January 4, 2013 Attn: Draft HVHF Regulations Comments New York State Department of Environmental Conservation 625 Broadway

Albany, NY 12233-6510 Dear Commissioner Martens: I am writing to comment on the revised HVHF regulations. My comments are given under protest, as I am convinced that the issuance of the revised regulations by the DEC without prior publication of the final SGEIS is a severely flawed procedure. I reserve the right to comment on the draft regulations again after the final SGEIS has been issued. Notwithstanding this, I offer the following comments regarding the amount of financial security for wells less than 6,000 feet deep. The provisions Part 555.5(a)(1 through 5) on the method of plugging wells apply to all wells covered by Parts 550 through 556 and 560 without regard to the depth of the well. In the first sentence of the revised Part 551.6 the Department has required The owner of an oil, gas or solution mining, storage stratigraphic, geothermal or disposal well that exceeds or is expected to exceed 6,000 feet in true measured depth must file financial security for that well in an amount based on the anticipated costs of plugging and abandoning that well to the satisfaction of the department in accordance with Part 555 of this Title. This requirement of Part 551.6 assures that the Department can require financial security sufficient to cover the cost of plugging the well. However, Part 551.5 Amount of financial security: wells up to 6,000 feet deep requires fixed amounts per well with no relationship to the anticipated plugging costs. It also puts a total dollar limit on the amount of financial security that an owner would have to provide, so that the total amount of security for several wells may be less than the total cost of plugging all of those wells. This provides owners with a volume discount on the amount of security they have to provide, so that the total amount of security may be significantly less than the actual total cost of plugging the same number of wells. Such a weak system of financial security exposes New York taxpayers to the cost of plugging wellsan expense that is rightfully the responsibility of the owneror to the risk of unplugged wells. Part 551.5 should be rewritten to provide that financial security for all wells up to 6,000 feet (True Measured Depth) must have financial security sufficient to cover the anticipated cost of plugging each well such that all wells are to have the full amount of financial security. Alternatively, Parts 551.5 and 551.6 could be combined with these same security provisions. In addition, the Department should adjust financial security requirements annually to account for any anticipated increase in the cost of plugging wells. This adjustment is needed to protect the taxpayers and residents of New York from the expense of plugging cost escalation over the period from when the well is drilled until it is plugged. Yours truly,