New York’s Southern Tier is home to small towns, family farms, scenic rivers with freshwater fisheries, and irreplaceable open spaces. But beneath this natural beauty lie trillions of cubic feet of natural gas, trapped within the rock of the Marcellus Shale formation. 

Drilling companies propose to use a dangerous technique, called hydro-fracturing or “fracking,” to extract the natural gas beneath the Southern Tier and Catskills regions.

Fracking requires millions of gallons of water and toxic chemicals per well. It could endanger our drinking water and turn parts of New York State into industrial drilling zones.

To protect our natural resources and the health of our shared environment, New York State must regulate this growing industry in the Marcellus Shale formation and the first step the State should take is to accept public input on the Department of Environmental Conservation’s draft plan to regulate this type of gas drilling.

Recent events in Pennsylvania show how dangerous fracking can be when it’s not properly regulated. Click to learn more here and here.

New York State is still figuring out how to regulate this type of industrial gas drilling, but no matter what Governor Paterson needs to give the public adequate time—120 days—to review the DEC’s proposed Environmental Impact Statement and dedicate increased resources to the agency so that it can properly oversee an industry he wants to see double in size according to the State Energy Plan.