By Liz Benjamin
Sen. Liz Krueger was joined by fellow anti-hydrofracking advocates – including actor Mark Ruffalo – at a protest earlier today outside Gov. David Paterson’s Manhattan office at which they lamented his veto/executive order combo, saying it “creates an easily exploitable loophole.”
Krueger, an Upper East Side Democrat, said the moratorium bill that Paterson rejected was actually purposefully drafted in a broad manner to temporarily ban all fracking – even the kind that has been taking place since the 1970s and has generated no current complains (at least none that I know of).
“The fact is that this legislation was drafted in a very specific manner to ensure that we put a temporary hold on all drilling that could do irreparable harm to areas of the State of New York,” Krueger said.
“The Executive Order the Governor signed gives us some delay on some types of drilling, but it still leaves the State of New York vulnerable to overzealous gas companies who wish to make up for the ban on horizontal drilling by increasing the number of vertical drills.”
“It will now be up to incoming Governor Andrew Cuomo to see through the promises made in his ‘Cleaner, Greener NY’ environmental paper and keep New York’s drinking water and environment safe.”
