Blocking traffic on toll-plaza lanes of the George Washington Bridge for four days under cover of a bogus traffic study turned out to be a very bad idea. So why is it acceptable to block drilling across an entire state for three years under cover of a series of supposed studies?
The “traffic study” was actually about a political agenda of retribution — engaged in, if not by New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, then by aides who at the least thought they were serving their boss’s interests. It all fell apart when subpoenaed e-mails removed all doubt that the traffic study was a sham and the payback the reality.
Meanwhile, here in New York, we have the the long-delayed issuance of a purported scientific study on the safety of hydraulic fracturing in the Marcellus shale, which geologically underpins much of Upstate.
Thirty states and the federal Environmental Protection Agency have all deemed the practice, on balance, to be safe, and in particular to pose no significant threat to the drinking water supply. And New York’s own Department of Environmental Conservation also, by all accounts, produced its own study which would have green-lighted the process.
Yet that was short-circuited by Gov. Cuomo, who abruptly referred the issue to Health Commissioner Dr. Nariv Shah last February, ordering Shah to conduct a study on the health effects of the drilling. The DEC study was two years in the making, and now the Health Department study has been almost a year in the making, with no firm date in sight for completion — though Dr. Shah had initially said it would be done in “weeks.”
Asked more recently, however, he simply said something to the effect that good science takes time.
Hmm. Does he need some more beakers or lab space or lab techs? What is going on here? Might someone be intentionally blocking “traffic” for some political end?
No one (other than some thuggish Christie aides) had an interest in throwing Fort Lee into gridlock. By contrast, there is a well-organized and boisterous political opposition to fracking, with protestors vigorously dogging the governor in his upstate travels. It has become a flashpoint for controversy — indeed, growing controversy, since the longer the decision is delayed, the more emotional the debate becomes, and the facts be damned.
Yet the cost of this blockage is far greater than what Fort Lee suffered. Upward of 200,000 jobs could be created (many directly in fracking, more in related industries), substantially boosting Upstate’s sagging economy. Billions of dollars in new tax revenue and other benefits, including reduced energy costs, hang in the balance.
This wouldn’t be the first time that Cuomo or his aides have weighed in to put their thumbs on the scales to affect a politically significant outcome (e.g., the mysterious rewriting of the language presenting the casino amendment on this past fall’s ballot, which made the measure seem a winner for all).
Might there be some bullying going on here (beyond the way fracking opponents have bullied the governor)? Who is holding back the state health chief from speedy completion of his appointed rounds? Has someone put traffic cones in the Health Department’s lanes — or has the department itself become one giant orange cone?
To frack or not to frack is an important issue facing the governor of New York, yet one he didn’t even mention in last week’s State of the State Address. The delay of such an important decision is unconscionable.
Dr. Shah, may we please see your e-mails on this subject? Perhaps they might tell us whether your report is being held hostage, and if so, by whom. This is clearly a legitimate point of inquiry for the appropriate legislative committee.
Do I hear subpoena, anyone?
John Sullivan is a former mayor of Oswego, former state Democratic co-chair (1995-98) and former state assistant attorney general, 2003-2008.