New York Senate Democrats & Advocates Mark End of Fracking Comment Period, Call for Statewide Ban

New York, N.Y. – Senators Tony Avella, Liz Krueger, Tom Duane, Andrea Stewart Cousins, Dan Squadron, and other members of the Senate Democratic Conference joined a group of organizations to call for a legislative ban on hydrofracking as the public comment period for fracking rules in New York comes to a close. Throughout the comment period, New Yorkers have sent a loud and clear message that they oppose fracking at the four public hearings across the state and in thousands of public comments. The Senators and advocates called on Governor Cuomo to withdraw the flawed DEC SGEIS and urged other legislators to approve a ban on the dangerous gas drilling method.

State Senator Tony Avella, author of legislation that would ban hydrofracking in New York State (S.4220), stated, “New Yorkers from all over the state have spoken and the message is loud and clear; hydrofracking is not worth the risk of contamination to our water, farmlands and communities! We cannot allow the State’s environmental health to be jeopardized at any cost, let alone for an empty promise of an economic boom. We have to ban hydrofracking until we can guarantee that there is no risk of contaminating our water supplies and destroying our farmland.”

“At four public hearings and in thousands of public comments, New Yorkers sent a message to Governor Cuomo: fracking is inherently dangerous and should be banned,” said Eric Weltman, Senior Organizer for Food & Water Watch, a national consumer group, who hand-delivered over 4,500 comments in support of a ban. “There is a growing recognition that the state’s proposed regulations will fail to protect New York residents and the state’s drinking water supply from the toxic chemicals used in fracking.”

“Since July, over 70 grassroots groups, dozens of major advocacy organizations, and tens of thousands of people across New York have sent a clear message to the DEC and Governor Cuomo that no amount of regulations will make fracking safe,” said Claire Sandberg, Executive Director of Frack Action. “The vast majority of speakers at public comment hearings across the state used their platform to advocate passionately for a permanent ban on fracking. We hope that Governor Cuomo will take a close look at the extensive and diverse array of reasons New Yorkers are increasingly adamant that fracking be prohibited entirely.”

State Senator Liz Krueger said, “The available facts and science show hydrofracking is too great a risk for New Yorkers. We have seen the disastrous consequences of fracking in other states, with tainted water supplies and whole towns and regions blighted. And even as they tell us it’s safe, these massive corporations are demanding we allow them to pump chemicals into the ground in our state without even letting the public know what those chemicals are. New Yorkers know better, and we must continue to demand that Albany protect our natural resources, and our citizens both upstate and downstate.”

Opponents of hydrofracking have vastly outnumbered proponents at the public comment hearings. The Wall Street Journal reported that anti-fracking speakers outnumbered supporters by a margin of 4-1 at the DEC hearing in Binghamton, located in the Southern Tier, an area the gas industry claims is pro-gas drilling. Additionally, according to a Freedom of Information Law request to the Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) revealed that all comments from opponents outnumbered those by supporters by at least a 10-to-1 margin.

“Clearly, from the overwhelming turn out against fracking at the DEC hearings and the sheer numbers of comments submitted on the SGEIS rejecting these terrible regulations, it has never been more evident that the movement against hydrofracking in New York is profound,” said David Braun, Co-Founder of United for Action. “It begs to question though, why are we even considering such a clearly damaging and harmful practice in the first place?  Rather than try to regulate it, shouldn’t the real question for a reputable agency like the DEC be, “Is it safe for the people of New York?”

Over 21,000 organizations, doctors, scientists, engineers, and citizens have signed a letter drafted by Walter Hang of Toxics Targeting calling on Governor Cuomo to immediately withdraw the SGEIS due to failure to fulfill Executive Order No. 41 and the major inadequacies identified by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and many others. Congressman Maurice Hinchey has also called for the withdrawal of the SGEIS saying, “this document falls far short of what is needed to protect local communities from the risks posed by shale gas drilling and does not fully mitigate potential threats, including those to public health, drinking water, air quality, and municipal infrastructure.”

Almost two dozen major cancer advocacy groups including, Lois Gibbs of the Center for Environment, Health, and Justice and anti-cancer advocate, Fran Drescher of the Cancer Schmancer Movement signed author, biologist and cancer survivor Sandra Steingraber’s letter warning the State Legislature and the DEC of the public health risks of fracking.

By the end 2011, 54 municipalities enacted a ban or moratorium on gas drilling. The Binghamton City Council passed a two-year ban on fracking in a 6-1 vote, sending a clear message that the major city in the Southern Tier, the epicenter of proposed fracking activity, does not want it.

“There is little evidence that hydrofracking can be done without posing a serious risk to our drinking water,” said Senator Andrea Stewart-Cousins. “We have almost no information about the long term public health affects and the oil and gas industry has been neither cooperative nor transparent with the legislature throughout this process. I have major concerns that if we allow fracking in this State, we may end up doing more harm than good for the people of New York.”

State Senator Thomas K. Duane said, “While I am truly proud of the work that environmental advocates, elected officials and concerned residents and business-owners from Upstate and Downstate have accomplished—passing the first statewide moratorium on fracking in the nation, raising awareness about the technique’s devastating impacts, and mobilizing immense opposition to its use in New York State—I am deeply concerned that DEC continues to move forward with its ill-conceived plan to permit this dangerous drilling.  New York must learn from the mistakes of states that already allow fracking and set an example for those that do not; we need a prohibition on fracking throughout our State.”

State Senator Daniel Squadron said, “One thing has been made clear by the thousands of New Yorkers who have spoken: fracking is simply not worth the risk today. The questions raised by the public, scientists, and even logic lead to a clear answer. New York must implement a state-wide ban on fracking now.”

The groups cited media coverage and other evidence that the state’s public comment period showed overwhelming opposition to fracking in New York, as part of a growing statewide movement to ban the practice.

“The SGEIS is just the beginning,” said Wes Gillingham, Program Director with Catskill Mountainkeeper. “The comment period may be over but the clear voice of New Yorkers will continue until reality sinks in with the Governor that New Yorkers do not want fracking.”

Contact: Ana Tinsly, Frack Action, 646-331-4765; Eric Weltman, Food & Water Watch, 718-943-9085/617-304-5330; David Braun, United for Action, 917-514-0700