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Arlington, Va. - "On December 11, Gov. David
Paterson took a step in the right direction by executing an order
placing a moratorium on the issuance of permits for horizontal,
hydraulic fracturing until July 2011," said Katy Dunlap, Director of
Trout Unlimited's Eastern Water Project. "However, by excluding
vertical wells from the moratorium, Gov. Paterson has carved out an
dangerous exception and has ignored the will of the people - as
expressed by the New York legislature - as well as his earlier
statements that gas drilling won't be allowed in New York until we can
be sure that it won't harm the environment," Dunlap said.
"The impacts of hydraulic fracturing have not yet been fully
assessed by the state and all types of drilling using this technology
should be suspended until the Department of Environmental Conservation
(DEC) has determined that is safe for the environment and humans. Trout
Unlimited calls on Governor-elect Andrew Cuomo to expand the executive
order when he enters into office to include vertical wells and to fully
protect New York's natural resources from the impact of gas drilling and
hydraulic fracturing," Dunlap said.
Trout Unlimited is the nation's largest coldwater conservation
organization, with 140,000 members dedicated to conserving, protecting
and restoring North America's trout and salmon fisheries and their
watersheds.
