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.

At the end of the meeting, a quorum of more than 20 percent was recognized from the overall membership and a roll call vote was taken. Clarkstown Town Clerk David Carlucci got 90 percent of the vote, with 18 votes. Upper Nyack resident Lou Tharp received two votes from the membership in the audience. One member abstained from voting.

A formal endorsement, in the form of a press release, is coming from Rockland Progressive Democratic Caucus Chairman Cliff Weathers.

The Progressive Dems would like to thank all four candidates for coming to our organization’s forum. The Progressive Dems will post videos on its site and on You Tube for voters to help them make their own selection among the candidates.

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.

Rep. Nita Lowey (l) and David Carlucci

In a press release sent by Carlucci’s campaign, Lowey is quoted:

David Carlucci has the experience to deliver for his district, and his attitude and abilities are just what the district and state needs[...]I look forward to working with David to protect taxpayers at every level of government, create jobs in our communities, strengthen our schools, and keep our families and streets safe and secure.

Lowey’s district includes parts of Rockland County and much of Clarkstown. the 38th State Senate district is also served by the 17th and 19th Congressional districts, with Democrats Eliot Engel and John Hall respectively representing these districts.

Lowey’s endorsement is the first major endorsement by a high-ranking elected Democratic official for the State Senate district. Nyack Mayor Richard Kavesh also endorsed Carlucci on the Left of the Hudson webcast on Memorial Day. Part of the village of Nyack is in the town of Clarkstown.

The other State Senate candidates include Ramapo resident Grant Valentine, Tuxedo Town Supervisor Peter Dolan, and Upper Nyack resident Lou Tharp.

C. Scott Vanderhoef

“Ed’s not waiting for Scott to get out of the way anymore,” a source close to both men revealed to Left of the Hudson. “He thinks Scott has a lot of negatives.”

Day will announce his candidacy next Tuesday, according to the Journal News.

Locally, Republicans rarely run primaries. Instead, the party prefers to keep control centralized among party stalwarts through a process through secret balloting at a County Convention. This year’s convention will be held June 7 at Clarkstown Town Hall. Democratic Chairman Vincent J. Monte told Left of the Hudson Radio that this might work to Vanderhoef’s disadvantage.

“Scott has demonstrated that he has had enough of being County Executive,” said Monte. “But he may have a problem getting endorsed by the Republican Committee.”

Monte said that Vanderhoef’s many political appointees, more than 200 at the County level, might not want him to leave the Executive’s job.

“A lot of these people are party people who get rewarded for working for them [the Republicans].” Patronage is not a bad thing, but when it’s abused it becomes bad,” Monte said. “And what will happen is that those people, who are committeemen who vote…many of them may not want to see Scott leave as County Executive.”

For some time, it had been assumed in political circles, and reported here, that Day would seek the Senate Seat if Morahan chose not to run.

However, when it began to become clear that the Democratic Party intended to run a strong candidate—four are currently running—a rumor that Vanderhoef would run was leaked to the this blog and some statewide media outlets. Minutes after our report, Vandherhoef quickly denied he was running to Nyack News and Views.

After State Senator Thomas P. Morahan announced his retirement, Vanderhoef did confirm his interest in the State Senate seat. This came to nobody’s surprise as Vanderhoef has been a serial job seeker while in office. He announced in January—the very day after he was sworn in to a fifth term as Executive—that he was considering running for State Comptroller. Weeks later, Vanderhoef announced that he had begun an exploratory committee to look into a run against Kirsten Gillibrand for United States Senate only to drop the idea. While Executive, Vanderhoef has also run for Congress, Lieutenant Governor and sought the Presidency of Rockland Community College. Sources inside County government told Left of the Hudson that Vanderhoef also sought employment with Giuliani Partners in early 2009.

The salary of a State Senator is notably less than the $152,000 Vanderhoef makes as County Executive. But as the $79,500 a year Senate seat is only part time, sources have speculated that Vanderhoef would be set up with secondary employment with a local law firm to make up the difference. Some County Legislators are miffed that they recently voted Vanderhoef a hefty 12.5 percent raise, hoping that he would be focused on his duties as County Executive during dire times.

“We feel betrayed on both sides,” said one County Legislator talking about colleagues from both parties. “We gave him that raise in good faith, hoping that he would focus on Rockland County’s problems. Some of us are definitely not happy that he’s going to be spending his time campaigning…again.”

If Vanderhoef holds off Day at the Republican Convention, he may still face opposition from the right as some “Tea Party” conservative groups have talked about fielding a State Senate candidate.

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.

With the State Budget being held hostage by the dysfunctional State legislature, Governor Paterson’s draconian recommendations have kicked in and, once again, New York families and communities are the loser.

But the Republicans might have an idea, it seems. On the eve of the park closings, in a mailing from State Senator Thomas Morahan, there is a push poll asking constituents if we should privatize our parks. Read on, I’m not making this up.

The mailer contains the “2010 Legislative Questionnaire.” This is a one-sided survey as it has very limited questions with an even more limited range of answers, that range from fiscally moderate to ultra-conservative. The possible range of responses pushes respondents to right-of-center conclusions. There’s no room for a progressive answer anywhere in the questionnaire.

More to the point, question #4 asks:

Which of the following aspects of government should be privatized? (check all that apply)

Highway and roadway maintenance
Corrections
Parks and Recreation
Health care
Transportation
Education

But beware, this isn’t a legitimate survey. It’s a politician playing craps with public opinion using a pair of loaded dice. This is an attempt by New York State Republicans to push through an agenda by attempting to change public perception.

This recent push poll is not unlike others. It is a underhanded political technique where Senator Morahan is trying to sway public sentiment and opinion by bringing certain issues to the forefront. There is very little science behind this polling process. And while a large number of people are contacted, little or no effort will be made to collect or analyze their responses. I know from experience that analyzing polls is very cost prohibitive and Senator Morahan’s office does not have the time, nor the resources to analyze the data. So this survey cannot possibly provide an accurate gauge of the pulse of the 38th State Senate district. It’s no wonder that push polling has been condemned by good-government groups and even the American Association of Political Consultants. And in New Hampshire, push polling is downright illegal.

Closing our public parks is just plain wrong. The Stony Point Battlefield is critically important to the economy of the Town of Stony Point as visitors to the site often spend money at the town’s shops during their visit. The Tallman Mountain pool is the only public pool in the entire town of Orangetown. They are now gone; they may never come back.

Worse than closing the parks is entertaining the cynical idea that they should now be privatized. And trying to push public opinion to this conclusion using taxpayer money is unethical to say the least.

There’s a sad irony to all of this: Mailings from our State legislature cost taxpayers $27.3 million per year and they are nothing more than incumbency insurance, or political campaigning paid for by our tax dollars. That amount is roughly the same as the $29 million that has been cut from our State Parks, resulting in today’s closings. So shouldn’t there be a question on Senator Morahan’s survey asking if we should do away with legislative mailings?

According to Capital Tonight:

Republican Rockland County Executive C. Scott Vanderhoef is poised to announce his bid for the state Senate seat expected to be vacated by ailing veteran incumbent Tom Morahan, who has been battling Leukemia and is expected not to seek re-election this fall, a Hudson Valley GOP source confirmed.

The five-term incumbent won’t mount a primary challenge against Morahan, who has insisted his illness won’t prevent him from running, but insiders – including retiring Sen. Dale Volker – have suggested their colleague’s health concerns might ultimately trump his desire to stay in office.

Capital Tonight is a new statewide political television show that is broadcast on YNN, exclusively to Time Warner Cable customers. Benjamin is a former political reporter and blogger for the New York Daily News.

Benjamin’s report echoes the content of an e-mail tip sent to Left of the Hudson on Sunday. It had been widely assumed in political circles that County Legislator Ed Day would seek the Senate Seat if Morahan chooses not to run. But the candidacy of popular Clarkstown Clerk David Carlucci might be a game changer for the GOP. Carlucci’s run may have prompted the County Republicans to find a stronger candidate than Day. Former Republican and State Parole Board officer Grant Valentine is also running as a Democrat.

State Senate Republicans have found themselves in an unusual position of being in the minority and having several open seats to defend. Several State Senators have retired or are seeking other offices and some seats that have been weakly contested in the past now have strong Democratic challengers. Statewide GOP fundraising is reported to be abysmal. Vanderhoef would bring instant name recognition and fundraising resources to the race.

Vanderhoef was quick with a denial this morning:

At a ribbon cutting ceremony for the opening of Chef’s Market in Nyack this morning, Vanderhoef was asked if he was running for the State Senate. He replied “no.” Reliable sources say that Morahan will soon announce his retirement from the senate and that Vanderhoef will declare his candidacy.

Vanderhoef has been a serial job seeker while in office. He announced in January–the very day after he was sworn in to a fifth term as Executive–that he was considering running for State Comptroller. Weeks later, Vanderhoef announced that he had begun an exploratory committee to look into a run against Kirsten Gillibrand for United States Senate. Last month, he announced he dropped the idea. While County Executive, Vanderhoef has run for Congress, Lieutenant Governor and sought the Presidency of Rockland Community College. Sources inside County government told Left of the Hudson that Vanderhoef also sought employment with Giuliani Partners while County Executive, delaying the announcement of his 2009 campaign.

The salary of a State Senator is notably less than the $152,000 Vanderhoef makes as County Executive. But as the $79,500 a year Senate seat is only part time, sources have speculated that Vanderhoef would be set up with secondary employment with a local law firm to make up the difference.

This article is crossposted at Left of the Hudson.