Gov. Cuomo, drilling protesters at state fair this morning
Published: Thursday, August 23, 2012, 11:31 AM Updated: Thursday, August 23, 2012, 12:53 PM
View full sizeAnti-fracking protestors outside the NYS Fairgrounds entrance waiting for the arrival of Governor Cuomo who is touring the fair.
Syracuse -- Dozens of hydrofracking protesters greeted Gov. Andrew Cuomo at the New York State Fair today in a late effort to convince him to ban the deep, horizontal drilling method within the state.
Cuomo, a Democrat in his second year, has not said whether he will approve the controversial drilling method. Supporters say hydrofracking will bring jobs while extracting natural gas; opponents fear contamination of groundwater and agricultural lands.
Cuomo’s Department of Environmental Conservation is expected to issue its final decision on the matter in coming days. The DEC has been sharing some of its finding with gas industry representatives, a move that some take as a sign Cuomo is leaning toward approving the drilling method.
School librarian Erin Heaton, 42, of New Berlin, was among the crowd of protesters outside the Horticulture Building at the fair.
Heaton, whose hometown is where the Chobani yogurt manufacturing plant is located, said she is worried that fracking could cause environmental problems that would prompt the state's growing greek yogurt industry to leave.
