Padavan, above, said his bill would provide the necessary safeguards to help ensure we have clean drinking water for the city. Citing possible harmful effects on the city's drinking water, state Senator Frank Padavan will reintroduce legislation in next year's legislative session to prevent the immediate drilling of oil and gas wells in upstate New York which include watershed areas that are the source of the city's water supply.

Padavan said his bill would provide the necessary safeguards to help ensure we have clean drinking water for the city.

The lawmaker added, "Ultimately, this legislation will significantly protect our watershed areas upstate by preventing serious and dangerous contamination from our drinking water sources."

About a month ago, City Councilmember James Gennaro, council Environmental Protection Committee chairman, called for a moratorium on gas exploration and drilling in the upstate watershed areas, citing potential dangers to the city's water supply.

Gennaro, who is running against Padavan for Padavan's 11th senate district seat in the November general election, also warned that a major upsurge in horizontal drilling might even force New York City to protect the water supply by building a filtration plant at a cost of $10 billion.

City Councilmember James Gennaro, at left, council Environmental Protection Committee chairman, called for a moratorium on gas exploration and drilling in the upstate watershed areas, citing potential dangers to the city's water supply. The feared incursion of numerous companies looking for sources of gas to meet a huge demand arose when Governor David Paterson signed into law on July 23 a bill that would allow widespread gas exploration and drilling across Western New York state and into the watershed areas. Gennaro requested that the governor impose the moratorium.

Gennaro has scheduled an emergency public hearing on the projected natural gas drilling today at City Hall at 1 p.m. Among those invited to testify are representatives from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, officials from state and city Departments of Health and Environmental Conservation and environmental advocacy groups.

This bill, Padavan said, would permanently prohibit drilling for gas and oil in the New York City watershed to protect water and air quality and human health.

The protected area, he said, includes parts of eight counties, including Delaware, Greene, Schoharie, Sullivan and Ulster, where numerous companies are getting leases from landowners where they intend to drill. The bill would also halt issuance of any permits for well drilling in the state until a complete environmental review is done by the state Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC).

Padavan said that Governor David Paterson had already initiated steps to change the required spacing of wells. The governor signed a bill this summer directing the DEC to update its environmental impact statement on gas drilling to reflect concerns that might arise from horizontal drilling as a method of extraction. The method that has recently become more economical and is preferred by the companies now coming to New York state.

The governor's bill would ensure that all environmental

concerns are thoroughly assessed prior to any new permits being issued, Padavan (R- C, Bellrose) said.

The lawmaker also noted that a Bureau of Land Management 1998 environmental impact statement lists the hazardous substances that can contaminate water when the new horizontal drilling process is used. Included, Padavan said, are toxic substances such as benzene, toluene, naphthalene and MTBE.

The lawmaker said, "While the industry claims that these are recaptured and properly disposed of, very small quantities of these substances can contaminate millions of gallons of water."

Padavan pointed out that only 28 tablespoons of MTBE can contaminate millions of gallons of groundwater at a concentration that would cause the water to be unusable.

The senator said environmental groups have applauded his proposal. One of them, the Natural Resources Defense Council, said through one of its senior attorneys, Kate Sinding, "Natural gas may be an important transitional fuel for the state and the country, but its exploration and production cannot come at the expense of our other precious natural resources, including the critical New York City watershed that provides drinking water to approximately half of the state's population."

Sinding added that Padavan's bill, cosponsored by Assemblymember James F. Brennan, a Brooklyn Democrat, "appropriately balances the economic and energy requirements of the state against the need to ensure that any gas drilling only proceeds after completion of a thorough environmental review process and in a manner that is fully protective of the state's environment."