Green groups thank governor for fracking inaction
By DAN O'REGAN
Reacting to comments made by the governor in Utica last month, a coalition of environmental groups is thanking Gov. Andrew Cuomo for not breaking a de facto moratorium on hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, which has been in place in New York for more than five years.
But a more recent speech by the head of the state Republican Party to gas drilling industry leaders has reignited the fracking debate in New York, pitting job creation against environmental interests.
The 15 groups signed on to the letter dated Nov. 1 called for Cuomo to continue to allow science to inform any decisions regarding fracking and called the governor's attention to new science and case studies that have emerged about the dangers of fracking.
"New scientific evidence linking water contamination to fracking has come from across the U.S. in recent years," the letter reads. "Even prior to the recent floods that resulted in significant spills and leaks, Colorado state data show more than 350 instances of groundwater contamination resulting from more than 2,000 oil and gas spills over the past five years."
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