The Marcellus Shale, which reaches beneath the southern tier of New York and into Pennsylvania, Ohio, and West Virginia is one of the largest fossil-fuel reserves in the Western Hemisphere and could yield as much as 20 times as our natural current output of natural gas. You might think that such a large energy reserve seems too good to be true, and perhaps it is. It gets its name from a town in Western New York where there the shale formation juts out above the ground. The region’s energy richness has been known for decades. But extracting the natural gas from the pores in the shale in a way that would be cost effective and efficient has always been a problem.

Hydraulic Fracturing (mostly shortened to hydrofracking) was determined to be an efficient way of extracting the methane gas from the shale. The process is not new, it has been used in the oil industry for more than 60 years. Only in the past several years, with the rising cost of fossil fuels, has it been determined by the energy industry that the Marcellus Shale is worth hydrofracking’s high cost.

Hydrofracking removes fossil fuels from shale by pumping a pressurized cocktail of toxic liquids, diesel fuel and water, into the shale to fracture the rock, which would in turn release the fossil fuel, in this case natural gas. These fractures are then maintained after the injection by introducing materials such as sand, ceramic, or other particulates, that prevent the fractures from closing when the fluid injection is stopped. The water, diesel, and other chemicals that is left over is stored in pools, sometimes unlined, above the surface until it is hauled away for treatment or disposal.

Some landowners in the Marcellus Shale area are experiencing a modern day gold rush. Energy-industry representatives are paying princely sums, rumored to be as high as eight figures in some cases, to obtain drilling rights beneath private property.

But environmentalists are warning that hydrofracking is not only bad for the region, it can cause a catastrophe in New York as great, if not greater, than the ongoing Gulf of Mexico oil spill. They’ve presented evidence that it can provoke earthquakes and above-ground explosions, and that it can pollute our groundwater and create dry beds out of our streams, ponds, and rivers, which are used to supply resources for the hydrofracking process.

In Pennsylvania, where hydrofracking has been taking place in the Marcellus Shale, wells have been ruined, tainted with salt, benzene, and other toxic and volatile chemicals. There is evidence that these compounds have also entered into nearby streams, not only affecting fish, but nearby farms that use this water for irrigation.

The problems with hydrofracking in have been outlined in the documentary Gasland, which is currently playing on the premium cable network HBO. The most famous segment of the film shows a resident near a hydrofracking well setting his methane-infused tap water on fire in his kitchen.

Environmentalists point to evidence from hydrofracking regions in Wyoming, Colorado of people and wildlife being made sick from the process. Diseases such as rare adrenal tumors and cancers are attributed to the extremely toxic compound “2-BE” that’s used in the process. There is no list of the chemicals used in hydrofracking, but clean-up sites left in the wake of the process have shown excess levels of toxins such as hydrochloric acid, benzene, toulene, and xylene (the last three toxins are commonly found in diesel fuel).

Why is the list of chemicals used in hydrofracking kept secret? Perhaps it had to do with a conflict of interest between the Bush Administration and the energy corporations, specifically Halliburton.

In 2005, the energy industry was exempted from clean water protections by the Bush Administration. As part of Vice President Dick Cheney’s infamous and secretive “Energy Task Force” in 2001, the captains of the energy industry and the administration touted hydrofracking as the future of fossil-fuel extraction, while redacting any evidence of human health hazards caused by the process. Halliburton, the company that pioneered and continues to develop and utilize hydrofracking, benefited greatly from the Bush Administration’s deference to the energy industry. Thus, the lack of clean water provisions in regard to energy development are known as the “Halliburton Loophole.”

Vice President Cheney, if you need be reminded, was the CEO of Halliburton prior to becoming Vice President. He continued to be paid millions a year in deferred compensation from his vested financial interests in the corporation while serving in the Bush Administration.

Where does New York stand on hydrofracking? Right now, industry-supported State laws are in effect to disencumber hydrofracking in the Marcellus Shale and New York’s Department of Environmental Conservation has been busy stamping permits for drilling. But the DEC might be moving the process along too quickly: Instead of studying the environmental impacts of each individual well (which is typically needed under State law) the DEC has opted to hastily get through this process by only gauging the collective impact of the hydraulic fracturing process. Such generic evaluations are similar to the type of loose regulation used in deep water drilling in the Gulf of Mexico. These evaluations can also be easily disputed by the legal departments of large energy interests. In effect, New York’s DEC has chosen to marginalize its impact as the lead regulatory agency and seems more than happy to perform a mediocre job of protecting our state’s environment.

But local governments are stepping up and taking action and there is particular concern in this region. While Rockland County is outside of the Marcellus shale, it is only a short 70 miles from its eastern boundary and our natural water systems are directly affected.

Rockland County may take action soon in calling on Governor Paterson to impose a moritorium on hydrofracking. The County Legislature’s Environmental committee has recently passed a resolution calling for this. County legislator Connie Coker, who chairs the committee is hopeful that this resolution will be passed by the full legislature after its referred to them in a meeting on July 6.

“This procedure presents many environmental, human and wildlife health concerns,” said Legislator Coker […] the prime sponsor of the resolution. “There is the potential to contaminate groundwater, the surrounding landscape and the quality of air. What happens to all that solid material that is no longer just innocent sand, but toxic waste? This resolution asks the Governor to impose a moratorium and to withdraw the flawed impact statement until the results of on-going studies are made available, studied and concluded. I believe it would be viewed as a responsible and prudent action on his part.”

Clarkstown Town Clerk, David Carlucci, who is running for State Senate in the 38th District, which includes Rockland County and parts of Orange County, is also calling for a moratorium, and says that in many respects hydrofracking is New York’s equivalent to the Gulf of Mexico’s deep water oil drilling process and must be treated with similar seriousness. A recent press release form his campaign makes some lucid points about further reviewing the hydrofracking process:

It is my belief that we do not know enough about either side of this issue to allow widespread hydro-fracking in the Marcellus Shale and the Utica Shale formations to begin. We need to thoroughly investigate and understand reports of ground water and nearby stream contamination as well as the health impact to local residents before we jump into this process, or we may end up with an environmental disaster on our hands. Such a disaster would make any economic gain offered by the gas companies seem small by comparison.

Rockland County Executive C. Scott Vanderhoef, who is running against Carlucci for the open Senate seat, has worked as an environmental attorney in the past. Disappointingly, he has not issued a statement concerning the Marcellus Shale in either his capacity as the advocate for the county, nor as a possible future State Senator, which may have to make decisions about hydrofracking going forward.

There is bigger concern in New York City. It’s source of drinking water is in the Catskill watershed, some of it within the Marcellus Shale. New York is one of the few municipalities that gets its water untreated from its reserviors. Contamination of New York City’s water supply would be a man-made disaster of monumental proportions and affect the health of more than 8 million people.

Until we get some answers and perhaps some alternatives to the chemicals and processes used in hydrofracking, residents of Rockland and Orange Counties need to back resolutions to call for a moratorium of this process in New York State.

This article is based on a similar piece written for the Left of the Hudson blog.

It wasn’t unanimous, but very close to it. Carlucci was up 150-2 over his three rivals before tired Rockland Democratic Committee members pleaded that they would rather endorse the Clarkstown Town Clerk by acclamation. Candidate Grant Valentine received two votes. Lou Tharp and Tuxedo Town Supervisor Peter Dolan received no votes before the Committee switched to an acclamation vote.

To get the endorsement, a candidate needed 122 votes, just over half of the number of those in attendance plus known proxies being carried.

Although Carlucci won the endorsement of the committee by a decisive landslide, some political leaders in Ramapo are unhappy with the way the evening played out.

County Legislator Bill Darden and Ramapo Town Supervisor Christopher St. Lawrence led a very small group who sought to block the gathered Democrats from backing any one candidate. Their effort failed when a motion was made on the floor to force the vote to go through with large majority of those present backing it.

Ironically as this drama played out, Rep. Eliot Engel made a passionate speech from the floor, and one of its main themes was Democratic Unity. Engel’s speech received resounding applause, but I think the message was lost to some.

This effort by a small faction of Democrats to change the rules int the middle of the game was disappointing. And after their efforts failed, St. Lawrence and several Ramapo Committee members left the Convention as the votes were tallied. Many Ramapo Democrats, however, stayed to vote for Carlucci.

The Rockland’s convention fast on the heels of the Orange County Democrats’ and Rep. Nina Lowey’s resounding endorsements of Carlucci.

Valentine, Tharp, and Dolan all appear to be remaining in the race.

The next major event on the State Senate contender’s schedule is the Meet the Candidates night at the Nyack Public Library on June 7 at 7 pm.

Carlucci was in attendance at the Orange County Convention.

“I’m couldn’t be more pleased and humbled, and I want to thank everyone who showed up tonight to participate.” said Carlucci in a press release. “It’s important that we all come together this fall to elect someone who is willing to fight for reform and not just use it as a campaign slogan. I am that candidate. “I’m looking forward to the Rockland County Convention tonight where we hope to gain their support as well,” Carlucci said.

The Rockland County Democratic Convention is tonight at Clarkstown Town Hall.

This night will be an opportunity to meet all our State Senate candidates running on the Democratic line. The format will consist of each candidate making a 10 minute speech (the order will be chosen by random), followed by two questions from the event’s moderator and then up to three questions from the audience.

This meeting is open to the public. We encourage all interested parties to attend.

The event will also be streamed live on Rockland World Radio‘s Web site and Left of the Hudson.

This will be an incredibly enlightening and informative show. Vince and I will talk about the upcoming State Senate election, the candidates, and some radical state reform ideas. If you have a question for Vince, send me an email before the show. The live show is available on Rockland World Radio‘s main page and the archived show will be available here afterwards.

The meeting of the Executive Committee of the Rockland Democratic Committee also featured three other candidates, Clarkstown Town Clerk David Carlucci, Tuxedo Town Supervisor Peter Dolan, and State Parole Officer Grant Valentine.

Jaffee said that she will decide to run in a matter of days. She has no notable opponents for her State Assembly seat.

On the Republican side, Rockland County Executive C. Scott Vanderhoef is expected to run. However, a local Tea Party movement is rumored to be fielding its own candidate as well.

Republican Senator Thomas P. Morahan announced his retirement earlier this week.

Without even something as simple as a business plan or a building permit, the Town has already bulldozed a notable section of the 61 acre drainage basin on Route 45, cutting down trees and paving it over. However, neither the Board nor Town Supervisor Christopher St. Lawrence has been able to provide any hard evidence that the wooded site is in fact blighted and worthy of being classified as an urban renewal zone. But by declaring it one, the Town can easily move ahead on development and construction without going through typical bureaucratic processes.

But has St. Lawrence and the Ramapo Board played fast and loose with the legal definition of blighted to skirt State law?

New York’s Constitution (Article XVIII, Section 3) uses the precedent established by Yonkers v. Morris to define blight as follows:

* Factors to be considered in determining if area is “blighted” and thus subject to urban renewal condemnation include such diverse matters as irregularity of the plots, inadequacy of the streets, diversity of land ownership making assemblage of property difficult, incompatibility of existing mixture of residential and industrial property, overcrowding, incidence of crime, lack of sanitation, drain areas makes on municipal services, fire hazards, traffic congestion and pollution.
* For an area to be termed “blighted” and thus subject to urban renewal condemnation, degree of deterioration or precise percentage of obsolescence or mathematical measurement of other factors do not have to be arrived at with precision, since combination and effects of such things are highly variable.

Further, the New York Development Corporation Act defines a “substandard or insanitary area” as:

[I]nterchangeable with a slum, blighted, deteriorated or deteriorating area, or an area which has a blighting influence on the surrounding area, whether residential, non-residential, commercial, industrial, vacant or land in highways, waterways, railway and subway tracks and yards, bridge and tunnel approaches and entrances, or other similar facilities, over which air rights and easements or other rights of user necessary for the use and development of such air rights, to be developed as air rights sites for the elimination of the blighting influence, or any combination thereof and may include land, buildings or improvements, or air rights and concomitant easements or other rights of user necessary for the use and development of such air rights not in themselves substandard or insanitary.

I think an interested party stands a good chance of challenging this development and stopping its progress in court. After all, wouldn’t the Town of Ramapo have to prove that the area has the potential to degrade the quality of nearby property or is itself in the process of deterioration? And what proof would they present?

Aerial photographs of the site show the property to be a healthy, attractive wooded area with a stream running through it. Only the area that was bulldozed and paved over by the Town of Ramapo seems to mar it. However, the Town claims the site is polluted and filled with trash, such as abandoned cars. But those that have visited the area, including Preserve Ramapo‘s Michael Castelluccio have found the site to be “pristine” and devoid of trash. The Town has even admitted that the levels of mercury, DDT, and arsenic on the site are not highly toxic.

By insisting this wooded area is blighted and by designating the site an urban renewal zone, the town allows the Ramapo Local Development Corporation, a quasi-governmental agency chaired by St. Lawrence, to forego numerous protocols typically used in the development and construction stages. It also assists the corporation in seeking state and federal grants, including real property tax abatements. After the stadium is built, it would be owned by St. Lawrence’s corporation, which would lease the stadium to tenants.

Even after it’s built, Ramapo residents would continue to be taxed diffusely for this new stadium, picking up the slack for the tax abatements that the Ramapo Development Corporation will enjoy. While the developers could have 10 years of real property tax abatements through New York’s Empire Zone program, Ramapo residents will be footing the bill for the additional police, public works, and sewage resources this stadium will demand. In addition, the rest of taxpayers in Rockland can expect to pay for the the Development Corporation’s share of county taxes into the next decade. In short, residents of other towns will end up paying for a project that they didn’t approve. And that’s taxation without representation.

Further, it has been pointed out by local newspapers, bloggers, and activists that the surrounding roads, especially the two-lane Route 45, will be inadequate in handling the traffic to the area, possibly causing back-ups and gridlock that would extend outside of Ramapo and into Clarkstown and beyond. The Orangetown newspaper Our Town said in a recent editorial that:

The downside of Ramapo’s headlong rush to get into the sports business is the traffic impact and the investment in road improvements necessary to support a minor league baseball team and stadium. That could be spread around a much larger number of people who have no say in the matter whatsoever. All towns that could be affected should have an opportunity to review and comment during the planning process.

I couldn’t agree more. I’m calling on the Rockland County Executive’s office to take the lead in this matter, considering that this stadium could have a potential negative impact throughout all five towns.

The Town of Ramapo is playing the entire County as suckers and taxpayers need an advocate. It is the County Executive’s duty to use the bully pulpit of his office to review land use, public works, and taxation issues that can have a dire consequences on the welfare of the County. We need Scott Vanderoef to lead the County a public forum, or if need be, a suit filed by the on behalf of Rockland’s residents to stop the Town of Ramapo from moving forward with this subterfuge.

Over the last months, I have become increasingly worried that we don’t yet have a viable State Senate candidate for the 38th District that reflects our values. I had hoped that by now a strong, progressive, reform-minded Democrat would emerge that would stand up against the dysfunctional and destructive State Senate in Albany. Unfortunately, no viable and trustworthy Democratic candidate has stood up for this challenge as of yet.

Right now, we do have one declared candidate, Grant Valentine, who was a fervent Pataki supporter, local Republican Party officer (Chair of the Frederick Douglass Republican Council), and generous financial supporter of the local Republican Committee as recently as 2008. And if I may be blunt: After speaking with him last week and giving him a fair chance to change my mind, I am far from convinced that Mr. Valentine is the candidate that we need to run a successful campaign in the 38th Senate District and to be the Senator we need to help bring us meaningful reform in Albany. When questioned about reform, Mr. Valentine launched into bread-and-butter political platitudes rather than addressing the distressing issues I presented to him.

Like many other New Yorkers, I believe that meaningful legislative reform in Albany is the most pressing issue for a State Senate candidate the Democrats bring forward. Years ago, the Brennan Center for Justice said the New York State legislature as the “nation’s most dysfunctional.” Until recently, this dysfunction had gone ignored by the public because of insider power plays, apathy on the part of the media, and the fact that every ten years, each body would redistrict itself to insure they stayed in power. In short, State Senators picked their voters instead of the other way around. How effective has the incumbents in the State Senate been in keeping their power? Get this: More Senators have left office through criminal indictment or death than being voted out.

Just recently the former Majority Leader, Joe Bruno was indicted and convicted of abuse of power…but what was even more shocking about the revelations discovered during his trial were the things the Majority’s office did that weren’t illegal, because he and the majority had created the laws under which they operated. It is these laws, or lack of, that we need to change to get New York moving in the right direction again. Instead of being a hotbed of sordidness, the State Senate can and must become a responsible legislative body.

Unfortunately, since the Brennan Report, we have had numerous State Senates that have failed to produce a budget on time, we’ve quite a few Senators indicted and convicted of crimes, we’ve had a leadership coup, and last, we’ve now got paralysis in the Senate. Unfortunately, we haven’t had strong leadership coming from Rockland and the towns of Warwick and Tuxedo in this time.

But think, only a few votes the right way could have stopped this legislative coup, installed legislative reform laws, created marriage equality, and returned the State legislature to the glory days when it was the parliamentary envy of all other states.

If you want politics to make a positive difference in your life, then I sincerely believe that a wholesale fix in the State Senate your best bet at meaningful change in New York.

With Reps. Engel and Lowey not likely facing a strong challengers (their seats are considered safe) and with no serious challenger facing Sen. Gillibrand so far, I think it is important that we begin to put of our efforts in re-electing John Hall to Congress and to win the State Senate seat in Rockland, Tuxedo, and Warwick.

Please come to this meeting at Nyack Village Hall and bring us your ideas.

Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn) gets today’s Golden Fleece Award for using nearly $14,000 in taxpayer money to fund a November Tea Party event in Washington DC.

Bachmann and other political opportunists fired up a group of teabaggers by railing against high taxes and out of control government spending and all along, they intended for taxpayers to pick up the Tea Party tab.

Expense reports from the November’s Tea Party rally in DC show that congressional money funded the event, with the money going to sound and staging equipment. Money was supplied to Bachmann’s rally by the taxpayer-funded accounts of Rep. Todd Akin (R-Miss), Rep. Tom Price (R-Ga), and Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa).

But the leaders of the Tea Party movement feel just scant remorse for wasting our tax dollars on assisting a bunch of lunatics with their conspiracy theories about death panels and elusive birth certificates:

Learning that taxpayer funds were used did strike a note of discomfort with Twin Cities Tea Party co-founder Deanna Boss, who arranged for more than 100 Minnesotans to attend the rally. Boss said she would have preferred that private donors had financed the event, given her and other activists’ criticism of excessive government spending.

While no laws were broken, sunlight remains the greatest disinfectant when it comes to discretionary spending by our representatives in DC. This was not only a highly partisan event, it was an event with no redeeming values. It was staged only to demean the President, discount the Democratic Party, and to spread vitriol across the country.

And, as a person who’s not a member of the Tea Party movement, I’m demanding that Reps. Bachmann, Akin, Price, and King, pay back the taxpayers their $13,600.

Happy Tax Day!

Political insiders say that Levy was frustrated that he was blocked from running as a Democrat by party leaders who have all but anointed presumptive candidate Andrew Cuomo. It’s reported that Levy thinks that Republican gubernatorial candidate Rick Lazio is much easier to pick off.

Levy’s run on the Republican line has been orchestrated by none other than New York GOP Chair Ed Cox, who’s son Chris will likely get the party’s nod to challenge Democratic Congressman Tim Bishop in the 1st Congressional District, which includes much of Suffolk County. The elder Cox is using Levy’s candidacy to create regional coattails for his son, the grandson of disgraced former President Richard M. Nixon. In essence, Cox is using Levy’s power lust and his role as State GOP Chair to promote the career of a family member.

Some Republican leaders are calling for Cox to resign his chairmanship, claiming the backing of Levy is nothing more than a smoke screen for nepotistic machinations. Former Erie County GOP Chair Bob Davis gone as far as accusing Cox of undermining the party’s efforts to elect a real Republican governor in favor of his own self interest.

In an open letter to New York Republicans, Davis said Cox’s real agenda in giving the GOP nomination to a “liberal” Democrat was to boost the younger Cox’s chances of getting the GOP nomination and beating Bishop in the fall.

“If he wants to be his son’s campaign manager he should resign as Chairman and run his son’s campaign,” said Davis.

While this may be a bit messy for the Republicans, it leaves the Suffolk Democratic Party infrastructure in ruins. The popular, titular head of the county party now plays for the other team. Not only is the carpet pulled out from underneath Bishop, other significant reform candidates such as Regina Calcaterra, who is running for State Senate in the 1st District, can no longer depend on the crucial backing of the County Executive in her race.

Once again, these backroom deals remind me that just because politicians have big “D” following their names, it doesn’t make them loyal Democrats and many of political leaders have no problem selling out their party, hard-working Democratic committees, and alienating the party base for their own self interests. Past disloyalty by Levy is not much different than the unfaithfulness we’ve seen from Rockland County political leaders such as Alex Gromack, Christopher St. Lawrence, Ilan Schoenberger, Paul Piperato, and Charlotte Madigan in the past few years—politicians who seemingly cherish their own careers much more than they do Democratic Party core values. Party disloyalty on their part is not just poor judgment, it’s an ethical problem. And as Democrats, can we ever trust the fidelity of any of these politicians going forward? I doubt it.

Like Levy, these regional politicians have unwittingly aligned themselves with the sleazy right-wing political machine. They have been so consumed by their narcissism that they fail to realize the damage they have done—and likely continue to do—to Democratic slates.

Ten months ago, I wrote a diary on this site warning that this blurring of the lines between parties would eventually hurt other Democratic candidates. I said that the actions of Madigan, St. Lawrence, Gromack, et al. might seem harmless while the Democratic Party was enjoying a wave of popularity, but when the national sentiment changes, the Democratic Party would suffer because of a poor political infrastructure. Unfortunately, that time has quickly past and these politicians have continued to support and even mollycoddle the Republican opposition. Now we’re left with a significant Democratic leadership gap in Rockland County with Statewide and regional elections looming.

Last year was no time for our supposed Democratic leaders to abandon their party. I am calling on Rockland County Democratic Party Chairman Vincent Monte to formally censure the ongoing disloyal and harmful actions of St. Lawrence, Schoenberger, Madigan, Piperato, Gromack, and any other local politician who has given aid to the Republican Party over the past year.

This is no time for us to have a Democratic Party leadership crisis in Rockland like they’re now enduring in Suffolk.