- Stringer 2013 -

New York State’s environmental regulators have proposed rules to govern drilling in the Marcellus Shale — a subterranean layer of rock curving northward from West Virginia through Ohio and Pennsylvania to New York’s southern tier. The shale contains enormous deposits of natural gas that could add to the region’s energy supplies and lift New York’s upstate economy. If done carefully — and in carefully selected places — drilling should cause minimal environmental harm.

NEW YORK, NY October 02, 2009 —City officials are expressing sharp disagreement with Albany over the issue of natural gas drilling in the city's Catskill Mountains watershed. They say a plan to allow drilling there would leave the city's reservoirs vulnerable to chemical spills. WNYC's Ilya Marritz is following the story.

REPORTER: Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer says he's worried about the water New Yorkers drink.

Thursday, October 1, 2009 (New York, NY) - Manhattan Borough President Scott M. Stringer, joined by a coalition of elected officials including City Council Environmental Protection Committee Chair James F. Gennaro and top environmental advocates, today demanded that the State environmental agency’s plan for natural gas drilling be modified to include an outright ban on drilling in the Catskill / Delaware watershed, which supplies 90 percent of New York City’s drinking water.

In addition, the Borough President announced the launch of “Kill the Drill,” a campaign by city residents to voice opposition to any hydraulic fracturing in the city’s upstate watershed. Borough President Stringer also said that he had received the Governor’s commitment that a public hearing on the matter will be held in New York City sometime during the period for public comment on the drilling plan.

“Today the State Department of Environmental Conservation made a serious mistake by failing to ban drilling for natural gas in the upstate watershed that supplies New York City’s drinking water. The State’s mitigation proposals are half measures; they are not adequate for protecting the health of eight million New Yorkers.

Manhattan Borough President Scott M. Stringer, citing the success of the federal program that rewards car owners for turning in their older and less fuel-efficient cars for newer “greener” models, today urged the federal government to begin an immediate bonus program that would encourage urban consumers and landlords to replace existing refrigerators, air-conditioners and other appliances with newer models that use less energy.