Binghamton, NY (WBNG Binghamton) When natural gas companies use water from local rivers, streams or creeks to drill, a federal commission says nearby landowners will be made aware.
The Susquehanna River Basin Commission, or the SRBC, held a public hearing tonight to discuss proposed policy changes for companies using the Susquehanna water basin.
Like natural gas drilling companies, which would extract large amounts of water for hydrofracking, if and when drilling is allowed in New York.
The SRBC wants these companies to notify residents living within a half-mile radius of the location of the desired ground or surface water.
It's also asking that those companies publish a notification in local newspapers within 10 days of submitting an application for water withdrawal.
"This would refine the requirements so that it would be different for each of them based on the potential impact to water resources from ground water withdraws, surface water withdrawals," says Paul Swartz, Executive Director of the Susquehanna River Basin Commission.
The commission will make a final decision whether to implement these changes in September.
The Susquehanna River Basin drains a 27,510 square mile area covering parts of New York, Pennsylvania and Maryland.
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