NY Times: Cuomo to Ban Fracking in New York State, Citing Health Risks
ALBANY — The Cuomo administration announced Wednesday that it would ban hydraulic fracturing in New York State, ending years of uncertainty by concluding that the controversial method of extracting gas from deep underground could contaminate the state’s air and water and pose inestimable public-health risks.
“I cannot support high volume hydraulic fracturing in the great state of New York,” said Howard Zucker, the acting commissioner of health.
That conclusion was delivered publicly during a year-end cabinet meeting called by Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo in Albany. It came amid increased calls by environmentalists to ban fracking, which uses water and chemicals to release natural gas trapped in deeply buried shale deposits.
The state has had a de facto ban on the procedure for more than five years, predating Mr. Cuomo’s first term. The decision also came as oil and gas prices continued to fall, in part because of surging American oil production, as fracking boosted output.
The decision has been fraught for Mr. Cuomo, a Democrat.
In June 2012, he flirted with approving a limited program in several struggling Southern Tier counties along New York’s border with Pennsylvania. But later that year, Mr. Cuomo bowed to entreaties from environmental advocates, announcing instead that his administration would start the regulatory process over by beginning a new study to evaluate the health risks.
As months and years passed, the governor repeatedly suggested that the Health Department’s report was near completion, but its findings did not surface until Wednesday.
The delays angered environmentalists and oil companies alike. Advocates for fracking have argued that it could bring jobs to economically depressed areas atop the Marcellus Shale, a gigantic subterranean deposit of trapped gas that extends across much of New York State, Pennsylvania and West Virginia.
But the governor has also faced strong opposition from groups worried about the effects of fracking on the state’s watersheds and aquifers, as well as on tourism and the quality of life in small upstate communities.
Dozens of towns and cities across New York have passed moratoriums and bans on fracking, and in June, the state’s highest court, the Court of Appeals, ruled that towns could use zoning ordinances to ban fracking. Opponents have also consistently protested at the governor’s public events and during his successful re-election campaign, where his Republican opponent, Rob Astorino, called for legalizing fracking.
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Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Frank Walker on
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This is truly a frightening development. My heart goes out to all the NY landowners who have been destroyed by the ruling class in that formerly great state.
I live in PA so I'm safe for now. But I cannot ignore the fact a Democrat Governor will be running things here for the next four years, and we have our share here, too, of crazy liberal elite fools. I hope this, over time, does not turn out to be a lethal combination for Pennsylvanians, and it clearly is right now for upstate New Yorkers.
A ban on fracking is completely NUTS!!
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Permalink Reply by Frank Walker on
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Oh, OK. I missed something important in the OP.
Only HVH fracking is being banned. This leaves open the door for GASFRAC and all the other alternatives.
The following is only just MHO:
I think this will make no difference whatsoever to NY landowners. Should a viable, workable, alternative to hydraulic fracturing become available, it (whatever it is) will also be banned in NY State. Here is why:
The insane NY environmentalist liberals are not opposed to fracking per se, regardless the appearance of today's announcement. Instead, they are opposed to fossil fuel use because they believe in the myth of AGW. So any fracking approach, even a safe solution which renders pollution impossible, will be opposed by those left-wing anti-American wackos.
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Permalink Reply by george m vietze on
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Empire Energya has many wells in Pennsylvania and they have knowledge that shallow Upper Devonian in NW Pa. has in the past proven to sometimes be very prolific. It is time to face facts, New York is going to be difficult to do natural gas business. Pennsylvania welcomes this company and others to develop opportunities in NW PA. Stedman Energy has a permit to drill a well in Lowville, Pa. near Wattsburg, they plan to drill a shallow 2800' (approximate) strata and my guess is that they are looking for oil. Since permits have a three year time frame hopefully the price of oil
will not deter drilling.
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Permalink Reply by george m vietze on
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18 December 2014
FRACKING BAN IN NEW YORK STATE
Having missed 6 to 8 years of the shale boom and in a case of populist pandering, New York Governor Cuomo announced on Wednesday that high volume hydraulic fracturing be prohibited in New York State. This decision comes after a recommendation based on the long awaited Health Report that fracking be banned due to health concerns and oil and gas production would have limited economic benefits to the people of New York State.
Bruce McLeod, Executive Chairman notes “while this decision is very disappointing for the Company it is important to note that the Marcellus and Utica acreage held by the Company was a “free” upside on existing acreage, recorded in the Company’s books at zero cost, being acquired as part of a previous acquisition of producing assets. The decision is a negative for all energy companies operating in New York State. It is expected that the industry will closely review the grounds on which the decision has been made, especially as in part of the announcement, the Department of Environment stated they could see very little economic benefit accruing to the State if fracking was allowed. New York is the only USA State that has substantial oil and gas resources that has now banned fracking”.The above was quoted from a report by Empire Energy at New York gas and oil company
They are located just a few miles from the Pennsylvania border....come on over...no passport required and you already own lots of acreage. EmKey Energy an Erie, Pa. based
midstream company is building infrastructure and has a $10 million dollar natural gas processing plant in the area.
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Permalink Reply by David Perotto on
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I have read the entire NY Dept of Health Public Health Review. It could have easily been written by the Food and Water Watch. A whole lot of debunked "scientific" studies were referenced, such as the discredited Bamberger health exposure report & the Colorado baby health defects study. The DOH uses many could cause & may cause verbage in its report. They had a predetermined result in mind and found data to fit the narrative, it is that obvious. Gov Cuomo is obviously behind this and yes it is scary for the rest of the country. Now that the environmentalists have won in NY, this will embolden them to try in other states, such as PA. They must be stopped with the facts on our side. The truth, in the end, will decide this and I truly believe HVHF can be done with proper best practices and regulations in place.
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Permalink Reply by David Perotto on
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Just found this:
http://www.foodandwaterwatch.org/blogs/we-can-ban-fracking-new-york...
This should be a rallying moment for those in favor of fracing. We cannot allow these people to get traction elsewhere.
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Permalink Reply by george m vietze on
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It just might come to the reality that hydrocarbon fracking or cryogenic fracturing that does not deal with the problems of chemicals and water but dissapates underground might be where the industry is headed. Oil world-wide is on a decline-curve and the demand for energy is constantly increasing. It is all about natural gas for the future, they will find a way to make it work for all parties involved. It just is going to be a long term project with no easy solution.
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Permalink Reply by David Perotto on
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Problem is the NY DOH listed many things as health concerns, such as:
- increased truck traffic and the subsequent spike in traffic accident mortality
- so called " socio-economic" effects such as increased crime and STD's ( I cant make this stuff up)
- Noise pollution
- Silica exposure as a result of fracking sand from well pads
- felt vibration in homesteads near the pad
- quality of life degradation as a result of lights on well pad
- fugitive methane on well pad ( type of fracing has no bearing on this as it is flowback or production fugitive methane.
- well bore failure
- capped well failure
These were all cited as potential problems, they really found just about any excuse to condemn the process.
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