NY’s Fracking Ban Unlikely to Extend to Upstate Farmland

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo may have his way since the the state's moratorium on hydraulic fracturing—the process of pumping pressured water into the earth to access natural gas deposits, and contaminating groundwater in the process—expired on July 1, and the administration is expected to recommend lifting the ban, which has been in effect for nearly a year. 

Known more commonly as hydrofracking or just “fracking,” the process has gone on, largely unregulated, in Pennsylvania and many towns have suffered many environmental burdens while enjoying some financial boost.

It's been a contentious issue since drilling and gas companies set their sights on the massive Marcellus Shale several years ago. The Marcellus, which spans from New York to West Virginia, Ohio and adjacent states, contains trillions of cubic feet of natural gas; more gas than almost any other known formation. Proponents of fracking say the activity could bring energy independence to America, while providing a cleaner-burning bridge fuel and more jobs to depressed rural areas along the Marcellus Shale.

Environmentalists and others on the opposition say that fracking's not all it's cracked up to be. There have been chemical spills of who-knows-what (industry companies like Dick Cheney-owned Halliburton are exempted from disclosing which toxic chemicals they're using by provisions in the Safe Drinking Water Act, passed during the Bush era), drinking water supplies and soil permanently ruined. Drilling jobs generally go to Canadians or Texans already employed by the industry, so the buzz about job creation has largely been a myth.

New York has been more far more cautious of the industrial activity than its neighbor to the south, and will likely continue to do so. The state government last year banned fracking in two watersheds serving large populations—the Hudson Valley area which houses New York City's water and Skanteateles, which serves Syracuse.

But fracking may continue to move forward in the rest of New York—a state whose fragile economy is largely dependent on agriculture and tourism.

It's true that New York deserves kudos for its partial bans. (In addition to bans in the the watersheds supplying Syracuse and New York City, New York fracking will also be banned in primary aquifers and on all state-owned land.) Those protected watersheds supply millions of people with pristine drinking water, and fracking in these regions would not only risk jeopardizing water for a massive chunk of the state's population; it would also require the construction of debilitatingly expensive filtration plants.

But what about the folks upstate? As I’ve written, I’m a farmer in upstate New York, and there are lots of people like me. These regions provide organic and conventional milk, meat and produce to their local inhabitants as well as city dwellers. And people there drink water, too.

The news comes as two fracking bans have popped up elsewhere: both France and New Jersey have outlawed the controversial drilling process. France, which is thought to have some of the largest natural gas reserves in Europe, recently became the first country to outright ban the drilling process. New Jersey is the only state with a frack ban thus far, and while it's happy news for environmentalists, it's more of a statement than definitive action. There's currently no drilling in New Jersey, and the state doesn't sit atop the Marcellus Shale, which is the object of hydrofracking right now. The state does contain other shale reserves though, which could be at risk of fracking in the future.

Kara Cusolito is a staff writer with Campus Progress. You can e-mail her at kara.cusolito@gmail.com.

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