Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s administration announced Wednesday it would place a ban on hydrofracking throughout New York State, citing too many “red flags” and conflicting health and environmental studies on the shale gas extraction method.
The move ends a five-year moratorium on hydrofracking placed under former Gov. David Paterson and maintained by Cuomo, who did not take a formal position on the subject during his first term in office and deferred a stance Wednesday to state Department of Health Commissioner Howard Zucker and state Department of Environmental Conservation Commissioner Joe Martens.
Of his opinion on the fracking decision, Cuomo said during a public meeting of his cabinet that was broadcast on the Internet, “I don’t even think I have a role here.”
Throughout his first term and re-election campaign, Cuomo continuously cited an ongoing study released Wednesday over the health impacts left of fracking.
The study, comprised of reviews of anecdotal reports and existing studies, left “many red flags” and “questions that remain unanswered” due to a lack of scientific analysis, Zucker said.
“Would I live in a community with [fracking] based on the facts that I have now? Would I let my child play in a field nearby?” Zucker said. “After looking at the plethora of reports behind me…my answer is no.”
Fracking, which had already been banned in New York City, was of interest to residents upstate over sections of the Southern Tier and Central New York in which part of the Marcellus Shale formation is located.
Use of the extraction method by developers would have made a significant economic impact on the region, fracking advocates argued. It was opposed by environmental advocates statewide who said it would mar the area’s supply of drinking water.
In a presentation on the study’s findings Wednesday, Zucker and Martens said economic projections for fracking in New York were significantly less than statistics indicated a few years ago,
The study, Zucker said, would be made available to the public on the health department’s website.
In a statement released during Wednesday’s cabinet meeting, state GOP chair Ed Cox called the decision “a political charade from the start.”
“While unemployment in New York’s shale-rich Southern Tier remains high, safely regulated natural gas development has led to the creation of a quarter of a million new jobs across the border in Pennsylvania,” he said. “To New Yorkers across Upstate struggling for economic growth: New York’s governor has failed you.”
The Republicans argued that the Environmental Protection Agency has released regulations for safe hydrofracking and noted the technique has been supported by President Obama and Democratic Sen. Charles Schumer.
