Reversing his agency’s previous position, New York State’s chief environmental regulator now recommends an outright ban on high-volume hydrofracking within the New York City and Syracuse watersheds.

Joseph Martens, commissioner of the Department of Environmental Conservation, made the announcement July 1 just before the agency released major portions of its heavily revised rules for the controversial natural gas drilling technique.
Martens, who was appointed by Gov. Andrew Cuomo in January, also said the DEC would drop its recommendation to allow drilling within state forests, wildlife areas and parklands. It also seeks for the first time a ban on fracking in primary aquifers.
The proposed new fracking bans represent a major departure from the DEC’s 2009 supplemental generic environmental impact statement.
Continue reading DEC Opens Eighty Percent of N.Y. to Fracking