Elected officials from Central New York and statewide are calling for an extended moratorium on hydraulic fracturing after they say mounting scientific evidence shows additional risks and harms of the controversial gas drilling technique.
About 140 members of the group Elected officials to Protect New York signed and sent a letter to Governor Cuomo after he announced a clear decision on fracking could come by the end of the month. The group would like to see a three to five year extension of the moratorium. Julie Huntsman is co-coordinator of the group and Town of Otsego council member. She says they’re grateful for the governor’s restraint thus far…
"He's been very wise to hold off, and we know he's been under incredible pressure to go ahead and frack, and has heard a lot of the purported economic benefits, and he wants us to do well, he wants the state to do well. But we believe that's a false path."
Syracuse Common Councilor Kathleen Joy says the elected officials who are part of the movement represent millions of New Yorkers. She says we need to take a step back and consider the science.
"Let's take a look at the impacts of the health of our citizens to our environment to our tourism industry to our agriculture industry, all of those factors are critically important before we make that decision. And let's face it, the shale gas is still there. It's not going anywhere. So let's be smart about it. Let's have a sustainable New York the right way."
And that way, she says, is through jobs in the renewable energy industry.
The state health department is wrapping up a report on the viability on hydrofracking, and the governor is expected to issue his decision once the report is released.