NEW YORK, NY July 23, 2008 —New York State plans to begin processing drilling permits for natural gas wells in the Catskills and the Southern Tier of New York in a few months. But as WNYC and ProPublica reported, there are gaps in the plan to regulate this expected boom in drilling on land that includes New York City's watershed. Now, a highly placed state official has conceded some of those problems, and promised new measures to ensure any new drilling is done safely. WNYC's Ilya Marritz joins us now to update the story.

Natural Gas Drilling: Is New York Ready?