NY DEC Commissioner Appoints Members to New Hydraulic Fracturing Advisory Panel

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At yesterday’s Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) press conference, DEC Commissioner Joe Martens announced the formation of a Hydraulic Fracturing Advisory Panel. The new panel’s job will be:

  • developing recommendations to ensure DEC and other agencies are enabled to properly oversee, monitor and enforce high-volume hydraulic fracturing activities;
  • developing recommendations to avoid and mitigate impacts to local governments and communities; and
  • evaluating the current fee structure and other revenue streams to fund government oversight and infrastructure related to high-volume hydraulic fracturing.

Panel members are from environmental organizations, the drilling industry and elected officials. Those who have initially been named to the panel include:

  • Stan Lundine, former NYS Lt. Governor
  • Kathleen McGinty, Former Chair of White House Council on Environmental Quality under President Clinton
  • Eric A. Goldstein, Senior Attorney, Natural Resources Defense Council
  • Kate Sinding, Senior Attorney, Natural Resources Defense Council
  • Robert Hallman, Board Chair, NY League of Conservation Voters
  • Robert F. Kennedy Jr., President of the Waterkeeper Alliance
  • Robert Moore, Executive Director, Environmental Advocates
  • Mark Brownstein, Chief Counsel, Energy Program, Environmental Defense Fund
  • Heather Briccetti, Acting President & CEO, Business Council of New York State, Inc.
  • Robert B. Catell, Chairman, Advanced Energy Research and Technology Center at SUNY Stony Brook
  • Mark K. Boling, Executive Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary, Southwestern Energy
  • Tom Libous, Deputy Majority Leader, NYS Senate
  • Donna Lupardo, Member, NY Assembly

*NYS DEC Press Release (Jul 1, 2011) – DEC Commissioner Appoints Members to Hydraulic Fracturing Advisory Panel

8 Comments

  1. You think Gov. Cuomo made “the right decision in allowing Marcellus Shale drilling to begin.” But now you object to the appointment of an advisory panel to monitor what actually happens. That’s what the rest of us call “balance.”
    You don’t want balance. You just want money. 

  2. The group of people chosen to be on the Advisory Board could hardly be considered to be balanced.  As usual in New York, it all politics and political posturing.