A coalition of groups opposed to hydraulic fracturing in New York held a news conference in Binghamton on Monday to call on the state to withdraw a six-years-in-the-making environmental review.
From the Press & Sun-Bulletin's Steven Howe:
BINGHAMTON -- A coalition of organizations opposing fracking in New York met outside City Hall at 38 Hawley St. Monday afternoon to request Gov. Andrew Cuomo withdraw an environmental impact statement which they say is outdated.The state is expected to base part of its decision on hydraulic fracturing around the impact statement, which was released in September 2009 and revised two years later. Since that time, new state health reports and scientific research have been published which the statement doesn’t consider, said Walter Hang, who owns Ithaca-based environmental database firm Toxics Targeting, during the Monday news conference.“When you look at the document it’s so ancient, it’s so outdated by scientific standards that we believe it simply needs to be withdrawn,” said Hang, of Ithaca. Former Binghamton Mayor Matthew T. Ryan and representatives from New York Residents Against Drilling and Chenango Community Action for Renewable Energy attended the news conference. The coalition plans to send a letter to Cuomo requesting an updated draft environmental statement with a comprehensive health impact study. So far, 803 people have signed the letter, according to Toxics Targeting’s website.