Cuomo on fracking: Decision too important to rush

Cuomo on fracking: Decision too important to rush by lohud.com, February 13, 2013
Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Wednesday pushed back against the suggestion his administration is playing politics in further delaying a decision on hydraulic fracturing, saying the issue is “too important to make a mistake.” … Speaking in Queens on Wednesday, Cuomo told reporters he wouldn’t rush Shah to meet an “arbitrary” deadline. “I don’t think that’s prudent and I don’t think that’s right and I won’t do it,” said Cuomo, who reiterated his call for a decision based on “facts and information” and not “emotion”. The delay sparked a renewed round of criticism from gas-drilling supporters, who have expressed continued frustration with the state’s indecisiveness on whether to open the gas-rich Marcellus Shale formation to drilling. In a statement Wednesday, the head of the Independent Oil & Gas Association of New York criticized a favorite Cuomo slogan — “New York is open for business” — by saying “the only economic sign we see is ‘Keep Out.’” “This latest delay may seem inconsequential in the context of a four-plus-year regulatory review process, but it is not when one considers the benefits other states are experiencing,” said Brad Gill, the industry trade group’s executive director. “It’s difficult to determine how the science of safe natural gas development becomes so much more difficult when you cross the border from Pennsylvania to New York.”

The Department of Environmental Conservation first launched its own review of large-scale fracking in 2008, 17 months before Cuomo took office. Since then, the issue has only intensified across the state…. Cuomo said the state has gone through a “deliberative process” in coming to a decision on fracking. “People say you should rush; I’m not going to rush anyone,” he said. “If the health commissioner says he needs more time to come to an intelligent conclusion, then he needs more time to come to an intelligent conclusion.” [Emphasis added]

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