Over the next few days we will be skimming through the updated Supplemental Generic Environmental Impact Statement (SGEIS), available here, which was recently released by the New York Department of Environmental Conservation.  For today, our focus will be on methane in private wells and groundwater throughout New York’s history as relayed by the SGEIS.  For a post like this, its best to let the SGEIS speak for itself:

The presence of naturally occurring methane in ground seeps and water wells is well documented throughout New York State.
NYSDEC SGEIS Pg. 4-38

The existence of naturally occurring methane seeps in New York has been known since the mid 1600s.
NYSDEC SGEIS Pg. 4-38

In his 1966 report on the Jamestown Aquifer, Crain explained that natural gas could occur in any water well in the area which ends in bedrock or in unconsolidated deposits overlain by fine-grained confining.
NYSDEC SGEIS Pg. 4-38

Gas that occurs naturally in shallow bedrock and unconsolidated sediments has been known to seep to the surface and/or contaminate water supplies including water wells. Often landowners are not aware of the presence of methane in their well.
NYDEC SGEIS Pg. 4-39

In 1987 the Times Union reported that contaminants, including methane, were found in well water in the Orchard Park subdivision near New Scotland, Albany County. Engineers from the Department reported the methane as “natural occurrences found in shale bedrock deposits beneath the development.
NYDEC SGEIS Pg. 4-39

These quotes help to paint the background of New Yorkers’ history with methane finding its way to their wells, which has roots long before modern gas drilling techniques were even invented let alone employed in New York state.  Of all these quotes, this is the most compelling and succinct.

The highest methane concentration from all samples analyzed was 22.4 mg/L from a well in Schoharie County; the average detected value was 0.79 mg/L.59 These groundwater results confirm that methane migration to shallow aquifers is a natural phenomenon and can be expected to occur in active and non-active natural gas drilling areas.
NYDEC SGEIS Pg. 4-41

It is also important to note that the SGEIS also declares that  natural gas production is often not the cause of private well impairment.

Methane contamination of groundwater is often mistakenly attributed to or blamed on natural gas well drilling and hydraulic fracturing. There are a number of other, more common, reasons that well water can display sudden changes in quality and quantity. Seasonal variations in recharge,stress on the aquifer from usage demand, and mechanical failures are some factors that could lead to degradation of well water.
NYDEC SGEIS Pg. 4-40

The SGEIS also provides examples where water well impairment has been unfairly laid at the feet of natural gas producers.

Recently, as part of two separate complaint investigations in the towns of Elmira and Collins,New York, the Department documented that methane gas existed in the shallow aquifers at the two sites long before and prior to the exploration and development for natural gas. Both investigations provided clear evidence that methane contamination was present in the area’s water wells prior to the commencement of natural gas drilling operations.
NYDEC SGEIS Pg. 4-40

Also, the SGEIS takes another look at the data produced by the often misquoted and mischaracterized Duke study which EID-Northeast Marcellus covered previously here.  What did the SGEIS say about the Duke study?

In April 2011 researchers from Duke University (Duke) released a report on the occurrence of methane contamination of drinking water associated with Marcellus and Utica Shale gas development.  As part of their study, the authors analyzed groundwater from nine drinking water wells in the Genesee Group in Otsego County, New York for the presence of methane. Of the nine wells, Duke classified one well as being in an active gas extraction area (i.e. a gas well is within 1 km of the water well), and the remaining eight in a non-active gas extraction area. The analysis showed minimal amounts of methane in this sample group, with concentrations significantly below the minimum methane action level (10 mg/L) to maintain the safety of structures and the public. The water well located in the active gas extraction area had 5 to 10 times lessmethane than the wells located in the inactive areas.
NYDEC SGEIS Pg. 4-41

We thought you may like to have this information before our friends on the other side begin screaming that wells are already being tainted by hydraulical fracturing in New York even before that fracturing begins. We plan on continuing to comb through the SGEIS to help you understand what it says and what it does not. Given the size of the document we will continue providing these updates over the next few days and weeks so stay tuned for additional updates.