The first real test of the state’s newly-enacted fracking ban is on the way. And it’s not, as many supporters and opponents of the ban expected, a lawsuit directly challenging the prohibition. Yesterday, a group of farm owners and Tioga Energy LLC announced plans to file an application with the state to extract natural from […]
high-volume hydraulic fracturing
Posted inNews & Opinion
New York makes its fracking ban official
It is done: New York has officially banned high-volume hydraulic fracturing in the state’s shale formations. State officials announced their intention to ban high-volume fracking back in December, but they also said that they needed to complete a few steps to finish out the environmental review. That’s done, and today, the Department of Environmental issued […]
Posted inNews & Opinion
EPA issues study on fracking and water
The US Environmental Protection Agency has released a long-awaited draft assessment of high-volume hydraulic fracturing’s impact on water resources. And it’s been interesting to watch the response to the study. The EPA analyzed state and industry well and spill data, which resulted in 20 peer-reviewed scientific reports, according to a news release from the agency. […]
Posted inNews & Opinion
Landfills may be center of New York’s next fracking battles
New York fracktivists have for years pushed officials to ban state landfills from taking out-of-state fracking waste. The state hasn’t acted, even though the Department of Environmental Conservation decided not to allow high-volume fracking in New York. But the other night, the Albany County Legislature voted to ban landfills in the county from accepting the […]
Posted inNews & Opinion
The legacy of New York’s fracking decision
New York’s long struggle with fracking is over, except that it isn’t. Next month, the State Department of Environmental Conservation will officially wrap up its review of high-volume hydraulic fracturing, the natural gas extraction technique under review since late 2008. The big news: it intends to prohibit high-volume fracking in New York, DEC Commissioner Joseph […]
Posted inNews & Opinion
Reed: state should compensate landowners because of fracking decision
House Representative Tom Reed says that the state’s decision on high-volume hydraulic fracturing is “the wrong decision for New York State’s future.” During a conference call this morning, Reed said that the decision is a missed opportunity for the state and that fracking could provide jobs and a boost for the Southern Tier’s depressed economy. […]
Posted inNews & Opinion
New York officials reject fracking
State environmental and public health officials have concluded that high-volume hydraulic fracturing is too risky to allow in New York. In January, the State Department of Environmental Conservation will finalize its environmental statement on high-volume fracking, and as part of that process will officially prohibit the extraction technique in New York. Fracking is used in […]
Posted inNews & Opinion
Cuomo says fracking report due by year’s end
There was a moment in last’s night’s gubernatorial debate when Governor Andrew Cuomo broke some fracking news. In response to a question about fracking, Cuomo said that he expects a long-awaited report from the Department of Environmental Conservation and the Department of Health by the end of the year. Previously, he’d only said that the […]
Posted inNews & Opinion
Watershed moment
A lawsuit over the Village of Painted Post’s plan to sell public water to a company to use for fracking will be back in court on Monday, February 24. A panel of state Appellate Division justices will hear an appeal of a previous decision. The case goes back to a 2012 agreement between the village, […]
Posted inNews & Opinion
That’s a lot of fracking money
A new report from Common Cause/NY says that between 2007 and July 2013, pro-fracking interests outspent anti-fracking interests nine to one. The report, released yesterday, says that pro-fracking companies and groups contributed $15.4 million to political committees and spent $48.9 million on lobbying, while fracking opponents spent $1.9 million on political contributions and $5.4 million […]
Posted inNews & Opinion
Erie County passes anti-fracking law
In Monroe County, anti-fracking activists have struggled to get government officials to take fracking-related issues seriously. In particular, they’ve asked the county to pass a law banning its water treatment facilities from taking fracking waste, but their requests have fallen flat. Erie County is a different story. Yesterday, its Legislature passed a law banning fracking on […]
Posted inNews & Opinion
Scientists group offers guides to fracking debate
The Union of Concerned Scientists recently released a couple of publications that should be of interest to anyone with questions about the ongoing fracking debate. The organization hasn’t taken a position on fracking, though drilling companies would probably say that the UCS is against it. Instead, it’s focused on helping the public ask critical and […]
