New York governor Andrew Cuomo's administration said on Wednesday it will ban hydraulic fracturing in the state after a long-awaited report concluded that the oil and gas production process poses health risks.
New York Environmental Commissioner Joseph Martens said Wednesday he will issue an order early next year, extending a six-year-old halt to fracking in the state.
Martens made his comments after the state's Health Commissioner, Howard Zucker, said there is not enough scientific information to conclude that fracking, which involves pumping water, sand and chemicals into a well to extract oil or gas, is safe.
"The potential risks are too great, in fact not even fully known, and relying on the limited data presently available would be negligent on my part," Zucker said.
Governor Andrew Cuomo, answering questions from journalists, said the decision on whether to allow this kind of drilling in New York was up to Martens.
The ruling ends what has been a heated debate in New York over the benefits and pitfalls of fracking. Many in the state saw gas drilling as a key economic resource while others argued it was too dangerous. New York sits atop a part of the Marcellus shale, one of the largest gas deposits in the United States.
It also marks a defeat for energy firms which have leases in the state but until now have not been able to drill.
Cuomo said it was "probably the most emotionally charged issue I have ever experienced," more than gay marriage, gun control or the death penalty.
December 17th, 2014, 19:15
American Patriot
Re: New York Nanny State
No real list of the exact dangers....
Cuomo to Ban Fracking After Health Department Calls It Unsafe
By Freeman Klopott and Martin Z. Braun Dec 17, 2014 10:51 AM MT - Comments Email Print
The New York state Health Department said fracking for natural gas can’t be done safely, dooming prospects that Governor Andrew Cuomo will allow the extraction process after a six-year-moratorium.
Acting Health Commissioner Howard Zucker said at a cabinet meeting in Albany today that studies on fracking’s effects on water, air and soil are inconsistent, incomplete and raise too many “red flags” for the state to allow it.
“I consider the people of the state of New York as my patients,” said Zucker, a medical doctor. “We cannot afford to make a mistake. The potential risks are too great. In fact, they are not fully known.”
In 2008, the state banned gas drilling by high-volume hydraulic fracturing so regulators could conduct an environmental review and develop rules. In September 2012, Cuomo said he wouldn’t decide on the issue until after health officials studied its potential impact.
Parts of New York sit atop the gas-rich Marcellus shale formation, and the governor has been trying to balance the prospects for the economic development seen in Ohio and Pennsylvania against environmentalists’ warnings that fracking may damage water supplies and make farmland unusable. Following Advice
Cuomo, a 57-year-old Democrat about to begin his second-term, said today he’ll let science, not politics, determine his final decision. http://www.bloomberg.com/image/iwcYF4WGAi04.jpg Photographer: Bryan Thomas/Getty Images Anti-fracking demonstrators protest in New York City, on Sept. 23, 2014.
“I will be bound by what the experts say,” Cuomo said at the cabinet meeting before Zucker spoke.
Fracking, a process in which water and chemicals are injected at high volume into shale to free oil and gas, is allowed in at least 32 states. Since July 2008, when Governor David Paterson issued the New York moratorium, the average natural-gas price on the New York Mercantile Exchange has fallen 60 percent, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
The potential for drilling in New York was already hobbled by restrictions the state is planning to impose if it were to move forward, said Joe Martens, the commissioner of the Environmental Conservation Department. The regulations, along with fracking bans imposed by towns and cities, cut out at least 63 percent of the 12 million acres where gas could be tapped by fracking, Martens said.
“The economic benefits are clearly far lower than originally forecast,” Martens said. “The low price of gas only exacerbates this.”
December 17th, 2014, 20:40
Malsua
Re: New York Nanny State
Oil wells have been fracked for 40+ years, these assholes seem to think it's a new thing.
December 18th, 2014, 13:38
American Patriot
Re: New York Nanny State
Hahahaha.
Yeah, they do.
But, you know that's how Libs work. In the moment.
December 22nd, 2014, 18:32
American Patriot
Re: New York Nanny State
Some New York businesses 'devastated' by fracking ban: Report
While environmental groups are praising New York's decision last week to ban fracking, some local business owners who were hoping for a drilling-related boom are disappointed, according to a report.
"I'm devastated," New York apple grower David Johnson told The Guardian.
Energy companies denied the chance to drill in New York can move rigs to other states. But business owners and landowners, who had hoped to reap royalties from gas production, do not have that option.
Hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, forces natural gas and crude oil out of shale buried deep below the earth by using highly pressurized and treated water.
Other states that sit on top of the massive Marcellus Shale—Ohio, West Virginia and Pennsylvania—have been benefiting from one of the world's largest natural gas deposits. Most have seen a surge in job creation and tax receipts.
But environmental groups oppose the drilling. New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Dec. 17 announced it would ban hydraulic fracturing in the state because of concerns over health risks.
Read More Inside North Dakota's latest fracking problem
But people like business owner Johnson, who runs a 30-acre pick-your-own apple farm on 400 acres in Binghamton, feel let down. Johnson said drilling would have helped to keep farms in business and create new jobs.
