I want to start by thanking the officials here tonight from the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation.

Back in February, I called attention to the fact that State officials had not heard from the people of New York City on hydraulic fracturing, and I requested a formal hearing. Tonight, we are having that hearing. I also called for a longer review period, beyond the original 60 days, and last week you announced an extension for public comments until the end of the year. Thank you for your responsiveness.

I believe that the prospect of natural gas drilling in the New York City watershed is the greatest environmental threat facing New Yorkers today.

I am joined by many others – concerned citizens, leading environmental groups, and the editorial pages of the New York Times and Daily News – in arguing that there is only one correct response to this threat: A permanent and complete ban on hydraulic fracturing in the Catskill / Delaware watershed.

Anything less than a ban will put at risk the health of New Yorkers – and also their pocketbooks. The filtration system that will have to be built after our water is contaminated will cost between $10 billion and $30 billion to construct, and a million dollars a day to operate.

None of this has to happen. It’s avoidable. Allowing drilling in the City’s watershed would be a self-inflicted environmental wound. The Department of Environmental Conservation has the power to shield New Yorkers from this hazard and protect the drinking water consumed by 9 million people. I urge you to do the right thing.

Prior to the close of the public comment period on December 31, I will be submitting comprehensive written comments on the draft Environmental Impact Statement. Tonight, I’d like to focus your attention on three critical points:

First, the recent announcement by Chesapeake Energy – that the company will not use the leases it holds in the Catskill / Delaware watershed – in no way eliminates the need for the State of New York to mandate a ban on drilling. Claims to the contrary are false.

Yes, Chesapeake should be recognized for the steps it has taken.

But let me be blunt: A press release is not a contract. The company’s pledge is not legally binding, it is not permanent, and, frankly, it is not enough when 90% of our City’s drinking water is at stake.

Second, I respectfully disagree with the view of this agency that the “mitigation measures” proposed for the City’s watershed are sufficient. I believe that the proposed safeguards are a recipe for disaster. All the evidence we need can be found just 10 miles beyond our State’s southern border in Pennsylvania. There, your counterparts in Pennsylvania’s Department of Environmental Protection decided that “mitigation measures” were sufficient.

And what has that approach yielded?

Contaminated drinking water fouled by sludge and sediment and brown bubbles. Believe it or not, in some of those homes, you can light the tap water on fire.

Just last week, the Pennsylvania DEP fined a natural gas company $120,000 for leaking thousands of gallons of toxic fluids into a fresh water stream. There is little doubt that Pennsylvania’s future is filled with more pollution and more fines.

Third, the State’s failure to ban drilling in the watershed would jeopardize a massive investment already made by New York City. Our Independent Budget Office reports that the City has invested well over a billion dollars to protect the watershed through land purchases and other measures. We also spend $100 million a year in property tax on that upstate land. The investment is prudent because it means that taxpayers avoid the billions of dollars it would cost to build a filtration system.

Now, in the very place that the City has acted to prevent run-of-the-mill commercial and residential development, the State is contemplating natural gas drilling with toxic chemicals. It makes no sense.

Each of you on this panel has dedicated your professional lives to public service and environmental protection. You understand better than anyone that environmental harm is often irreversible, and that the government’s greatest duty to future generations is to protect the environment.

I urge you to ban drilling in the New York City watershed.

Thank you.