ALBANY – The Cuomo administration is sticking by its decision to ban hydrofracking in New York despite a federal report Thursday that found it caused no “widespread” water contamination.
A spokesman for the state’s Department of Environmental Conservation said New York’s decision not to allow the controversial natural gas drilling process was based on factors beyond possible water contamination.
“The EPA’s review focused on impacts to water resources related to high-volume hydraulic fracturing, while the state review was much broader – examining impacts to air, water, public health, ecosystems, wildlife and community character,” said DEC spokesman Tom Mailey.
“Our review identified many potential significant adverse impacts,” Mailey added.
The Environmental Protection Agency, in a long-awaited report released Thursday, said it could find no evidence that hydrofracking caused any “widespread systemic impacts” on drinking water.
Additionally, the report found that actual cases of drinking water contamination was “relatively low” when compared to actual number of wells.
Drilling advocates seized on the report to call on Gov. Cuomo to re-think his December decision to ban hydrofracking.
“What more evidence does Gov. Cuomo need?” said Karen Moreau of the American Petroleum Institute. “What is systemic and widespread is the suffering of thousands of families in New York’s Southern Tier who had their hopes dashed by the governor’s decision.”
Environmentalists, however, said the EPA’s report still demonstrated that hydrofracking can contaminate water.
“All water is connected,” the group New Yorkers Against Fracking said in a statement. “Any sign of drinking water contamination signals a public health crisis and is a call for a ban.”