From the emission-cutting, pipeline-blocking, climate-change-fighting White House comes a fresh seal of approval for the gas-drilling technology known as fracking.
Also: fresh evidence that Gov. Cuomo was nuts to ban the practice in New York State.
The Interior Department on Friday released new regulations that give a green light — pun intended — for fracking on federally owned lands.
After four years of study and 1.5 million public comments, the department’s Bureau of Land Management concluded fracking can be done safely.
Focusing on science rather than politics — as Cuomo should have done — the bureau set limits on where drilling could happen and set strict standards for the construction of wells and the handling of wastewater.
“This rule will protect public health and the environment during and after hydraulic fracturing operations at a modest cost,” said Assistant Secretary for Land and Minerals Management Janice Schneider.
Fracking involves drilling deep into the ground, then pumping a mixture of water, sand and lubricants into wells at high pressure to crack rock and release pockets of oil and gas.
The technology has unlocked huge natural gas reserves across much of the country — creating thousands of jobs, fueling a manufacturing revival and reducing dependence on foreign oil.
By encouraging power plants to switch from coal to cleaner-burning gas, fracking has also contributed to a historic decline in the nation’s emissions of planet-warming carbon dioxide.
New York, which sits on top of a gas-rich geological formation known as the Marcellus Shale, was positioned to join the boom.
But Cuomo — veering far to the left of his fellow Democrat in Washington — caved to irrational fears and environmental extremism.
If fracking is safe enough for the feds and virtually every other state, it should have been safe enough for New York.
