Reaction to Paterson’s moratorium veto

By FRITZ MAYER

NEW YORK STATE — Activists in New York State are divided about whether Governor David Paterson’s latest moves regarding gas drilling are a victory or a setback.

On December 11, Paterson vetoed a bill that would have prevented horizontal drilling with hydraulic fracturing (fracking) in the state until May 15, 2011. He said he vetoed the bill because it would have also stopped fracking in vertical wells in the state, which would have resulted in a loss of jobs. At the same time, however, he issued an executive order preventing fracking and horizontal drilling in the state until July 1, 2011 to give the NYS Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) more time to study the matter.

The Independent Oil and Gas Association of New York (IOGA) praised the move, saying Paterson showed political courage.

Environmentalists were somewhat split on the development. Actor and Sullivan County activist Mark Ruffalo joined state senator Liz Krueger, Craig and Julie Sautner, residents of Dimock, PA, and others in a press conference in front of the governor’s New York City office on December 13. They delivered contaminated drinking water from Dimock, PA, to underscore the point that the contamination there was caused by fracking and vertical wells. This same type of drilling can now continue in some areas in New York.

A statement from Catskill Mountainkeeper called the executive order an “amazing victory.” With it, the statement said, “New York State becomes the first state to have a formal prohibition on high-volume horizontal hydrofacking because of concerns about environmental impacts.” The statement also said, however, it was “regrettable” that Paterson did not sign the moratorium legislation, which would have included vertical wells.

Paterson’s executive order says that the DEC will, on about June 1, 2011, publish a revised draft of the Supplemental Generic Environmental Impact Statement that will spell out the changes made to proposed regulations after considering public comment. After that, the DEC will accept new public comment on the revisions to the regulations and may then schedule further public hearings on the matter.