DEC Issues Findings Statement Concluding Extensive Seven-Year Review
The state Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) today officially prohibited high-volume hydraulic fracturing (HVHF) in New York State by issuing its formal Findings Statement, completing the state’s seven-year review of this activity.
On June 30th, the State Court of Appeals in a 5-to-2 decision found that the Town of Dryden in Tompkins County and the Town of Middlefield in Otsego County have the authority to prohibit fracking through local land use regulations. Opponents of fracking immediately celebrated the ruling whereas a lawyer for one of the energy companies in the suit indicated that the ruling made it increasingly unlikely that gas drilling companies would invest in New York State.
Each year the Green Panel, consisting of more than a dozen environmental groups, identify bills of special significance known as “super bills”. This year the Environmental Conservation Committee listed the “Fracking Moratorium and Health Impacts Assessment” as a super bill.
The bill would enact a moratorium on certain types of natural gas drilling until May 15, 2015, and require the completion of a comprehensive health impact assessment. This legislation (A.5424-A Sweeney) passed the Assembly, but the Senate has not yet taken action.