Green Blog: Weighing In on N.Y.'s Fracking Rules

As the administration of Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo inches toward a decision on whether to allow fracking in New York State, it has opened a 30-day period for public comment on proposed regulations that would govern fracking.

The state Department of Environmental Conservation released the draft regulations at the end of November, but any decision on drilling also awaits completion of an extensive review of the potential environmental impacts of the drilling process, known as hydraulic fracturing, or fracking.

That review includes an examination of possible health consequences by the state health commissioner, Dr. Nirav Shah, and outside experts that is still under way. Environmental regulators requested a 90-day extension to complete their rule-making, so the administration is now expected to make a decision by Feb. 27.

But if the state decides that hydraulic fracturing cannot be done safely, ?these regulations will not have any practical effect and the process will not go forward,? the Department of Environmental Conservation said in a statement.

Comments on the draft regulations can be filed through Jan. 11 at the Web site of the Department of Environmental Conservation, or by writing to the department at 625 Broadway, Albany, N.Y., 12233-6510.

Source: http://green.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/12/13/long-road-continued-fracking-in-n-y/?partner=rss&emc=rss

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