IOGA of NY: State Senate Has Let Down New Yorkers

Fear and misinformation trumps logic, history and science

ALBANY, NY (08/04/2010)(readMedia)-- The Independent Oil & Gas Association of New York expressed extreme disappointment at the Senate's passage of a bill placing a moratorium on oil and natural gas exploration in New York.

The bill (S1829B), sponsored by Sen. Antoine Thompson (D-Buffalo), halts the issuance of permits for drilling when high-volume hydraulic fracturing would be used. The moratorium bill is technically flawed and unfortunately also blocks the issuance of certain drilling permits in formations other than the Marcellus Shale, which were intended to be allowed to continue as the DEC considers new rules for horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing. A companion bill in the Assembly, sponsored by Robert Sweeney (D-Lindenhurst), has not yet been brought to the floor for a vote.

"Reason, science, logic and economic opportunity has lost out to a calculated campaign of misinformation and ignorance," said Brad Gill, IOGA of NY executive director. "On the very same night the Legislature passed a budget that included $1.6 billion in new taxes, fees and assessments, the Senate turned its back on an industry that would have safely explored for natural gas and provided a large part of the solution to New York's economic despair."

New York's oil and gas industry has an outstanding record of safety and environmental stewardship in New York, and has consistently maintained that the state Department of Environmental Conservation should be allowed to complete its work on new regulations governing natural gas exploration in the state.

"We hope that the majority of senators would have had the foresight to reject this bill, but instead we saw politics take priority over science," Gill said. "We anticipate, moving forward, that members of the Assembly will work to seek the truth and allow the process to proceed as intended. The DEC should finish its work and then we can evaluate the new regulations objectively."

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IOGA-NY was founded in 1980 to protect, foster and advance the common interests of oil and gas producers, as well as professionals and related industries in the State of New York. To send a message to Albany in support of natural gas exploration, visit marcellusfacts.com.

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