New York, NY - The Cuomo administration appears to have a new "fracking plan" that would place geographic limitations on shale gas drilling in New York, but it's getting mixed reviews. A New York Times report says the plan would limit the drilling to several counties along the Pennsylvania border. However, the Marcellus regional organizer with the Earthworks Oil and Gas Accountability Project points out that the plan fails to address key issues. Those issues include ensuring community input and protecting the environment and public health, Nadia Steinzor says.
"It's very haphazard, and coming up with some geographical or geological limitations on the development doesn't make the practice safe."
Some New York landowner groups cheer the plan, giving the Cuomo administration credit for trying to move forward on the controversial energy development process known as hydraulic fracturing.
Rob Moore, executive director of Environmental Advocates of New York (EANY), says he is on the state advisory panel charged with overseeing "fracking." He is disturbed that he first learned about this new plan in the press, and is concerned that local citizens could be left out of important decisions.
"What role, if any, will communities have in determining their own fate - either to keep drilling out of their communities or, potentially, to invite drilling into their communities?"
For communities to be able to make good choices, the state must first fix major flaws in the Department of Environmental Conservation's "fracking plan," Moore says.
Steinzor warns that New York has yet to grapple with big health questions associated with fracking.
"We still don't have a comprehensive health-impacts assessment. There's just growing evidence from across the nation that shale-gas development is having a really detrimental impact on public health, and on the health of a lot of individuals who live near facilities."
The Cuomo administration maintains there is no timetable for development.
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New York, NY - The Cuomo administration appears to have a new "fracking plan" that would place geographic limitations on shale gas drilling in New York, but it's getting mixed reviews. A New York Times report says the plan would limit the drilling to several counties along the Pennsylvania border. However, the Marcellus regional organizer with the Earthworks Oil and Gas Accountability Project points out that the plan fails to address key issues. Those issues include ensuring community input and protecting the environment and public health, Nadia Steinzor says.
"It's very haphazard, and coming up with some geographical or geological limitations on the development doesn't make the practice safe."
Some New York landowner groups cheer the plan, giving the Cuomo administration credit for trying to move forward on the controversial energy development process known as hydraulic fracturing.
Rob Moore, executive director of Environmental Advocates of New York (EANY), says he is on the state advisory panel charged with overseeing "fracking." He is disturbed that he first learned about this new plan in the press, and is concerned that local citizens could be left out of important decisions.
"What role, if any, will communities have in determining their own fate - either to keep drilling out of their communities or, potentially, to invite drilling into their communities?"
For communities to be able to make good choices, the state must first fix major flaws in the Department of Environmental Conservation's "fracking plan," Moore says.
Steinzor warns that New York has yet to grapple with big health questions associated with fracking.
"We still don't have a comprehensive health-impacts assessment. There's just growing evidence from across the nation that shale-gas development is having a really detrimental impact on public health, and on the health of a lot of individuals who live near facilities."
The Cuomo administration maintains there is no timetable for development.
