NY Health Commissioner Recommendation for Hydraulic Fracture Drilling Soon
Story by Kathy Whyte
The New York State Health Commissioner says he will have a recommendation on hydraulic fracture drilling for natural gas guidelines in the state in a matter of weeks. Nirav Shah says he is not going to wait for final results of independent health studies on the impact of fracking to come out, which could take years.
Members of the New York State Senate Demacratic Conference and some assembly members have called for a two-year moratorium on drilling so that preliminary results of a health impact study by Geisinger Health Systems and other collaborative agencies can be released. Geisinger officials have said they plan to do a long term study of health effects, possibly lasting two decades.