Assemblymember Brindisi Helps Pass Bill to Postpone Hydrofracking

Legislation would postpone issuance of some natural gas drilling permits until May 2015

March 8, 2013

Assemblymember Anthony J. Brindisi (D-Utica) announced the Assembly passed legislation that would delay hydrofracking permits in New York until May 15, 2015 (A.5424-A). The measure would also require a comprehensive health impact assessment be completed by a SUNY school of public health and made public no later than April 15, 2015.

Hydraulic fracturing – commonly referred to as hydrofracking – is a controversial process used to extract natural gas by injecting a chemical cocktail and highly pressurized water into underground rock formations. There is concern that hydrofracking could contaminate clean drinking water supplies and cause damage to the surrounding environment.

“Without an alternate water source, any contamination of the Mohawk Valley’s water supply could leave local families, farms and businesses without water – or worse, it could make us sick,” Assemblymember Brindisi said. “The health and welfare of those in our community are at stake, and we must take the necessary steps to protect them. Not issuing any hydrofracking permits at this time is the right thing to do.”

The measure would place a moratorium on the issuance of permits for hydrofracking in low permeability natural gas pools, like the Marcellus and Utica shale formations. This bill would give the Legislature time to review the Department of Environmental Conservation’s Supplemental Generic Environmental Impact Statement (SGEIS) once it is finalized, Assemblymember Brindisi noted.

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