FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contacts:
Tina Posterli, Riverkeeper, Inc., 516-526-9371, [email protected]
Wes Gillingham, Catskill Mountainkeeper, 845-901-1029, [email protected]
Tracy Carluccio, Delaware Riverkeeper Network, 215-692-2329, [email protected]
Kathleen Sutcliffe, Earthjustice, 202-797-5235, [email protected]
Kate Slusark Kiley, Natural Resources Defense Council, 212-727-4592, [email protected]
Catskill Mountainkeeper – Delaware Riverkeeper Network – Earthjustice –Natural Resources Defense Council – Riverkeeper, Inc. – Sierra Club
In official comments, call on state to complete review of environmental and health impacts before finalizing regulations
NEW YORK, NY – January 14, 2013 – Based on an extensive, expert-supported evaluation, a coalition of environmental groups announced today that New York State Department of Environmental Conservation’s (DEC) proposed fracking rules fall short of protecting New York residents and should not be finalized before the environmental and public health reviews are complete.
In nearly 200 pages of formal joint comments submitted to the state, the coalition highlighted a number of shortcomings in the draft rules released by the state last month. In addition, DEC released its revised regulations before completing its analysis of health, economic, and social impacts, calling into question whether there is a valid scientific basis for the changes it made or the many public recommendations it rejected. The coalition concluded that no decision on fracking should be made before environmental and health impacts are fully evaluated and the public’s concerns are adequately addressed.
Some of the most significant deficiencies that still remain in the state’s proposed regulations include:
These comments follow more than 600 pages of joint comments submitted in January 2012 on the draft environmental review (the “Supplemental Generic Environmental Impact Statement”). Many of the issues the groups identified in their 2012 comments remained unaddressed. When a response was provided, in most instances, DEC summarily rejected the recommendations without providing a technical or scientific analysis or a justification for its decision.
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