NY Releases Final Fracking Rules – Don’t Get Your Hopes Up

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regulationWe finally have the final version of the Supplemental Generic Environmental Impact Statement (SGEIS) from the NY Dept. of Environmental Conservation (DEC). This is the document that would control where and how (and if) fracking is done in the Empire State. The Final SGEIS (or FSGEIS), a full copy embedded below, is more than 2,000 pages long. No, we’ve not yet read it. But what we do know is that if drillers can drill and frack a well using less than 300,000 gallons of water, it’s permitted under this FSGEIS. Is such a thing possible? Probably not–at least not economically. You won’t make any money, so it’s a moot point. The FSGEIS is not the final document that will be issued. The very last thing to come will be a “Findings statement” by DEC Commissioner (and anti-driller) Joe Martens. According to state law, Martens cannot issue the Findings statement before 10 days from issuing the FSGEIS. Martens knows he’s going to get his rear-end sued from now until he leaves office, so he’ll take his time before releasing the Findings statement, which will essentially say “we don’t have enough science to prove fracking doesn’t harm people or the environment, so the safe thing to do is disallow it for now.” The phraseology he uses will be scrutinized and will be the basis of what we predict is at least several, possibly many lawsuits. Pro-drillers are not going away. Our property rights have been unconstitutionally stripped away. We will fight until we win…

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