ALBANY – The state Department of Environmental Conservation is going conduct a public session at Sullivan County Community College to discuss the potential environmental impacts of drilling for natural gas in the Marcellus and Utica shale formations.

The meeting will be held at the Loch Sheldrake Campus on December 4. That will be one of six hearings held throughout impacted areas of the state.

The DEC has already issued a draft scoping document outlining the issues to be covered in the analysis of high-volume hydraulic fracturing of horizontal wells.

 The prospective region for the two shale formations is an area extending from Chautauqua County eastward to Greene, Ulster and Sullivan counties.

Although there is a Generic Environmental Impact Statement covering gas and oil drilling in New York State in general, the state has determined that a supplemental to the GEIS is needed to address issues related to the large volumes of water required to “hydrofracture” the shale to release the gas.

Among the other topics, the draft scope proposes that the supplement address water management issues and the composition of drilling fluids added to the water to assist the fracturing process.