There is new hope for the long-stalled development of New York’s Marcellus and Utica Shale resources.  A story published last week by the New York Times reports on a Cuomo administration strategy to break the log-jam that has bogged down the opening of New York’s shale gas resources to hydraulic fracturing.  According to an unnamed senior official with the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC), the new strategy would limit drilling to the deepest areas of the Marcellus Shale, where the top of the formation is a minimum of 2,000 feet deep.  The proposal for limited drilling would be in place at least for the next few years, in an effort to reduce the risk of groundwater contamination.
Continue Reading A Rational Path Forward for Shale Gas Development in New York?