NEW YORK, NY November 05, 2009 —Albany is granting the city more time to comment on a controversial plan to allow gas drilling near its upstate drinking water reservoirs. WNYC's Ilya Marritz has more.

REOPRTER: City officials asked for the comment period to be extended to mid-January, instead, the state is offering them the end of December.

A city spokesman says that's just enough time for scientists hired by the city to complete their study of the potential catastrophic effects of a spill near reservoirs.

Last month, Chesapeake Energy announced it would not attempt to drill within the New York City watershed. But Albany regulators still believe other companies could drill there safely, if they apply certain safeguards.

That question is sure to be hotly debated November 10th, when the Department of Environmental Conservation holds a public forum on gas drilling, in Manhattan. For WNYC, I'm Ilya Marritz.