New rules relating to HVHF were proposed and opened for public comment beginning November 29, 2012 through January 11, 2013.
In addition to the legislators, the League of Women Voters of New York State (LWVNY) sent a letter dated January 7, 2013 to the New York Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC), questioning the feasibility of providing meaningful comments without the completion of the state-commissioned study on the health impacts of expanded gas drilling or the final status of the state environmental impact review.
These concerns increased after last week’s press release of a draft February 2012 report, indicating that hydraulic fracturing can be done safely. The lawmakers, LWVNY, and others want to suspend the public comment period for the proposed HVHF rules until the state discloses all of its studies and analyses concerning hydraulic fracturing.
The NYSDEP has until the end of February to finalize its rules for fracking. If the February deadline is missed, the NYSDEC will need to reissue the regulations and hold public hearings, thus delaying the approval of any fracking rules for many months.
Read the notice of hearing.
Read the notice of hearing.
Read the LWVNY letter.
This article was prepared by Barclay R. Nicholson (bnicholson@fulbright.com or 713 651 3662) from Fulbright's Energy Practice.
