The Manlius Greenspace Coalition is a community group
actively pursuing the protection and preservation of green space
in Manlius, NY and surrounding areas as a legacy for future generations.
HYDROFRACKING the Marcellus shales
A new drilling process, called “high-volume hydraulic fracturing,” has made the huge natural gas reserves in the Marcellus Shale profitable.
Unlike other gas formations, the Marcellus shale layer is vast and continuous. Although it varies in depth and thickness, the Marcellus underlies the entire southern half of NY state (and extends under PA, WV, and eastern OH). Drilling in NY is expected to begin in the Southern Tier, along the Millennium Pipeline (which runs from Corning to Rockland County), and to radiate North from there.
Hydraulic Fracturing
Unlike in conventional gas reserves, the gas in the Marcellus is trapped and dispersed throughout the shale in tiny pores, and must be released in a process called hydraulic fracturing, or fracking. In each fracking, 2-9 million gallons of water mixed with sand and chemicals are forced through the well into the formation at high pressure. This will fracture, or crack, the shale. Roughly half the fracking fluid remains in the ground. The rest of it (1,000,000 to 4,000,000 gallons) comes up out of the well and is considered industrial waste and must be disposed of. Each well may be fracked up to ten times during its productive life.
Water Usage
Fracking requires large quantities of fresh water. Fracking the Marcellus will require many billions of gallons of water over the next 15 years. This water can be withdrawn from lakes, rivers, streams, wetlands, ponds, and wells. Because the water becomes contaminated, it may never be returned to the watershed. Most of the leased land is located around the southern end of Skaneateles and Otisco lakes. Both lakes supply drinking water to the city of Syracuse and local communities.
Fracking Fluids
Most of the recent advances in fluid technology for shale gas recovery are owned by Halliburton. The gas industry describes fracking fluids as being “like soap and oil.” However, because Halliburton classifies the fracking fluids as proprietary, nobody knows for sure what is in them. Samples from well blowouts and fluids pits in Colorado, Wyoming and New Mexico found fluids to contain diesel fuel and more than 200 different kinds of chemicals - over 95% of which, have adverse side effects - including brain damage, birth defects and cancer.
The production water from the Marcellus Shale = toxic waste.
In addition to the added chemicals, the water picks up hydrocarbons, heavy metals like arsenic, and radioactivity from the shale. Billions of gallons of waste water will be produced in our area alone and will need to be trucked to a final disposal site or stored at or near the drilling site in open-air, lined (but eventually puncturable) dugout pits. The most common method of disposal will be by "deep well injection disposal", where the liquid waste is forced back underground at high pressure into the dry gas wells. This toxic liquid tends to migrate underground for miles, dispersing through existing subsurface cracks and channels, and can contaminate watersheds, aquifers and wells in far-reaching areas. Thus, there is nothing natural about this hazardous method of accessing "America's new natural gas"!
To find out more about hydrofracking and to see a schedule of meetings visit: http://www.shaleshock.org/
What's Happening
- Wednesday, August 12: CEA Hearing and Vote, WE GOT IT!!
- Read MGC's latest Newsletter
- Check out the video on YouTube of Three Falls Woods!
- We are helping fund the defense of the Covenant that protects Three Falls Woods in court.
These lands adjoin the Village portion (lower lands) of Three Falls Woods, which was designated a Critical Environmental Area in 2007.
Altogether, that makes 275 contiguous acres under this important SEQR CEA protection.
Our Projects
Three Falls Woods
Three Falls Woods is the best example of karst topography and the Onondaga Escarpment in the Town of Manlius. It is an unprotected 175 acre woodland with three waterfalls, old growth trees, unique geology and ecology, much-loved trails, and historic lime kilns. The land is currently privately owned, threatened by development, but accessible to the public. The portion in the Village of Manlius is considered a Critical Environmental Area and the portion in the Town is protected by a covenant, although that is being disputed by the developer. A long-term goal of MGC is to facilitate the purchase and preservation of this land for its continued ecological and recreational value.
Onondaga Escarpment Nature Corridor
This wooded corridor stretches from Three Falls Woods in Manlius through White Lake and Ram’s Gulch to Clark Reservation State Park in Jamesville, and could be linked by a trail along Limestone Creek to Green Lakes State Park and the Old Erie Canal State Historic Park. Most of this land has been left undeveloped over time as a buffer area from the Jamesville Quarry, but could use additional protections. MGC nominated this nature corridor to the 2006 NYS Open Space Plan, and it was accepted on the supplemental list. MGC is currently working with the three municipalities through which it crosses (Village of Manlius, Town of Dewitt, and Town of Manlius) to designate the area a Critical Environmental Area. The Village of Manlius passed the designation on June 26, 2007, and discussions with the other municipalities are ongoing.
MOSAIC
The Manlius Open Space Assessment and Information Committee is a collaborative project between MGC and the Town of Manlius. Funded through a NYS Quality Communities grant, MOSAIC is working to create an Open Space Vision Map of the Town of Manlius.