The Daily Q: Do state agencies really pay attention to public comments?

Posted January 12, 2012 By Michael Keller

Do state agencies really pay attention to public comments?

The state Department of Environmental Conservation’s proposal to regulate hydrofracking generated an unprecedented 20,000 comments, in a process that closed yesterday. The state agency has to navigate between pressures from the drilling industry, which is seeking quick approval so the state can begin issuing permits for wells this year, and environmental groups, who warn that the state lacks a clear plan to dispose of millions of gallons of wastewater. The Rochester Democrat and Chronicle reviewed the comments submitted and found that a large majority of submissions opposed hydrofracking.

The New York World wants to know: Do public comments to New York State agencies on proposed regulations actually have influence?

If you have information or insights to share, please comment below, write us, or tweet to @thenyworld.

What we found

The Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) is required under state law to read, consider and respond to every concern raised. According to DEC spokesperson Emily DeSantis, the comments are grouped by topic and will be responded to at the conclusion of the final report on hydrofracking, which DEC expects later this year. You can actually see the beginnings of this process, DeSantis said, in the current draft of the environmental impact statement, which incorporated concerns raised in 13,000 comments back in 2009. It notes, for example, that the preliminary report “did not fully study the potential for gas migration,” nor did it “adequately consider the impact of from disposal of solid and liquid wastes.”

Bruce Ferguson of the anti-fracking group Catskill Citizens for Safe Energy said generally, he is pleased with how the public comment process works precisely because DEC is required to respond to concerns. His group collected and submitted more than 10,000 comments by mail yesterday before the deadline, including letters, studies such as a U.S. Geological study on how hydrofracking could be related to earthquakes and another on the potential socioeconomic impact on neighboring towns — an area he says is still under-covered in the latest impact report. Ferguson said that his comments shipped yesterday and so they were not included in the estimated 20,000 comments DEC said it has on file.

The volume of comments is just as important as the content, said Kate Hudson, watershed program director at the New York clean water advocacy group Riverkeeper and former DEC official. She has heard estimates that when all the comments on hydrofracking are counted they could end up totaling a record-setting 50,000 for this latest report.

“From a political perspective, it could be very difficult to ignore the volume of comments they’ve received and not respond to them by making changes in what they’ve proposed,” Hudson said. In her experience, if only a handful of citizens raise issues, she said, “the agency feels it has broader discretion to consider the comments but continue to move ahead with the project.”

The current environmental impact statement, responding to just 13,000 comments, took over a year to produce. Whenever it in fact ends up releasing the final environmental impact statement this time around, DEC expects to respond to to every issue raised in the comments. But as Hudson notes, “whether [commenters] feel it’s an adequate response is another question.”

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<h1>The Daily Q: Do state agencies really pay attention to public comments?</h1><h3>Do state agencies really pay attention to public comments?</h3>
<p><a onclick="javascript:pageTracker._trackPageview('/outgoing/www.thenewyorkworld.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/dailyQ2-01.jpg');"  href="http://www.thenewyorkworld.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/dailyQ2-01.jpg"><img class="alignleft size-full wp-image-2600" title="dailyQ2-01" src="http://www.thenewyorkworld.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/dailyQ2-01.jpg" alt="" width="105" height="105" /></a></p>
<p>The state Department of Environmental Conservation’s proposal to regulate hydrofracking generated an <a onclick="javascript:pageTracker._trackPageview('/outgoing/www.nytimes.com/2012/01/12/nyregion/new-york-rules-on-hydrofracking-get-20000-comments.html');"  href="http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/12/nyregion/new-york-rules-on-hydrofracking-get-20000-comments.html">unprecedented 20,000 comments</a>, in a process that closed yesterday. The state agency has to navigate between pressures from the drilling industry, which is seeking quick approval so the state can begin issuing permits for wells this year, and environmental groups, who warn that the state lacks a clear plan to dispose of millions of gallons of wastewater. <a onclick="javascript:pageTracker._trackPageview('/outgoing/www.democratandchronicle.com/article/20120109/NEWS01/201090321/Fracking-comments-New-York');"  href="http://www.democratandchronicle.com/article/20120109/NEWS01/201090321/Fracking-comments-New-York">The Rochester Democrat and Chronicle reviewed</a> the comments submitted and found that a large majority of submissions opposed hydrofracking.</p>
<p>The New York World wants to know:<strong> Do public comments to New York State agencies on proposed regulations actually have influence? </strong></p>
<p>If you have information or insights to share, please comment below, <a onclick="javascript:pageTracker._trackPageview('/mailto/nyworld@thenewyorkworld.com');"  href="mailto:nyworld@thenewyorkworld.com">write us</a>, or tweet to @thenyworld.</p>
<h3></h3>
<h3>What we found</h3>
<p>The Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) is required under <a onclick="javascript:pageTracker._trackPageview('/outgoing/www.dec.ny.gov/permits/6189.html');"  href="http://www.dec.ny.gov/permits/6189.html">state law</a> to read, consider and respond to every concern raised. According to DEC spokesperson Emily DeSantis, the comments are grouped by topic and will be responded to at the conclusion of the final report on hydrofracking, which DEC expects later this year. You can actually see the beginnings of this process, DeSantis said, in the <a onclick="javascript:pageTracker._trackPageview('/outgoing/www.dec.ny.gov/energy/75370.html');"  href="http://www.dec.ny.gov/energy/75370.html">current draft</a> of the environmental impact statement, which incorporated concerns raised in 13,000 comments back in 2009. It notes, for example, that the preliminary report “did not fully study the potential for gas migration,” nor did it “adequately consider the impact of from disposal of solid and liquid wastes.”<span id="more-2695"></span></p>
<p>Bruce Ferguson of the anti-fracking group Catskill Citizens for Safe Energy said generally, he is pleased with how the public comment process works precisely because DEC is required to respond to concerns. His group collected and submitted more than 10,000 comments by mail yesterday before the deadline, including letters, studies such as a U.S. Geological study on how hydrofracking could be related to earthquakes and another on the potential socioeconomic impact on neighboring towns — an area he says is still under-covered in the latest impact report. Ferguson said that his comments shipped yesterday and so they were not included in the estimated 20,000 comments DEC said it has on file.</p>
<p>The volume of comments is just as important as the content, said Kate Hudson, watershed program director at the New York clean water advocacy group Riverkeeper and former DEC official. She has heard estimates that when all the comments on hydrofracking are counted they could end up totaling a record-setting 50,000 for this latest report.</p>
<p>“From a political perspective, it could be very difficult to ignore the volume of comments they’ve received and not respond to them by making changes in what they’ve proposed,” Hudson said. In her experience, if only a handful of citizens raise issues, she said, “the agency feels it has broader discretion to consider the comments but continue to move ahead with the project.”</p>
<p>The current environmental impact statement, responding to just 13,000 comments, took over a year to produce. Whenever it in fact ends up releasing the final environmental impact statement this time around, DEC expects to respond to to every issue raised in the comments. But as Hudson notes, “whether [commenters] feel it’s an adequate response is another question.”</p>

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