Gov. Andrew Cuomo finally made a decision—make it permanent in 2015. Fracking foes won an important battle as the Empire State has massive natural gas reserves in the Marcellus shale play. In the end, health issues trumped economics.
"Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo’s administration announced on Wednesday that it would ban hydraulic fracturing in New York State because of concerns over health risks, ending years of uncertainty over the disputed method of natural gas extraction," write Jesse McKinley and Thomas Kaplan of The New York Times.
"The announcement came after a presentation by Health Commissioner Howard Zucker on the possible health risks of fracking — the results of a long-awaited report [PDF] on the subject," writes Brad Plumer, senior editor of Vox. Zucker made the initial announcement.
“As the acting health commissioner, I consider the people of New York as my patients,” he said. “We cannot afford to make a mistake. The potential risks are too great. In fact, they are not even fully known.” [BuzzFeed]
Also speaking at Gov. Andrew Cuomo's year-end cabinet meeting in Albany was New York's Department of Environmental Conservation commissioner, Joseph Martens. "Martens said a five-year study by DEC on fracking will be released next year," writes Glenn Coin of Syracuse.com. "I will then issue a legally binding findings statement prohibiting (fracking) in New York state at this time," stated Martens. [See joint press release from DEC and Department of Health.]
"Martens also talked about some of the potential negative impacts of fracking — from leaks of methane (a potent greenhouse gas that helps warm the planet) to the pollution of groundwater," adds Plumer.
Plumer notes that with this announcement, New York become "the second state to ban fracking — after Vermont did so in 2012. The difference is that Vermont's ban was mostly symbolic. New York has actual shale resources, so a ban would have a real impact."
Syracuse.com presents a sampling of opinions, from the Sierra Club to oil and gas industries, on the decision.
FULL STORY: New York State is going to ban fracking
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Plentiful natural gas produced from neighboring Pa. makes it easier for New York City buildings to comply with a regulation to convert dirty heating oil burners to use cleaner fuels like natural gas while the state has a six-year fracking moratorium
Methane Emissions Replace CO2 Emissions— Is This Progress?
For the first time, electricity generated from burning natural gas will surpass coal, largely due to fracking of shale. While that means that carbon dioxide emissions will continue to drop, it also means that methane emissions will increase.
New York Towns Consider Secession, Cite Fracking Ban
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