Brian Nearing

ALBANY — The state needs to do more to combat outbreaks of harmful aquatic algae that can pose a threat to drinking water supplies, according to an Ithaca-based environmental advocate.

State insists that it aggressively pursues clean-up, sanctions

ALBANY

Stymied from cutting trees along the path of the proposed Constitution natural gas pipeline, its owners Thursday pushed back the start of the line's expected operation at least six months, from the end of 2016 to the second half of 2017.

Opponents of hydrofracking said Monday that Gov. Andrew Cuomo has put the regulatory cart before the horse, with the state Department of Environmental Conservation offering rules to control hydrofracking while a newly launched review of its health impacts remains incomplete.

Opponents at the Capitol called for a public hearing on the potential health risks associated with fracking, 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.
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Walter Hang, an environmental consultant with Toxics Targeting, located in Ithaca, said there are "hundreds" of cases of drinking water contamination and improper disposal of drilling wastes in New York for oil and gas drilling that is already allowed.

He said hundreds of abandoned oil and gas wells could be a pathway for methane and natural gas from new hydrofracked wells to escape into the environment and present a health risk.

ALBANY — Opponents of natural gas hydraulic fracturing, or hydrofracking, said Thursday that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has fired a shot across the bow of the state Department of Environmental Conservation.

He claims agency files fail to include water contamination cases in western counties.

ALBANY -- State environmental and health officials are looking into at least 24 sites in the Capital Region, where toxic vapors may be rising from underground pollutants previously considered contained. "Vapor intrusion" may be exposing people -- outdoors and indoors -- to carcinogens.