New York Department of Environmental ConservationA draft report explores issues like the chemicals used in drilling fluids.
The New York Department of Environmental Conservation has posted the voluminous draft document laying out how the state plans to regulate the controversial gas drilling method known as fracking.
As was noted last week, this revised version of the state’s environmental impact statement calls for a ban on horizontal drilling with hydraulic fracturing in the watersheds and aquifers that supply drinking water to residents as well as in state parklands. Gas companies would still be allowed to drill in more than 80 percent of the vast natural gas field known as the Marcellus Shale, but under new restrictions to help prevent the activity from contaminating water and air.
Permits for drilling under the plan are not expected to be issued until next year, after a public comment period and the release of a final report.