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BREAKING: New York Will Ban Fracking

by Emily Atkin
Posted on December 17, 2014 at 1:35 pm
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The state of New York is officially moving toward a fracking ban.
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After presenting the findings of an exhaustive five-year study on the potential environmental, economic, and public health effects of fracking, state Department of Environmental Conservation commissioner Joseph Marten said he would issue a "legally binding findings statement" seeking prohibition of the controversial process.
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Fracking is the process of injecting high-pressure volumes of water, sand, and chemicals underground to crack shale rock and let gas flow out more easily.
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The study presented Wednesday had few good things to say. It noted that peer-reviewed studies on how fracking affects public health were few and far between; that the process had the potential to pollute New York's many reservoirs and aquifers; and that the economic benefit to the state would be "clearly lower than initially forecast."
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"Would I live in a community with [fracking] based on the information we have now? … After looking at the plethora of reports, my answer is no," acting state health commissioner Howard Zucker said. "I cannot support high volume hydraulic fracturing in the great State of New York."
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