Link to this:
http://tinyurl.com/NYFrackingTimeline
Wow! I was doing some research on the early days of the SGEIS, and stumbled upon this very complete history of fracking in NY, by Chip Northrup
Not sure who did the original research, but a lot of this information is also here:
WSKG just also put up a timeline:
There is unique information in all these. I have tried to consolidate them, and also added a couple of key dates important to my research of the evolution of the SGEIS, and made a couple of small corrections.
1972 -- First NY O+G regulations
1975 - New York adopts
SAPA (State Administrative Procedudes Act) to make sure agency decisions (under the Executive) are fair. Interesting history! These laws are usually passed by legislators as check on executive powers, and as the result of corruption/bribes on the part of Republican administrators.
see: http://faculty.haas.berkeley.edu/rui/slapa4.pdf
See also
: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Administrative_Procedures_Act
1976 - (March 22) SEQR adopted -- requires EIS for certain state "actions"
1975-1978 --
the NY State Legislature passes a law to create the New York’s State Environmental Quality Review Act
that gives the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation
(DEC) the authority to approve or deny development projects based on the
environmental, economic and public health impacts. Implementation of
the law is phased in between 1977 and 1978.
1982 - SEQR Handbook first published
1987 - SEQR amendments
1988 - Draft GEIS on the Oil, Gas and Solution Mining Regulatory Program
1992 -- The DEC finalizes a “Generic Environmental Impact Statement” (GEIS)
in order to expedite approval of all oil and gas drilling permits which
would allow for the oil and gas industry to circumvent the need for a
rigorous environmental review of each drilling permit application.
Basically, this allowed for DEC to use with a one-size-fits-few generic
approach to every oil and gas permit in NY.
http://nysbar.com/blogs/lawstudentconnection/2011/06/the_pivotal_role_of_seqra_in_m.html
1996 - SEQR amendments
1997 - Revised Oil + Gas regulations drafted, but kept secret
1997 -- After the finalization of the 1992 GEIS, the DEC was obligated to
revise its oil and gas drilling regulations – in line with the updated
GEIS. Over a period of 5 years, DEC held meetings, took input, and
drafted revised regulations in 1997.
The DEC did not share those revised regulations with the public or
legislators when it issued a supplemental GEIS, the SGEIS. And in fact
declared that it had “lost” the 1997 drafts – because the 1997 drafts
offered substantially more protections for the general public, adjacent
landowners and the environment than the regulations the DEC issued on
November 29, 2012
http://blog.shaleshockmedia.org/2013/01/31/foiled-again-how-the-dec-covered-up-the-1997-drilling-regulations/
http://blog.shaleshockmedia.org/2013/01/24/dec-gutted-fracking-regs/
2000 --- The DEC’s Division of Mineral Resources substantially guts the
proposed 1997 regulatory proposals, eliminating safeguards for the
environment, general public and adjacent landowner. Yet, even these
reduced proposed regulations are not shown to the public.
2002 -- Range Resources' land men start signing up people for gas leases in Southwest PA (source: Ron Gulla)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=twcSkD8EQpI
http://www.scribd.com/doc/123184737/DEC-s-Fracking-Cover-Up
2002-2004 original Millennium Pipeline Project gets FERC approval, but fails to get other required permits. The New York Department of State denied Millennium a
required coastal zone consistency concurrence in May 2002, which was
upheld by the U.S. Secretary of Commerce in a December 2003 decision.
In addition, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers rejected Millennium’s
requests for Clean Water Act permits in a January 2004 ruling.
2005 -- The second horizontal well was drilling in the Marcellus formation, Gulla #1, in Hickory, Washington County, PA
2005 -- The oil and gas lobby persuades the DEC to substantially amend the
state’s Compulsory Integration law, effectively privatizing eminent
domain for oil and gas speculators.
http://www.scribd.com/doc/74790533/Compulsory-Integration-in-New-York
2005 -- VP Dick Cheney, former CEO of Halliburton is mastermind of the "Halliburton Loophole" which exempts the oil+gas industry from several 1970s era environmental laws.
http://www.independentwatertesting.com/education-center/148-what-is-the-halliburton-loophole.html
2006-2007 Millennium Pipeline Project resubmits and gains approval and builds a 182 mi 30" pipeline from Corning to Ramapo, NY.
2007 -- Widespread drilling begins in Southwest PA
2008 -- Range resources controls more than 900,000 acres in the region. The Marcellus gas rush begins.
Feb 2008:
Also during that same month:
- The Sheriff of Wall St., Eliot Spitzer, now the Governor of the Empire State
checks
into swank DC hotel as "George Fox" and as a client of the Empire Club VIP,
pays $4,300
cash for two female entertainers.
- Resigns 1 month later.
March 2008 David Paterson is sworn in as NYS Governor.
Jan 1, 2009
Dimock Explodes
Norma Fiorentina's water well in Dimock, PA explodes after methane
accumulated in the well.
Later that year, 15 Dimock families file a lawsuit against nearby
driller Cabot Oil and Gas for contamination of water wells. Cabot
denies that their wells are the source of the methane, but provide
water to the affected homes until late 2011, before the Environmental
Protection Agency took over at some homes.
Feb 2009 -- Final Scope of new SGEIS
Sept 30, 2009 -- dSGEIS released.
New York Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) releases the
first draft SGEIS.
2008-2009 -- In discussions on the
Generic Environmental Impact Statement on the Oil, Gas and Solution Mining Regulatory Program (GEIS)
as the State began considering permits for horizontally hydrofracked
wells, citizens and environmental advocacy groups produced evidence of
the risks of horizontal hydraulic fracturing, and DEC agreed that a
Supplemental Generic Environmental Impact Statement on the Oil, Gas and
Solution Mining Regulatory Program (SGEIS) for horizontal drilling and
high-volume hydraulic fracturing was warranted. The DEC’s Division of
Mineral Resources is given lead agency status on the SGEIS. The DEC’s
Division of Mineral Resources is known to work hand in hand with the oil
and gas industry in NY, which includes a revolving door to the industry
for former heads of the DMN, such as Greg Sovas:
http://blog.shaleshockmedia.org/2013/01/23/dec-we-lost-all-the-records-when-we-moved/
From 2008 through 2009 -- public scoping and public hearings were held
on the SGEIS. At no
time were the DEC’s previous draft regulations from the 1992 GEIS shown
to the public.
http://www.the-leader.com/opinions/columnists/x711915879/Out-in-left-field
With each iteration of the SGEIS – there are increasing protections
for large voting blocks, such as the New York City reservoir watershed
via political carve outs, but few protections for rural Upstate
http://www.scribd.com/doc/66390117/The-Political-Science-of-the-SGEIS
December 2009 NYC Calls for Ban in their upstate Watershed.
Dec 31. 2009 -- The public submits 13,000 comments on the dSGEIS.
Jan 19, 2010 -- Governor Patterson proposes a state production tax on oil and gas
produced in the state, a “severance tax,” to offset the cost of
regulating the industry and defray the costs to to state for road
repair, etc. estimated by the Department of Transportation to be
hundreds of millions of dollars. New York is one of the only states
without a state production tax.
http://www.scribd.com/doc/63145742/New-York-State-Gas-Production-Tax
The plan is immediately challenged by state senators with talking points from the gas lobby, and is dropped.
http://www.nysenate.gov/press-release/senator-nozzolio-blasts-governors-oil-and-natural-gas-tax
Leaving New York state a tax haven for frackers, off-loading the cost
of road damage, enforcement, and environmental clean ups on the general
public.
http://blog.shaleshockmedia.org/2012/12/10/cheap-fracks/
January 24, 2010 Gasland premieres at Sundance
July 2010 -- The New York State Senate passed a moratorium on high-volume
hydraulic fracturing bill with an overwhelming bipartisan vote of 49 to
9. They pass the bill weeks before the SGEIS is supposed to be finalized
and DEC permits issued.
March 18, 2010 EPA Launches National Study
The Environmental Protection Agency launches a national study into the
hazards of hydrofracking, following up on a 2004 study that found the
drilling technique did not pose a threat to drinking water. The new
study is expected to be completed in 2014.
October 21, 2010 -- DEC Commissioner Pete Grannis fired by Governor Patterson’s Chief of
Staff
Larry Schwartz. He was fired after a memo from Grannis was leaked
to the press earlier in the week where Grannis complained to the Budget
Division about the 209 layoffs of DEC employees cutting the agency’s
staff by 22% since April 2008.
http://blog.timesunion.com/capitol/archives/33351/dec-commissioner-pete-grannis-fired/
December 2010 -- The New York State Assembly passes the fracking moratorium bill with bipartisan vote of 93 to 43.
http://green.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/11/30/n-y-assembly-approves-fracking-moratorium/
December 13 2010 -- Governor David Paterson vetoes the fracking moratorium bill but
passes an Executive Order 41 for a one year moratorium on horizontal but
not vertical fracking and opens the SGEIS for another round of public
comments.
http://www.governor.ny.gov/archive/paterson/executiveorders/EO41.html
January 1, 2011 -- Andrew Cuomo becomes Governor of New York State and signs the
continuation of Executive Order 41, which enacts the Governor Paterson’s
Executive Order into the Cuomo Administration.
http://www.governor.ny.gov/executiveorder/2
February 2011 -- Hundreds of concerned doctors, scientists and environmental groups
sent a letter to NYS Department of Health Commissioner Dr Nirav Shah
informing him of the potential health impacts. It also requested that
the DOH become a co-lead agency with DEC on the SGEIS process since it
was becoming evident from new studies in Pennsylvania, Colorado and
reports elsewhere that public health was threatened.
http://pennsylvaniaallianceforcleanwaterandair.wordpress.com/the-list/
Additionally, the signatories requested that the SGEIS be withdrawn
and the process begun again with the inclusion of a Health Impact
Assessment. They request a meeting with Commissioner Shah that was never
granted.
Feb 2011 A New York court upholds the Town of Dryden's right to ban gas drilling
within its borders. Another local court later upheld the Town of
Middlefield's ban against another lawsuit. The bans and moratoria
spread to towns and villages across the state, and eventually more than
100 pass their own.
April 2011 Cornell Study: Hydrofracking More Damaging Than Coal
Cornell professors publish a study in the journal "Climactic Change"
estimating a level of methane released from natural gas operations that
would make hydrofracking more damaging to the climate than coal.
May 2011: Cuomo expands scope of DEC review after PA accident:
http://online.wsj.com/article/APf1480d56766e4b96adc5e3908add1a16.html
May 28 2011: SGEIS to be done July 1
- http://polhudson.lohudblogs.com/2011/05/28/cuomos-office-expands-fracking-review/
-
July 1, 2011 -- The state Department of Environmental Conservation formed the 12-member
High-Volume Hydraulic Fracturing Advisory Panel of a mix of
environmental leaders, businesses and Binghamton-area lawmakers
including NYS Senator Tom Libous and Assemblymember Donna Lupardo. The
panel was charged with developing recommendations for DEC oversight of
developing fracking regulations
Martens reverses, now recommends a ban in NYC and SYR watersheds, and also in all Primary Aquifers statewide. Martens said that “upwards of 80 percent” of New York’s natural gas-rich
Marcellus Shale area would be available for fracking under the
recommendations he described at the press conference.
http://www.dcbureau.org/201107015737/natural-resources-news-service/dec-opens-eighty-percent-of-n-y-to-fracking.html
Cuomo seeks to lift moratorium on fracking:
July 1, 2011 Cuomo announces Fracking Advisory Panel
http://www.dec.ny.gov/press/75416.html
(Robert Hallman, Board Chair, NY League of
Conservation Voters resigned March 2013)
July 7 2011 47 Groups call for a ban on fracking.
https://www.commondreams.org/newswire/2011/07/07-2
July 8 2011 -- prdSGEIS released
Sept 8 2011 -- rdSGEIS + regs + SPDES + econ study released, comment period opened
- Sept 25 2011 Cuomo online chat: "Many questions about fracking".
“Let me say this,” Cuomo
said. “My point all along is to make the decision on hydrofracking
based on the facts and on the science.
This is not an issue to be decided by politics or emotion. DEC’s
process is fair, intelligent and open and I am letting the process
proceed.” “We have made much progress here in just the last nine
months,” Cuomo said, apparently in answer to a question that wasn’t
posted. “New York is ‘open for business’ in more ways than one.”
- Sept 25 2011: "A second bill Cuomo approved gives the state
parks department broad new powers over any effort to explore or drill
within Allegany State Park, and that any such oil or gas extraction "be
undertaken with the strictest possible oversight." http://www.buffalonews.com/city/capital-connection/albany/article568095.ece
- Sept 26 2011: HF review panel in disagreement. Expect report by Nov.
- Sept 27 2011: Siena poll reports: “Right now, 44 percent of voters say they favor DEC’s
recommendation to allow hydrofracking, while 40 percent are
opposed,” Greenberg said. “This is virtually unchanged from July
when it was 45-43 percent.
Jan 2012 -- whoops-- No fracking in the budget!
Jan 11, 2012 -- 67,000 comments received on the SGEIS
Jan 11, 2012 -- The January 12th meeting of the state's High-Volume Hydraulic Fracturing
Advisory Panel was abruptly canceled and postponed to January 26. Then
the January 26th meeting was canceled and the panel never reconvened. In
June, reporter Jon Campbell broke the story that the the NYS Conference
of Environmental Health Directors and the NYS Association of County
Health Officials (NYSACHO) were scheduled to present two separate
reports at the January 12th meeting on concerns about how fracking could
burden County Health agencies. Their reports were never distributed to
the DEC's advisory board, nor were they formally released to the public.
Furthermore, the DEC had said the Jan. 12 meeting was postponed because
the "main presenter requested additional time to prepare." Yet Linda
Wagner, executive director of the Association of County Health
Officials, said in an e-mail to Campbell that the group asked to
postpone "due to weather concerns for those traveling."
May 9, 2012 -- According to Governor Cuomo’s publicly released public schedule he
met with representatives from the gas industry for an hour at 4:30pm
including Brad Gill, Executive Director, IOGA, Karen Moreau, Executive
Director, New York State Petroleum Council and Jim Carr, Governmental
Analyst, Hinman Straub, P.C.
Meanwhile, the Governor refuses to meet with scientists such as Dr.
Ingraffea of Cornell, environmentalist such as Sandra Steingraber,
journalists such as Josh Fox or activists, such as Yoko Ono.
May 2012 -- Controversy around University of Buffalo's Shale Resources and Society
Institute starts when it released its first report that concluded that
state regulators in Pennsylvania have improved oversight of the fracking
industry and New York's regulations will preventu00a0 environmental
impacts. The university at first said the study was peer-reviewed, but
later withdrew that statement.
http://www.rollingstone.com/music/videos/yoko-ono-takes-aim-at-new-york-governors-fracking-stance-in-new-tv-ad-20130207
May 2012-June 2012: JLCNY
resolutions pass in ~20 Southern Tier towns.
Glenn
Winsor, who is on the board of directors for the
Colesville-Windsor Joint Landowners Coalition and is in favor of
fracking,
introduced the bill. Winsor said the
resolution needs to be in the Governor's Office by
the
end of the month.
June 13, 2012 -- New York Times story floats Cuomo Administration plan to frack in 5
counties in the Southern Tier region of New York. Followed by widespread
public opposition in the Southern Tier and across the state that Cuomo
Administration would consider creating a “sacrifice zone” while
protecting New York City’s water supply, effectively gerrymandering the
state environmentally.
NYT Leak: Cuomo plan for 5-county Demonstration Project
/ Sacrifice Zone. Newspaper spins it Cuomo Plan to"Restrict Drilling|Limit to 5 counties" and to permit it only in communities that express support for the technology.
Official administration response:
“No final decision has been made, and no decision will be
made until the scientific review is
complete and we have all the
facts,” Josh Vlasto, a Cuomo spokesman, said in an e-mailed
statement.
“We recognize that gas is going to be part of our energy mix and it’s
preferable to other types of fuels that are out there,” said Rob Moore,
executive director of
Environmental Advocates of New York.
“So it’s not really an option to say ‘no way’ to natural gas. But we’re
not in a rush to see this resource extracted in New York.” <-- br="" cuomo="" hydrofracking="" on="" panel...="" review="" s="" sits="">
June 22 2012
A decision on hydrofracking is imminent.
http://www.pressconnects.com/article/20120622/NEWS01/120622019/Cuomo-Hydrofracking-review-8216will-done-shortly-8217?odyssey=tab
June 27, 2012 --
Documents uncovered through FOIL requests reveal collusion between
gas lobbyists and DEC staff on the SGEIS and fracking regulations.
http://www.ewg.org/report/inside-track-cuomo-team-gave-drillers-edge-influence-fracking-rules
With predictable results, the gas lobbyists draft key sections of the regulations, as the DEC staff take dictation:
http://www.scribd.com/doc/98812091/Who-Writes-New-York-s-Fracking-Regulations
June 29, 2012 -- An article in the Albany weekly paper Metroland, outs the Director of
DEC’s Division of Mineral Resources (DMN) as a climate denier who
publicly signed the Global Warming Petition (
petitionproject.org). This
creates public outrage and concerns that some of the most critical
information submitted to DEC regarding how fracking is a contributor to
climate change will e disregarded and ignored.
http://metroland.net/2012/06/29/field-of-distortions/
Thus, effectively putting a climate change denier in charge of promoting fracking in New York:
http://blog.shaleshockmedia.org/2012/12/01/fox-named-as-hen-house-guard/
July 6 2012 -- Gannett News reporter Jon Campbell revealed that a pair of county health
department reports written for the state's Hydrofracking Advisory Panel
were kept secret from the panel. One report was written by the state
Association of County Health Officials and the other from the NYS
Conference of Environmental Health Directors. The state issued
conflicting reasons why they were never given to the advisory panel, but
the fact remains that the reports - which raise serious concerns about
fracking - were kept from the advisory panel members.
http://www.toxicstargeting.com/MarcellusShale/dec-fracking-panel
One report was written by the state Association of County Health
Officials and the other from the NYS Conference of Environmental Health
Directors. The state issued conflicting reasons why they were never
given to the Advisory Panel, but the fact remains that the reports –
which raise serious concerns about fracking – were kept from the
advisory panel members.
http://statepolitics.lohudblogs.com/2012/07/06/icymi-county-health-departments-air-fracking-concerns-in-unreleased-reports/
The Governor’s Fracking Advisory Panel meets once and is disbanded after protests by the gas lobby.
July 18 2012 -- The New York State Senate Democratic Conference hold a forum that
further investigated the full extent of the DEC and industry collusion.
Aug 4 2012 End of the anti-frack
world near (Lebrun editorial)
http://www.timesunion.com/local/article/End-of-the-anti-frack-world-near-3763195.php
Top state officials are in the process of briefing selected
environmental groups on a plan to be publicly released in a couple of
weeks
August 30, 2012 -- Division of Mineral Resources Director Bradley J. Field claims he
‘does not recall” signing the petition that disavowed climate change and
denies the fact that high-volume fracking has already taken place in
NYS despite hard evidence to the contrary.
http://metroland.net/2012/08/30/fracked-memory/
Sept 2012:
DEC instructs DOH to review DEC's SGEIS' review of
health impacts.
September 26, 2012 -- President of Toxics Targeting Walter Hang releases information that
documents decades of enforcement problems with the DEC’s Mineral
Resources Division including over 5,000 uncapped existing oil and gas
wells across NY.
http://www.businessweek.com/ap/2012-09-27/ny-records-show-history-of-oil-gas-well-problems#p1
http://www.toxicstargeting.com/MarcellusShale/letters/2012/09/26/cuomo-dmr-oil-gas-problems
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=9_fURJ5DCSA#!
http://www.toxicstargeting.com/MarcellusShale/alerts/2012/11/06/vote
October 4, 2012 -- New York’s medical and scientific community writes to Governor Cuomo
outlining why the state’s health review is inadequate and objecting to
the exclusion of New York’s medical and scientific community from the
process and review. Public health is never best served by secrecy, yet
there has been absolutely no public component to the state’s health
review.
Oct 2012
Scientific American report: Is Fracking behind Contamination in
Wyoming Groundwater http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=is-fracking-behind-contamination-in-wyoming-groundwater
http://concernedhealthny.org/letters-to-governor-cuomo/
Nov 2012 DOH
selects 3 experts to review SGEIS health impacts assessment.
November 29, 2012 -- The DEC sends out its final draft of the drilling regulations. They
allow for 30 days of public comment over the holiday season, without
scheduling a public hearing in violation of the State Administrative
Procedures Act (SAPA). The regulations offer few protections for land
uses, water sources, the general public, the environment or landowners.
http://www.scribd.com/doc/118508538/Assembly-DEC-Regulations
http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=NY_Fracking_Regulations
December 5, 2012 -- NYS Assemblymember and DEC Hydro-fracking Panel member Donna Lupardo
sends a letter to DEC Commissioner Joe Martens asking a series of
unanswered questions about the health review and requests that the
panel, which has not met in over a year, reconvene to discuss the health
review. She has not received a response to the letter.
Dec 9 2011: EPA links chemicals used for fracking fluid to water contamination
in Wyoming for the first time. http://www.propublica.org/article/feds-link-water-contamination-to-fracking-for-first-time
Jan 2 2013
Martens Letter to JLCNY "Decision Soon"
http://www.jlcny.org/site/pdf/Commissioner_Martens_Letter_January_2_2013.pdf
January 10, 2013 -- Three Assembly Chairs, Robert Sweeney, Richard Gottfried, and Charles
Lavine wrote to DEC Commissioner Joe Martens and DOH Commissioner Nirav
Shah objecting to the state’s revised fracking regulations, the comment
period, and the lack of transparency. They wrote, jointly, that they
were “concerned that this evaluation reflects the thinking of people who
are helping shape the administration’s decision on fracking. The
evaluation suggests that conclusions have been drawn before research is
conducted.”
http://blogs.buffalonews.com/politics_now/2013/01/assembly-democrats-to-cuomo-stop-rushing-fracking-research.html
The Assembly chairs and other members of the Assembly held an
official hearing on the fracking regulations on January 10, 2013, where
both the DEC and DOH refused to testify.
http://www.timesunion.com/local/article/Gas-fracking-critics-storm-hearing-4184658.php#ixzz2KSs0FhCw
January 11, 2013 -- The DEC receives over
204,000 comments on the proposed drilling regulations, almost entirely opposed to Cuomo’s proposals.
(NOTE: this only represents those collected by Enviros, not through the DEC website and by snail-mail)
http://nyagainstfracking.org/new-york-residents-present-gov-cuomo-with-over-200000-petitions-calling-for-a-ban-on-fracking/
January 11, 2013 -- The Community Environmental Defense Council send the DEC a letter
demanding that DEC withdraw and terminate the regulations based on how
DEC committed numerous procedural violations under the State
Administrative Procedures Act (SAPA) including the DEC did not hold a
mandatory public hearing on the regulations.
http://www.scribd.com/doc/119980103/Fracking-Regulation-Lawsuit
Jan 30 2013:
Nirav Shah: "our review will be done in a couple of
weeks"
February 6, 2013 -- Bloomberg News reports that the expert – Robert Jacobi – the
Department of Environmental Conservation hired to conduct the state’s
seismology study has tied to the oil and gas industry. Additionally,
Jacobi served as the director of a discredited University of Buffalo
Shale Resources and Society Institute, which produced a report that was
widely discredited and thrown out by the university because of concerns
about academic integrity and suspicions that its results were influenced
by the oil and gas industry. Bloomberg News story:
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-02-05/new-york-hires-fracking-geologist-with-ties-to-industry.html
February 8, 2013 -- NYS Senators Avella, Krueger, Tkacyzk, and Gipson sent a joint letter
to Governor Cuomo and Commissioner Martens objecting to Jacobi’s
position, calling for the seismology study to be immediately released to
the public, and for the state not to make a decision about fracking
until many questions and issues they raised are thoroughly addressed.
The senators’ letter is here:
http://blog.timesunion.com/capitol/archives/178040/tkaczyk-avella-question-decs-seismic-work/
February 8, 2013 -- Department of Environmental Commissioner Martens and Department of
Health Commissioner Shah each mislead the legislature about the status
of the state’s contracted outside health reviewers. Additionally, the
state has grossly mischaracterized the nature and scope of the that
review. See more here:
http://www.poughkeepsiejournal.com/article/20130209/NEWS/302090026/Health-consultants-made-fracking-recommendations-weeks-ago
February 11, 2013 -- NY Fracking Scandal is launched. Participating organizations call on
Albany County District Attorney to investigate conflicts of interest
that top aide to Governor Cuomo Larry Schwartz.
http://nyfrackingscandal.com/
Lawyers put the DEC on notice that they will be sued for failing to
disclose the basis of their proposed regulations, as required by state
law.
http://tinyurl.com/DEC-fracking-sued
Feb 12 2013:
Nirav Shah to Martens, w/approaching SAPA deadline
on the regs.
"I need more time". Let's review the EPA, Geisenger, and UPenn studies.
DEC Requests Additional Time; Public Comment will be Reopened. New York State Department of Health Commissioner Nirav Shah requests
more time to complete the health review. Final regulations will be reopened for
public comment; decision on hydrofracking in New York delayed again.
One man alone in the Cuomo Administration would not be cowed, bought
off, intimidated, railroaded or co-opted by the gas lobbyists and their
bag men in the legislature. That man was Dr. Nirav Shah.
http://blog.shaleshockmedia.org/2013/02/12/the-bravest-man-in-albany/
March 6, 2013 NY Assembly Passes 2-Year Moratorium
By a 95-40 vote, the Democratic-controlled assembly passed a
moratorium that would ban fracking in New York until May, 2015. A
similar bill is waiting in the Republican-controlled Senate, where it
is considered much less likely to pass.
Mar 11 2013: Nirav Shah: Well, we're not going to wait until
those studies are actually *complete*. "Our review will be done in a couple of weeks"
