The moratorium is in place until the plan is finalized… Maybe a year or more out before anything could possibly occur.
(05/23/11) Horizontal hydrofracking, the controversial natural gas drilling technique, is still a long ways off in New York's Marcellus Shale region.
The Innovation Trail's Emma Jacobs has more on the long process ahead.
When Governor Paterson put a
moratorium on fracking in the Marcellus Shale until July 1, some thought that
meant hydrofracking was just around the corner. But the Department of
Environmental Conservation, or DEC, is still writing the guidelines to that
will manage drilling.
And DEC spokesman Michael Bopp points out until those guidelines are in place,
drilling can't begin, per the moratorium put in place by Governor Paterson. "The moratorium is in place until the plan is finalized," he said.
"We have said
it won't be final until much later than that."
The DEC will be taking public comments on the permitting process this summer.
Still ahead: another rewrite and training for DEC staff before the department
begins to grant companies the right to frack.
"Maybe a year or more out before anything could possibly occur," Bopp said.
But just in case things move quicker, New York State's Assembly has taken up
another moratorium bill. It would put a hold on fracking for another year.
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