NY Lawmaker Says "Over My Dead Body" Will New Yorkers Suffer PA's Fracking Woes

A New York Republican State Senator wants to make sure the Empire State avoids the environmental consequences he says natural gas drilling has inflicted on Pennsylvania residents. State Sen. Greg Ball toured gas drilling areas of Pennsylvania before introducing his own legislation. From the Journal News:

Among other things, Ball is calling for a 180-day comment period, which would be three times as long as the current 60 days now called for by the state Department of Environmental Conservation.
“I can tell you right now that the pain that I’ve seen here today, and the pain that I experienced first-hand speaking with families and farmers in Pennsylvania, it will be over my dead body before I allow what happened in Pennsylvania to happen here in New York,” said Senator Ball speaking at a recent hearing on hydrofracking in Katonah, N.Y.

Ball’s proposal would force gas drilling companies to pay 150 percent of the market value of the property if fracking causes any damage. And each lease agreement would have to include warnings about potential health impacts. New York is expected to lift its moratorium on drilling this fall.

Editor's Picks