Tuesday, December 27, 2011

Cuomo Will Seek to Lift Ban on Hydraulic Fracturing

COMMENT:
The current action taken by the EPA for air and water studies in response to citizen outcry over the impacts from hydraulic fracturing has yet to result in completed studies.  In spite of the grave health concerns over water and air contamination, Cuomo is calling to lift the ban on hydraulic fracturing in NY.

In the words of Manfred Max-Neef:  "The politicians know exactly what not to do, they just do it anyway."

In the words of John Pilger:  "If power was truly invincible, it would not fear the people so much as to expend vast resources trying to distract and deceive them."


DANNY HAKIM and NICHOLAS CONFESSORE
June 30, 2011

The Cuomo administration is seeking to lift what has effectively been a moratorium in New York State on hydraulic fracturing, a controversial technique used to extract natural gas from shale, state environmental regulators said on Thursday.

Protesters in Albany rallied in April against a drilling technique widely known as hydrofracking.

The process would be allowed on private lands, opening New York to one of the fastest-growing — critics would say reckless — areas of the energy industry. It would be banned inside New York City’s sprawling upstate watershed, as well as inside a watershed used by Syracuse, and in underground water sources used by other cities and towns. It would also be banned on state lands, like parks and wildlife preserves.

It will most likely take months before the policy becomes official. On Friday, the State Department of Environmental Conservation will release a long-awaited study of the process, widely known as hydrofracking. The report will include recommendations about how to proceed, and then there will be a lengthy period for public comments before a final determination can be made...continued.....