Albany – Assembly Energy Chair Kevin Cahill praised cable news outlet YNN for its live broadcast of the Department of Environmental Conservation’s hearing on proposed rules that would govern the controversial natural gas drilling process often referred to as hydrofracking. An estimated 500 people attended the meeting held at Sullivan County Community College.
“YNN did a great service to the people of New York State by providing live coverage of the DEC’s hearing on hydrofracking,” said Assemblymember Cahill. “The decisions surrounding natural gas drilling are going to have a profound impact for years to come. The condensed comment period and limited opportunity for community participation has not afforded the public enough time to give the Department’s proposal the scrutiny it deserves.”
The public comment period for the highly complex and technical natural gas guidelines and regulations is set to expire on December 12th. The DEC has scheduled just four public hearings on the proposed rules.
“Time is running out and too many families and businesses in proposed drilling areas are still struggling to recover from the devastation caused by the recent floods,” said Assemblymember Cahill. “I once again urge the DEC to extend the public comment period and renew the moratorium on drilling in order to update and incorporate flood prevention and response plans.”
Assemblymember Cahill is currently representing New York at a meeting of the National Conference of State Legislatures’ Task Force on Energy Supply and could not attend last night’s hearing. As Chair of the Assembly Energy Committee, Cahill has been a leader in the debate on natural gas drilling. He co-sponsored legislation passed by the Assembly that would institute a moratorium on hydrofracking and co-wrote a bill that would mandate any rules governing drilling activity and provide equal protection to all sources of drinking water.
The NCSL Task Force on Energy Supply meeting is focused on key elements of state energy planning including power plant siting, environmental regulations, nuclear energy, renewables, infrastructure, and energy efficiency. In 2009, New York State adopted a State Energy Planning law, sponsored by Assemblymember Cahill, considered one of the most comprehensive in the nation.
“New York has made great strides in changing our energy policies for the better. We are now a national leader when it comes to energy efficiency, the development and deployment of renewable resources, and the creation of a framework from which we can build a new energy economy,” said Assemblymember Cahill. “Serving on the task force gives me the opportunity to share our policy experience and assist other states in their efforts to replicate some of the initiatives we have put in place here in New York.”
In addition to the State Energy Planning statute, New York has recently enacted laws in the areas of power plant siting, energy efficiency financing, renewable energy and low cost economic development power. The Energy Committee will soon take on the issue of the future of nuclear energy in New York starting with a public hearing on December 8th to assess alternatives to the Indian Point Energy Center in Westchester.
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