The state Department of Environmental Conservation issued a final Supplemental Generic Environmental Impact Statement on Wednesday that detailed the agency”™s reservations about permitting hydraulic fracturing.
The release of the final SGEIS brings New York one step closer to banning fracking, which is the process of drilling thousands of feet below the surface to fracture shale rock in order to extract natural gas, oil and other resources.
DEC Commissioner Joseph Martens is required to submit a findings statement 10 days or more after the final SGEIS publication. Martens”™ statement is expected to align with the final report that found there are “major uncertainties about potential significant adverse health and environmental impacts associated with” fracking, according to a statement released by the DEC.
The state has been studying the effects of fracking for seven years and has received more than 260,000 public comments about the drilling method.
In December, state Department of Health Acting Commissioner Howard Zucker said “it would be reckless to proceed” with fracking and recommended that the state move to prohibit it.
