Statewide NY

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo—someone who apparently has trouble deciding what to have for breakfast, let alone decide a major issue like whether or not to allow fracking—went on the record yesterday saying that the Nov. 29 deadline to release new drilling rules will not be met. Cuomo said the deadline for a new health review, yet another delay thought up by DEC Commissioner Joe Martens and being carried out by State Health Commissioner Nirav Shah, is “open-ended.” The so-called “impartial experts” Nirav Shah has hired to conduct an outside review are anything but impartial, and they’ve been given no firm deadline to turn in a  report.

Cuomo’s comments to reporters yesterday:

Read More “NY Gov. Cuomo Says Forget Fracking – At Least by Nov 29”

Many have marveled at the restraint shown by the Joint Landowners Coalition of New York (JLCNY) on the issue of repeated delays and setbacks when it comes to allowing high volume hydraulic fracturing (HVHF) in New York State. Some have criticized the JLCNY for not being more vocal and more pushy with the governor and the Dept. of Environmental Conservation. Dan Fitzsimmons, president of the JLCNY, regularly takes arrows from both sides of the drilling issue and he walks a fine line—we wouldn’t want to be in his shoes!

Dan sent a letter yesterday, on behalf of the the 77,000 members of the JLCNY, to Gov. Andrew Cuomo and DEC Commissioner Joe Martens expressing, in strong but respectful language, the JLCNY’s disappointment that the Nov. 29 date to release new drilling rules will be missed (a full copy of the letter is embedded below).

Read More “JLCNY Sends Strongly-Worded Letter to Cuomo on Nov 29 Date”

Brad Gill, Executive Director of the Independent Oil & Gas Association of New York (IOGA of NY) sent a scalding letter yesterday to NY Gov. Andrew Cuomo (see a full copy below) expressing deep disappointment that it now appears new drilling rules will not be released by Nov. 29. He points out, as of yesterday, it’s been 4 years, 3 months and 27 days since the moratorium went into effect. In essence, “Enough is enough.” He told Andy, “our trust in our state government [is] now exhausted.” Gill concludes by urging the governor to release the new rules—now—so the industry can attempt to recover from the staggering losses already endured because of the moratorium.

MDN’s view: Don’t count on it Brad—Andy is just another garden-variety, prevaricating politician who is decision-challenged. If the new rules are not released by Nov. 29, the rulemaking process begins all over again and more public hearings (i.e., freak shows) will need to be held—delaying the new rules by months, perhaps years. Which of course has been the game plan by DEC Commissioner Joe Martens all along.

Read More “IOGA of NY to Gov. Cuomo: Enough is Enough”

An editorial in yesterday’s New York Post takes aim at New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s indecisiveness on the issue of fracking. They mince no words when they say the problem is, in a word, “leadership.” Here’s a portion of the editorial:

Read More “New York Post: Andy Lacks Leadership on Fracking Issue”

Is there any chance that New York will move forward with releasing new shale gas drilling rules by Nov. 29, the one year anniversary after the last public hearing on the new rules (and by which the rules must be released or the rulemaking process restarts)? No. Not a chance.

Why? NY State Health Commissioner Nirav Shah has only just yesterday named three outside “experts” to help conduct a “health review” of New York’s proposed drilling regulations. The deadline given the experts to complete their review? “Mid-February.”

Read More “NY Fracking Rules Won’t be Released in 2012”