The New York State Senate overcame the dysfunction that has plagued this legislative session and, in an unusual display of bipartisanship, voted 48-9 to pass a moratorium on hydraulic fracturing until May 15, 2011. The vote lays the groundwork for setting a national precedent of state action against hydraulic fracturing, or “hydrofracking.”
The intent of the moratorium is to allow more time for study of the environmental impacts of hydraulic fracturing, which blasts apart rock with millions of gallons of water, sand and chemicals to release natural gas trapped in deep rock formations. Beneath parts of New York and three other states is a gas-rich rock formation called the Marcellus Shale. It underlies the watershed that supplies drinking water to 17 million people, which exacerbates the environmental and public health risks associated with hydrofracking.
To take effect, the moratorium would have to pass the Assembly, which pundits expect will happen in the fall, and then be signed by the Governor, who hasn’t indicated whether he’ll support it, even though he ordered the Department of Environmental Conservation to conduct a review of hydrofracking and its impacts.
The Women’s City Club applauded the news. In June we wrote a letter to legislative leaders urging them to vote for the moratorium, following months of analysis and feedback on the State and City’s studies on hydrofracking. While the WCC is not opposed to natural gas development, we agree that the issue requires more study. To learn more about the impacts of hydrofracking, the WCC has organized a program featuring Dr. Jannette Barth and Paul Hartman, who will debate the issue.
