Critics of hydraulic fracturing were quick to pounce on last week’s well blowout in Pennsylvania as proof that the controversial method of extracting natural gas is an environmental threat.
That includes state Attorney General Eric Schneiderman, who just days earlier rashly overreached and vowed to sue the federal government unless it commits within 30 days to conducting a full review of regulations that would allow natural-gas drilling in the Delaware River Basin.
At issue is fracking — the controversial process in which a high-pressure mix of water, chemicals and sand is used to extract natural gas from rock formations.
And, Schneiderman notwithstanding, a federal review of fracking is under way — and is just one of several.
Which is fine. Nobody is advocating reckless action.
But it remains that a good way to kill fracking is to study it to death — which appears to be Schneiderman’s real goal.
He and the usual Greenie suspects are looking for a permanent ban on fracking, which has long been allowed in every state — except New York.
In addition to Schneiderman’s obvious stalling, the state Department of Environmental Conservation is conducting its own fracking assessment.
Even assuming that the study is a good-faith effort — and that’s not at all clear — it won’t be completed for months.
Then a long comment period kicks in — so there will be no fracking in New York for the foreseeable future.
As for last week’s incident, there is little evidence that any nearby waterways have been contaminated by the blowout — which was quickly brought under control. And drilling has stopped while the accident’s cause is determined.
But let’s be frank: No energy-development process is guaranteed risk-free — and carbon-based energy sources are the lifeblood of civilization.
That particularly impacts efforts to drill in upstate’s Marcellus Shale, believed to be rich in natural gas — and a prime source to not only help relieve New York’ energy woes, but to give a shot in the arm to the economically forlorn Southern Tier.
Indeed, as Gov. Cuomo noted during last fall’s campaign, fracking could provide “a badly needed boost to the economy” in the form of 5,000 new jobs.
Schneiderman, however, isn’t content with the current ban. He also wants to impose enough “study” delays to ensure that any hunt for new energy sources is put off indefinitely.
The AG’s activism is no surprise, of course. It’s what he said he would bring to the job — along with “an annex” in the AG’s office for Al Sharpton.
New York is not so rich in new energy sources that it can afford to let the Marcellus Shale remain untapped — and that requires hydraulic fracturing.