Ithaca Journal

ALBANY — New York Health Commissioner Nirav Shah broke his silence on the state’s review of the health impacts of hydraulic fracturing, telling a panel of lawmakers Wednesday he anticipates completing the analysis in “the next few weeks.”

During a legislative budget hearing on public health and Medicaid spending, state lawmakers pressed Shah for details on when the department’s findings would be public.

This article also appeared in the Press & Sun-Bulletin.

JOHNSON CITY — After more than four years of watching lawmakers and regulators progress toward a decision on whether to permit hydraulic fracturing in New York, area leaders on both sides of the debate are bracing for the endgame that many expect will unfold in 2013.

During a two-hour panel discussion Thursday morning, four experts on the controversial natural gas drilling technique, commonly known as hydrofracking, explained that important deadlines are looming in coming weeks and should provide a much clearer picture on the industry’s fate in New York.

By late February, the state Department of Environmental Conservation will likely clear some of the final hurdles left before completing its environmental review of hydrofracking, which started in 2008.

The New York State Attorney General’s Office has launched an ethics inquiry concerning votes by Southern Tier town board members related to natural gas drilling, according to documents obtained by the Press & Sun-Bulletin.

In single-page letters sent in October, Assistant Attorney General Judith Malkin indicated that drilling-related action by town boards earlier in the year raised questions about potential conflicts of interest.

3-year effort linked to CU’s cooling plant aims to limit impact of phosphorous on water

ITHACA — The New York State Depart­ment of Environmental Conservation and Cornell University announced a joint effort Friday they say will limit the impact of nu­trient phosphorous in Cayuga Lake, al­though a local environmental firm ques­tions the project.

In an effort to get the ear of Gov. Andrew Cuomo, opponents of hydraulic fracturing in the Southern Tier have penned a letter to 1,000 of his closest friends.

Binghamton Mayor Matthew T. Ryan and others who have concerns about the natural gas extraction technique gathered in front of Binghamton City Hall on Wednesday to discuss a letter they sent to the 1,000 largest contributors to Cuomo’s campaign fund.

Ithaca -- For anti-hydraulic fracturing activists like Ithaca environmentalist Walter Hang, Tuesday was D-Day.

On the last day to submit comments on the state Department of Environmental Conservation's draft Supplemental Generic Environmental Impact Statement, those who oppose the use of the natural gas drilling method in New York gathered at rallies in major cities across the state.