of land for use as possible drilling sites.

The drillers say the process is safe, but opponents say it could destroy drinking water supplies and pollute rivers and streams. They point to groundwater contamination and well blowouts in Pennsylvania, where drilling in the Marcellus shale has boomed in the past several years.

Opponents have argued that the DEC does not have the capacity to monitor all of the drilling that will take place. But the agency’s recommendations promise “rigorous and effective” oversight, saying no permits would be issued until the agency has the capacity to properly enforce its regulations.

The proposed regulations call for hydrofracking to be prohibited not only in the two watersheds, but also on all state-owned land — including state parks and forests — and within 500 feet of private wells or springs used for drinking water. For at least the first three years, the drilling technique could not be used within 2,000 feet of a public drinking well or reservoir. No hydrofracking would be allowed in 100-year floodplains.

The agency would require drillers to add a third casing around each well to prevent gas from escaping and would require that contaminated water flowing back out of wells be held in closed, watertight tanks. That “flowback water” would be handled in a manner “similar to the handling of medical waste.”

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The DEC would require disclosure to the state of all chemicals and other products used in the drilling process. And it would monitor air quality at the well pads and surrounding areas.

The DEC hired independent consultants to research the potential impacts of increased road traffic, as well the visual and noise impacts of the drilling operations. That research should be completed by the end of July and will be reflected in the final draft of the report.

Environmental groups reacted cautiously.

The Citizens Campaign for the Environment said the highlights released by the DEC “outlined sensible protections for state lands, wildlife habitat, aquifers and unfiltered drinking water supplies.”

Katherine Nadeau, water and natural resources program director for Environmental Advocates of New York, said it was difficult to judge how tough the regulations will be until the full report — which will run more than 900 pages — is released today.

“But the fact that they’re even talking about regulations is a step forward,” she said.

Nadeau did say she was disappointed that the highlights contained no reference to the cumulative impact of allowing thousands of wells statewide. And she said the 60-day public comment period that the DEC is seeking on its recommendations is too short. Her group wants a 180-day period.

“This is a big, detailed, technical document whose outcome is going to affect the day-to-day lives of thousands of New Yorkers,” she said. “Everybody deserves the time to read it, digest it and understand its impact.”

More than 13,000 written comments were received in 2009 on a draft version of drilling guidelines.

After the comment period, the DEC will review people’s opinions and issue a final set of regulations. The entire process is expected to take several months. Once the final regulations are in place, drilling companies would have to apply to the DEC for permits before any hydrofracking could begin.

Gas industry representatives said they don’t expect to be able to start drilling until next year.

The details of the DEC report will offer the clearest indication yet of Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s stance on hydrofracking.

The governor told The Post-Standard in October that he had not made up his mind on the issue and was waiting for more information.

“There’s tremendous economic potential. There’s also potential for environmental harm,” he said. “I don’t think we have enough facts to make a decision. The DEC is supposed to do a report. EPA is going to do a report. Let’s get the facts and then we’ll decide.”

State Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver said in a statement Thursday that the state should not allow hydrofracking until the federal Environmental Protection Agency completes its study. That study is projected to be finished in late 2012.

Contact Paul Riede at priede@syracuse.com or 470-3260 and Glenn Coin at gcoin@syracuse.com or 470-3251.