New York AG files complaint against U.S. agencies over hydrofracking
New York Attorney General, Eric T. Schneiderman, filed a complaint with the United States District Court against various federal agencies including the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Fish and Wildlife Service, National Park Service, Department of the Interior and Environmental Protection Agency.
The complaint seeks to compel the federal agencies to prepare a draft environmental impact statement in accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, before adopting proposed Delaware River Basin Commission regulations that would authorize gas drilling in the Delaware Basin.
New York state's complaint argues that the potential risk of hydrofracking additives to the Delaware Basin must be fully evaluated before natural gas development is authorized.
Meanwhile, New York state's moratorium on horizontal hydrofracking is scheduled to expire on July 1, 2010. Draft regulations from the state's Department of Environmental Conservation are expected to be released later this month.
