Fracking Protesters Demand Health Review Hearing in Albany

Opponents of hydrofracking at the state capitol in Albany on Monday were calling for a public hearing on the potential health risks associated with fracking. It is something that currently would not be required under the DEC Roadmap, which will oversee the ultimate decision on whether the natural gas drilling technique should be allowed.

The DEC offered its potential rules last week, but those rules were made without the benefit of the review of fracking's potential impacts on human health being done by three experts hired by the state health department.

The three experts hired last month are working under a contract that, in one case, limits the panelist to be paid for no more than 25 hours of work to review what the DEC has prepared on fracking's health impacts.

It's part of the DEC's Supplemental Generic Environmental Impact statement, which could guide the course of fracking in the Marcellus shale if the state decides to proceed. The DEC will accept public comments on its rules from Dec. 12-Jan. 11.