ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — Long-awaited regulations for shale gas drilling in New York state will be delayed further, because the state's health commissioner said Tuesday his office needs more time to study the possible health impacts.
The Department of Environmental Conservation had faced a deadline Wednesday to complete its 4 1/2-year-old environmental impact study of drilling for gas using high-volume hydraulic fracturing, or fracking.
DEC Commissioner Joe Martens said Tuesday that the deadline will be missed, meaning regulations due to be released Feb. 27 will be delayed. Martens said he expected Health Commissioner Nirav Shah's review to be done in a few weeks.
But Martens said issuing of permits for shale gas drilling could begin even while regulations are being finished, if the Health Department's review finds the Environmental Conservation Department's impact study adequately addresses health concerns.
But if the Department of Health review "finds that there is a public health concern that has not been assessed in the (environmental impact study) or properly mitigated, we would not proceed, as I have stated in the past," Martens said.
Shah said he needed more time to review recent studies. He said his review focuses in particular on the relationship of fracking to the health impacts of drinking water, as well as other areas such as air quality and community impacts.
Environmental groups that have been pushing for a more extensive review of health impacts were happy about Shah's announcement, while landowners eager to reap profits from gas wells were dismayed.
"Commissioner Shah is correct that the state needs to take the time to do a comprehensive study of the health effects of fracking to protect the public health," said biologist Sandra Steingraber, a leader of the anti-fracking movement. "We are confident that such a review will show that the costs of fracking in terms of public health are unacceptable."
