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NORTHRUP

December 18, 2012 Attn: Draft HVHF Regulations Comments New York State Department of Environmental Conservation 625 Broadway Albany, NY 12233-6510 Re: The DEC fails to cite any source material for the proposed regulations, as required by state law. Summary The DEC fails to cite any source material to justify any of the proposed HVHF regulations. No studies, no statistics, no scientific papers are referenced. If there was any science involved in proposing these regulations any studies or papers, the DEC is required to cite them, as required by law. The DEC has failed to do so. No science involved in the HVHF regulations. For some time, the Governor has said let the science decide about HVHF. Yet the DEC has studiously avoided anything akin to science in drafting the dSGEIS. Except of course political science. We know this is the case, since, the DEC is obligated by law to base its regulations on source material - studies, statistics and science and cite the source in the regulations. But no such source material is cited in the proposed HVHF regulations. Here is the relevant law: 9 N.Y.Prac., Environmental Law and Regulation in New York 3:40 (2d ed.) A 1991 amendment to SAPA 202-a requires the DEC and other agencies to identify in the Regulatory Impact Statement (RIS) studies that served as the basis for the rule, and to explain the agencys use of such studies:

Where one or more scientific or statistical studies, reports or analyses has served as the basis for the rule, the statement shall contain a citation to each such study, report or analysis and shall indicate how it was used to determine the necessity for or the benefits to be derived from the rule. The same provision as quoted from State Administrative Procedures Act (SAPA) 202-a. Regulatory impact, NY STATE ADM PRO 202-a 3. (b) . . A statement setting forth the purpose of, necessity for, and benefits derived from the rule, a citation for and summary, not to exceed five hundred words, of each scientific or statistical study, report or analysis that served as the basis for the rule, an explanation of how it was used to determine the necessity for and benefits derived from the rule, and the name of the person that produced each study, report or analysis;.. The Revised Regulatory Statement is online at: http://www.dec.ny.gov/regulations/87440.html It is supposed to cite the source material for the proposed regulations. But there are no studies statistical analysis or papers cited. Because there was no science, no statistics, no studies actually involved in the DECs regulations. If there had been any science involved, the DEC would have cited it. The DEC staff took input from Chesapeake Energys lobbyist, who evidently understands the artistry of gaming regulators in order to game the regulations. 1 At a minimum, this means that the proposed HVHF regulations, including the dSGEIS, are incomplete, unfinished, and without any empirical or scientific foundation. They do not cite any substantive information no source material as a basis for the proposed regulations. Nor does the DEC cite any source material as the basis of their comments in the Assessment of Public Comment. Meaning the DEC just made it up.

http://www.scribd.com/doc/98812091/Who-Writes-New-York-s-Fracking-Regulations

There is no science involved in the proposed regulations. There never was. The notion that regulations would be driven by science was simply a politically expedient lie.2 The only science involved in these regulations is political science.3

James L. Northrup 17 River Street Cooperstown, NY 13326

2 3

http://www.desmogblog.com/science-trumped-politics-cuomo-s-ny-fracking-plans http://www.scribd.com/doc/66390117/The-Political-Science-of-the-SGEIS 3

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