API: New York DEC recommendation to lift moratorium on hydraulic fracturing falls short

WASHINGTON, July 1, 2011—API’s President and CEO Jack Gerard criticized the recommendation by the Department of Environmental Conservation to New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo to allow hydraulic fracturing in the state as an inadequate step toward making New York State a leader in the responsible production of natural gas.

"Ending the moratorium on hydraulic fracturing is hardly great news in the development of one of the world’s largest resources of clean burning natural gas if it still leaves much of the Marcellus Shale region off-limits to responsible development.

"Although the Department of Environmental Conservation acknowledges that natural gas can be developed safely and responsibly, a more effective balance is necessary to be sure it is not just paying lip service on an issue that could create thousands of American jobs and billions of dollars in government revenue."

API represents more than 470 oil and natural gas companies, leaders of a technology-driven industry that supplies most of America’s energy, supports more than 9.2 million U.S. jobs and 7.7 percent of the U.S. economy, delivers $86 million in revenue to our government every day, and, since 2000, has invested nearly $2 trillion in U.S. capital projects to advance all forms of energy, including alternatives.