2010-01-20

New York State Lawmakers Wrestle with Regulating Hydrofracking. By Delen Goldberg, Syracuse Post-Standard, January 17, 2010. "As New York wrestles with how to regulate natural gas drilling, state lawmakers from Central New York will soon have to decide an important question: Do they support high-volume hydraulic fracturing?... The state Department of Environmental Conservation is preparing to issue regulations that would allow hydrofracking throughout New York, including in the Skaneateles Lake watershed, which supplies drinking water to 400,000 Syracuse-area residents... Lawmakers can -- and already are -- drafting bills that would override those regulations. They also decide how much money DEC is given to monitor drilling and enforce regulations. Advocates on both sides of the issue are trying to influence the legislators. Environmental advocates have sent hundreds of letters to them about the potential risks of natural gas drilling. Oil and gas lobbyists are using education -- and campaign donations -- to persuade them that the risks from hydrofracking are minimal, but the economic benefits to the state will be huge."

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