Ilya Marritz
Ilya Marritz covers business for WNYC.
City and State Still Divided on Upstate Drilling
Thursday, October 29, 2009
New York, NY –
A natural gas company's decision not to drill upstate near New York City's water supply, puts the future of drilling in that area in doubt. But, as WNYC's Ilya Marritz reports, the state and city are still at odds over whether proposed drilling regulations do enough, to keep drinking water safe.
REPORTER: Chesapeake Energy is the only company with a known interest in drilling in the watershed. But the company said Wednesday it just wasn't worth it to wade into the controversy over whether drill rigs can really coexist with drinking water reservoirs.
A state spokesman says the decision to withdraw proves that Albany's plan to introduce new drilling rules has teeth.
But the city sees things differently. A spokesman for the city's Department of Environmental Protection says one company's voluntary moratorium is "no substitute" for making a thorough study of all the things that could go wrong if drilling is allowed near reservoirs. The city is calling for a comprehensive disaster plan for the watershed. For WNYC I'm Ilya Marritz.
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