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What looked very much like trial balloons about allowing "fracking" in NY were floating in the New York Times this week. www.nytimes.com/2012/06/14/nyregion/hydrofracking-under-cuomo-plan-would-be-restricted-to-a-few-counties.html. The purpose of a trial balloon is to test the political strength of a proposal and trigger reaction.
The reactions to the leaked Cuomo plan from the Joint Landowners Coalition (JLC) that represents people who want to allow drilling on their land and the NY gas drilling industry were positive, while environmentalists split.
The NYT reports that Governor Cuomo wants to allow shale gas drilling in 5 counties where the Marcellus gas is at depths of 2,000 feet or more and where local governments support gas drilling. In response to a successful JLC campaign, a growing number of townships in the 5 county area that borders Pennsylvania have passed resolutions supporting shale gas production. These rural communities have farmers who need gas income to stay on the land and high rates of unemployment and poverty that only jobs and income can remedy.
Another group of townships have passed resolutions or ordinances opposing shale gas drilling. Importantly, most of these townships are in areas where shale gas drilling is unlikely anyway and where the Marcellus shale is at depths of less than 2,000 feet.
In essence, Cuomo is proposing to allow drilling, where it would occur and is wanted, and not to allow it, where it would not occur and is not wanted. That is politically clever.
Interestingly, environmentalists split on the emerging Cuomo Plan. Those seeking to ban "fracking" were strongly opposed. Actor Mark Ruffalo tweeted opposition to his 200,000 followers.
But some environmentalists recognize that shale gas has caused a 20% decline in coal generation in just the last year, has already cut or avoided about 1 billion tons per year of carbon pollution, and emits no soot, mercury, and lead, all pollutants that cause illness and premature deaths.
The Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) issued a carefully worded statement supporting the Cuomo Plan.
http://www.edf.org/news/edf-statement-governor-cuomo%E2%80%99s-plan-would-%E2%80%9Climit-gas-drilling-few-counties-new-york%E2%80%9D. The Environmental Advocates of New York was quoted in the NYT as opposing a ban but urging no rush to drill.
Rush to drill? After 4 years of a moratorium, NY is certainly not rushing. And now with gas prices at extreme lows, as a result of massive shale gas production in other parts of the country, gas pricing alone will mean that a rush to NY to drill is unlikely at this time.
Yet, if Governor Cuomo ends the moratorium and shale gas production begins in New York, that will be an important event in the politics of energy.
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