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The feds are backing City Hall's battle to stop the state from drilling for natural gas near precious upstate water reserves.

The city Department of Environmental Protection fears the drilling in the energy-rich Marcellus Shale Formation could unleash toxic chemicals in the drinking water.

The Environmental Protection Agency's ruling pressures Gov. Paterson to reverse course.

CANDOR, N.Y. - Fred Mayer has a special feature in his kitchen: a faucet that spews fire.

Mayer says that about three years ago the well supplying water to his home in Candor became polluted with natural gas.

Explosive vapors now run from his tap along with the water.

The Vietnam veteran demonstrates by holding a lighter to the running water and igniting it with a flash.

Mayer jokes that he can wash his dishes and poach an egg at the same time.

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Mayor Matt Ryan has joined thousands of legislators who say the DEC's draft on the environmental impacts of natural gas drilling in the area is not good enough.

The mayor says the draft doesn't take into consideration the potential for the Susquehanna River to become polluted.

As a result, the mayor wants the governor to withdraw the DEC's draft.

He says the DEC isn't prepared to handle the possible side effects of water pollution because of the state's budget crisis.

Candor, NY -- Fred Mayer holds a lighter to his faucet, lets the water run, and — pow — the flow ignites into a small fireball. “I can wash my dishes and poach an egg at the same time,” he joked.

But it’s no laughing matter. Mayer’s faucets spew natural gas. The gas has polluted his water supply, forcing Mayer to buy bottled water to drink. If enough gas builds up in his faucets or walls, scientists warn, Mayer’s house could explode.

In Ithaca and Tompkins County, the conversation about natural gas development has been dominated by those opposed to hydro-fracturing and concerned about New York State's environmental regulations.

The year started with just a relatively few activists from Shaleshock, a citizens' coalition concerned about horizontal hydraulic fracturing in the Marcellus Shale, presenting at town meetings, writing letters to the editor, and trying to draw attention to an issue that was still under many people's radar.

ALBANY -- New York City's Department of Environmental Protection called on state officials Wednesday to ban natural gas drilling in the Catskills watershed, saying it would pose too great a risk to the city's upstate drinking water system.

The DEP took that position in response to the state Department of Environmental Conservation's draft regulations on gas drilling in New York's portion of the Marcellus Shale region, which includes parts of the Catskills where reservoirs supply drinking water for 9 million people.

ITHACA -- As the end of the year approaches, and with it the end of the Department of Environmental Conservation's public comment period on regulations governing expanded natural gas drilling in New York State, some in the gas industry say they're open to more regulation -- and they're willing to pay for it.

The debate over horizontal fracturing in the Marcellus Shale has been fierce.

VARICK -- An environmental activist says he's uncovered the "first documented case" of groundwater pollution caused by a controversial natural gas drilling practice.

Walter Hang of Toxics Targeting says the drinking water supply to a home in the Seneca County town of Varick was "contaminated" after the Chesapeake Energy Company used hydraulic fracturing of "fracking" to drill for natural gas some 2,000 feet below ground.