Bill Allows For Full Review Of Drilling
In an effort to ensure that the state legislature and other interested parties receive all of the information they need to determine the ultimate pros and cons of hydraulic fracturing, State Sen. Joseph P. Addabbo has given his support to legislation that would suspend the issuance of new permits for this form of natural gas drilling in New York State until June 2013.
“Like many, many others, I am deeply concerned about the potential negative impact of ‘hydrofracking’ on New York’s environment, water supply, and public health,” said Addabbo, who has long expressed reservations about the controversial process. “Yes, we need to reduce our reliance on foreign oil, but at what cost to current and future generations? We need to know everything there is to know about hydraulic fracturing before we make any irreversible decisions on whether to go forward with this kind of suspect gas extraction.”
As a co-sponsor of this new bipartisan bill (S.6261), Addabbo expects that the suspension of permits for hydraulic fracturing until next year will enable the legislature to evaluate the true environmental impacts of the drilling, and will also provide adequate time for review of the Draft Supplemental Generic Environmental Impact Statement (DSGEIS) on hydrofracking to be produced by the state Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC).
“Enacting a moratorium on new hydrofracking permits is simply a wise step to prevent New York State from rushing heedlessly into a process that could have highly damaging effects on our environment and our lives here in New York State,” the senator said. “Let’s allow some time to digest and evaluate the information on fracking before we take any kind of action that could very well compromise our overall water supply. We shouldn’t ‘frack’ without the facts.”
The legislation is now under consideration by the State Senate Committee on Environmental Conservation.
