New York still has much work to do on fracking

On Friday, NRDC and its coalition partners submitted detailed comments on the Cuomo Administration’s revised draft rules for proposed fracking in the state, revealed last month, as the 30-day opportunity for public comment came to a close.

As we have been saying for several months, by issuing final fracking rules before the environmental and public health studies are complete, Governor Cuomo would be undermining the four-plus years of work that have gone into trying to get it right in New York.

The entire purpose of the state’s ongoing health and environmental reviews is to inform strong, protective rules for how fracking would move forward if it is given the green light in the state. While there are some improvements here over past drafts, many serious holes remain. The pending reviews should be used to help close them.

The governor has repeatedly sought to assure New Yorkers that he would not rush ahead on fracking and drag our state down the dark path we’ve seen in Pennsylvania and around the country. To keep that promise, he must not make any decisions about fracking until the environmental and public health risks are fully evaluated and addressed.

Beyond the rushed process for issuing the revised draft regulations - a decision that is unfortunately reflected in their substantial errors and gaps - of particular concern is the glaring failure by the Administration to respond to the widespread and continuing calls of the public to lift the veil of secrecy that is shrouding the health review.

Find NRDC’s full comments on the state’s proposed fracking rules here.