New York Governor Andrew Cuomo's plan to expedite natural oil gas drilling, or fracking, is too risky to rush. Even with environmental regulations in place, writes Eric Goldstein, there are too many "unresolved substantive issues" to resolve.
"Take, for example, the proposed provisions for safeguarding the unfiltered drinking water supplies of New York City and Syracuse from the dangers of fracking. The proposal wisely places the forested watersheds of these two drinking water systems off-limits to well-pad development, correctly calculating that the economic and environmental risks to these unfiltered systems is simply too great.
But rather than fully safeguard these systems, which supply water to more than half the state's populations (including all of New York City), the proposal leaves gaping holes in the rules' protective blanket.
A case in point, highlighted at recent City Council hearings by Environmental Protection Committee chairman James Gennaro, is the stunning lack of protection for the aqueducts and tunnels that carry water from the reservoirs to our homes and apartments."
FULL STORY: On Fracking, the Cuomo Administration Must Slow Down
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The Effort to Plug Pennsylvania’s Abandoned Oil Wells
Hundreds of thousands of defunct oil wells litter the state, leaking dangerous substances and often hidden under parking lots, buildings, or covered over by vegetation.
New Oil and Gas Drilling in California May Be Subject to Moratorium
Gov. Gavin Newsom pleased environmentalists by doing what his predecessor, Gov. Jerry Brown, refused – halting all new oil and gas fracking and placing a moratorium on another extraction method linked to a massive oil spill in Kern County.
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Report: Zoning Reforms Should Complement Nashville’s Ambitious Transit Plan
Without reform, restrictive zoning codes will limit the impact of the city’s planned transit expansion and could exclude some of the residents who depend on transit the most.
Judge Orders Release of Frozen IRA, IIJA Funding
The decision is a victory for environmental groups who charged that freezing funds for critical infrastructure and disaster response programs caused “real and irreparable harm” to communities.
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