Will New York Base Its Fracking Decision on Science or Politics?
December 3, 2012
Riverkeeper Team
New York officials say the state’s decision on fracking will not be made until after they hear from the three outside experts they’ve hired to help them review fracking’s impact on public health.
Do you trust them?
Before you answer, consider these facts:
- Dr. Lynn Goldman, one of the three health experts hired to review the Department of Environmental Conservation’s (DEC) draft Supplemental Generic Environmental Impact Statement (SGEIS), has told a reporter that the deadline to complete her review is today, despite being under contract through mid-February. Dr. Goldman also stated that as of Thanksgiving, she hadn't even received the documents she was charged with reviewing. The New York State Department of Health has not yet responded to Riverkeeper’s request for a clarification of the review procedure or timeline.
- Of the three experts, one is working pro bono and the other two will be compensated for only 25 and 50 hours of work respectively.
- Rather than wait until they'd received and considered the experts' analysis of the health issue, the state officials went ahead and released a new draft set of fracking regulations last Friday.
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