New York will become the first state to ban hydraulic fracturing, the administration of Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced Wednesday.
The decision comes at the end of a six-year process, which included an extended public-health review by the state Department of Health that was conducted mostly out of sight as a public debate raged. Anti-fracking environmental advocates were pitted against business groups that viewed fracking as a potential new industry that could bring jobs and investment to depressed upstate areas.
Howard Zucker, a doctor and the acting commissioner of the department, presented the findings at a meeting of the governor”™s cabinet in Albany on Wednesday, saying that his recommendations were based more on what was not known than what was known about how fracking could affect public health. There were several red-flag concerns, he said, that had not been adequately refuted by any long-term comprehensive studies.
“Would I let my child play in the school field nearby or my family drink the water from the tap or grow their vegetables in the soil?” Zucker said. “After looking at the plethora of reports ”¦ my answer is no.”
Fracking is a method of extracting natural gas from underground rock formations using pressurized water, sand and chemicals injected into the ground. Although 30 states have undertaken fracking, questions persist about how the method could affect groundwater and soil and air quality.
Cuomo, who came into office in 2010, had avoided taking a stance on the issue until the department”™s study was concluded. In his successful re-election campaign this year, his lack of a stance against fracking was a campaign point that lost some liberal support to candidate Zephyr Teachout in a Democratic Party primary. Cuomo deferred to his cabinet recommendations, calling fracking the “most emotion-charged issue” that he”™s ever experienced, and joked he had discussed the issue with both sides “14,600 times” and at “various decibel levels.”
“This is not really a layman”™s question,” Cuomo said of whether fracking had adverse environmental or health effects. “I am not a scientist.”
The anti-fracking movement in the state had attracted high-profile supporters, including celebrities like Mark Ruffalo and Yoko Ono. Environmental groups, some of which had planned a protest to coincide with Cuomo”™s Jan. 7 State of the State address, praised the governor and his staff for deciding to ban fracking, though some groups called for more specifics in terms of the length of the ban.
The town of Dryden in Tompkins County was among as many as 80 communities that banned fracking on the local level, with dozens on track to possibly do the same. Dryden was taken to court over the ruling, with an energy company with its eyes set on Dryden filing suit under the premise such a ban was something for state regulators and not local elected officials. A local judge ruled in favor of the town, a decision that was backed by the state”™s Supreme Court in July.
Deborah Goldberg, who represented Dryden in its case and is now managing attorney for the group Earthjustice, said Cuomo “earned his place in history with the decision.”
“I believe that future generations will point to this day and say, ”˜This is when the tide began to turn against the dirty, dangerous and destructive fossil fuel industry,”™” she said.
Department of Environmental Conservation Commissioner Joseph Martens said his office would complete a supplemental environmental impact statement by January. “Once that is complete, I will prohibit high-volume hydraulic fracturing in New York state at this time,” he said.
Martens said the gas-rich Marcellus Shale comprises about 12 million acres of the state, or 39 percent of the entire New York land mass. In analyzing the potential effects of fracking, the state decided if fracking were allowed it would only be permitted where the deposits are more than 2,000 feet below surface, a move that would eliminate 41 percent of the overall acreage. There would be limits based on proximity to the watersheds that supply New York City and Syracuse, among other restrictions, which would have reduced the area of potential mining by 63 percent from its overall acreage, down to 4.5 million acres.
The ban was criticized by the organization Unshackle Upstate, which called fracking a “lost opportunity” and said the banning was “a tremendous blow to the upstate economy.” The New York State Petroleum Council criticized the ban, claiming that $630 million has been pumped into the Pennsylvania economy due to fracking since 2012.
“We look forward to continuing to work with the landowners and our labor allies, who are focused on creating jobs,” Karen Moreau, the council”™s executive director, said in a statement.
To read the Department of Health’s report, click here.
