New York's Proposed Fracking Regs Much Tighter Than Pennsylvania's | StateImpact Pennsylvania Skip Navigation

New York's Proposed Fracking Regs Much Tighter Than Pennsylvania's

One fact sheet says it all: “What We Learned From Pennsylvania.” New York’s Department of Environmental Conservation seems to have done its homework when it comes toĀ itsĀ proposed regulations of natural gas drilling. DEC staff visited several sites in Pennsylvania where frack fluid spills and methane migration led to surface and drinking water contamination. TheyĀ studiedĀ the blowout in Clearfield County and the pollution of the Monongahela River. Remember the scenes from the documentary Gasland where residents could light their tap water on fire in Dimock? Under New York’s proposed regulations, the well-pads and well-casings in Dimock would not pass muster.
Hydraulic fracturing would be banned in New York’s state parks and forests, as well as the watersheds of Syracuse and New York City. All other drilling would have to conform to new storm water controls and tougher well casing requirements.
But environmentalists who think more studies are needed aren’t celebrating, as the Huffington Post lays out in an article that gets reaction from both the activists and industry representatives.

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