On June 30, the New York Times ran an article that riled the anti-fracking community and prompted a hasty press statement from New York State’s Department of Environmental Conservation.

In “Cuomo Will Seek to Lift Ban on Hydraulic Fracturing“, the New York Times cited “environmental regulators” as saying the Cuomo administration is seeking to lift an effective moratorium in New York State on hydraulic fracturing.

According to the DEC statement, “High-volume fracturing would be prohibited in the New York City and Syracuse watersheds”, leaving “approximately 85 percent of the Marcellus Shale would be accessible to natural gas extraction under these recommendations”. Few if any in the environmental community accept exceptionalism for the NY City and Syracuse watersheds. If it is bad for NYC it is bad for other cities and for private wells.