hydrofracking

As concerns about changes in federal environmental policies continue to garner headlines, advocates sponsored an “Earth Rally” Saturday at Allegany State Park.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Tuesday that a new company has agreed to take over the Fitzpatrick Nuclear Power plant in Oswego and keep it running.  It is part of the governor’s strategy for 50 percent of the state’s power to come from renewable energy by 2030.

If you heat your home with natural gas, heating bills could hit the lowest levels in more than a decade.  Experts say current projections indicate that average heating costs will be 29% lower than last year.

A local anti-fracking group is prodding Governor Andrew Cuomo to impose a statewide ban on the shipment of explosive oils.  Western New York Drilling Defense member Charley Bowman tells WBFO that

Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz has approved a local law banning hydraulic fracturing, also know as fracking, on county-owned land.

A public hearing on a proposal to restrict natural gas fracking in Erie County Monday turned into an attack on opponents and on Governor Cuomo for blocking fracking statewide.

Erie County Executive Poloncarz will hear about the pros and cons of natural gas fracking Monday afternoon as he holds a public hearing on limiting the energy source in Erie County.

Erie County legislators voted in a bipartisan manner Thursday to ban natural gas drilling using hydraulic fracturing in the county, commonly known as fracking.

Legislation that would ban hydrofracking on county-owned land is expected to be voted on today by the Erie County Legislature.

Supporters of a near-ban on fracking in Erie County turned out Tuesday night to vocally oppose the natural gas drilling technique.

Governor Cuomo says he supports his Administration’s internal health review on hydrofracking in New York, and he says it could even hasten the gas drilling process in the state, should fracking ultimately be approved.

The governor says he supports his environmental commissioner’s decision not to launch an independent health study, and to instead have the administration’s health department review new health assessment data compiled by the Department of Environmental Conservation. 

Protestors against the introduction of hydrofracking in Western New York gathered in Niagara Square on Saturday.

The protest followed a symposium held by the Buffalo Association of Professional Geologists at the Buffalo Niagara Convention Center. Many at the symposium proposed that hydraulic fracturing could be an economic boon for the region if done properly. Opponents claim that the environmental concerns are too significant to bring the controversial practice to Western New York, and they are lobbying for a permanent ban on fracking.

The natural gas industry sees hopeful signs in a new poll that finds more New Yorkers now support hydrofracking.

A Quinnipiac University survey also finds upstaters, who live where the gas drilling process would occur, back fracking in greater numbers.

The Quinnipiac poll finds that by a narrow four point margin, New Yorkers surveyed believe that the economic benefits of natural gas drilling, including job creation, outweigh the potential harmful environmental effects. Quinnipiac’s Mickey Carroll says opinion is still somewhat evenly divided.   

Governor Andrew Cuomo says there is no timetable for making a final decision that would allow hydro-fracturing in New York. 

Cuomo has been keeping activists from both sides of the fracking issue in suspense.  Environmentalists are seeking a ban on the controversial procedure.  Drillers want to go ahead with fracking -- a process that uses large amounts of water, sand and chemicals to extract natural gas from shale. 

The Governor addressed the issue with reporters Wednesday during a break in a policy conference he was attending in New York City.

The contentious issue of hydraulic fracturing, or hydrofracking, in New York State continues to divide residents. 

A recent Siena College poll shows likely voters are evenly divided on whether they want fracking allowed in the state: 39 percent support it, 38 percent are opposed, while 23 percent either have no opinion or don't have enough information. 

"You also have to look at this from a regional perspective," said Siena pollster Steve Greenberg.

Governor Andrew Cuomo offered some support to a plan to permit hydrofracking in New York in communities that welcome the gas drilling process.

Numerous sources and published reports have said that the Cuomo Administration may permit hydrofracking  in some communities in New York’s Southern Tier  where the majority of residents  want natural gas drilling .

Communities that are mainly opposed to fracking would not be forced to accept drilling.   

The University at Buffalo is distancing itself from a controversial hydrofracking report recently released by one of the school's affiliates.

The Shale Resources and Society Institute was formed at the school this year as a source for credible information and research regarding shale gas. It's first report, indicating an improvement in the environmental effects of hydrofracking, has been harshly criticized by being funded and directed by industry interests. Other studies show the Institute's results to be false.

A University at Buffalo Shale Institute study of hydrofracking will no doubt raise eyebrows, especially in those organizations that have been most outspoken against the controversial method of extracting natural gas.

The study, which its co-authors say was funded entirely by UB, looked at the environmental impacts during Marcellus Shale drilling in Pennsylvania from January 2008 to August 2011. 

About a dozen representatives of Citizen Action, The Sierra Club, and several other public advocacy groups gathered in front of the Mahoney  State Office Building in downtown Buffalo Monday to reiterate their strong opposition to hydrofracking in New York.

Speakers said the natural gas industry holds far too much sway over local and state politicians with their campaign contributions. They said as a result, leaders are turning a deaf ear to the concerns of health and environmental advocates who contend that fracking ruins the groundwater supply.

State Senator Mark Grisanti unveiled a package of bills today that he says will protect the environment should hydraulic fracturing of natural gas move forward in New York. 

At a news conference in downtown Buffalo Friday, Grisanti said his bills would prohibit public sewage treatment plants from accepting wastewater from hydrofracking and would set up a system so that the public could easily access information about the location of gas wells.