Seven years later, NY finalizes fracking review
Jon Campbell
ALBANY – The state Department of Environmental Conservation released a 2,000-page, seven-years-in-the-making report Wednesday that lays the groundwork for the state's promised ban of large-scale hydraulic fracturing.
The release of the voluminous document, known as the Final Supplemental Generic Environmental Impact Statement, is one of the state's last steps before it can prohibit high-volume fracking for natural gas, as Gov. Andrew Cuomo's administration pledged to do last December.
The report, released just after 4 p.m. Wednesday, clears the way for state Environmental Conservation Commissioner Joseph Martens to issue a final order prohibiting the much-debated technique from moving forward in New York.
Now, state law says Martens must wait at least 10 days before issuing his "findings statement," a separate, legally binding document that will be closely scrutinized by the natural-gas industry and pro-fracking groups for any missteps that could be an opening for a lawsuit.
http://www.poughkeepsiejournal.com/story/news/local/new-york/2015/05/13/seven-years-later-ny-finalizes-fracking-review/27275661/
