The Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) tomorrow will release its revised recommendations on mitigating the environmental impacts of high-volume hydraulic fracturing (high-volume fracturing). The recommendations contain these major revisions:
High-volume fracturing would be prohibited in the New York City and Syracuse watersheds, including a buffer zone;
Drilling would be prohibited within primary aquifers and within 500 feet of their boundaries;
Surface drilling would be prohibited on state-owned land including parks, forest areas andwildlife management areas;
High-volume fracturing will be permitted on privately held lands under rigorous and effective controls; and
DEC will issue regulations to codify these recommendations into state law.
These recommendations, if adopted in final form, would protect the state's environmentally sensitive areas while realizing the economic development and energy benefits of the state's natural gas resources. Approximately 85 percent of the Marcellus Shale would be accessible to natural gas extraction under these recommendations.