WICZ

The drama of the natural gas saga in the Southern Tier can often seem like something out of a movie, and tonight someone out of a movie added another scene to the screenplay.

"All I'm saying is if we're going to do this, let's do it safely, because once the cat's out of the bag, there's no getting it back in," said actor Mark Ruffalo.

You might not expect the favorite in the polls to be the next governor of New York to be greeted by many protesters.

But that was the scene in Ithaca Thursday as Andrew Cuomo stopped through town on the campaign trail.

Hundreds of protesters gathered outside the building where Cuomo was scheduled to speak.

They insist that the draft general environmental impact statement, or DGEIS, would not fully protect the Southern Tier if and when hydro fracking is allowed in New York.

"Reject that draft, get rid of it, eat it, send it back to the drawing board," said Walter Hang.

"It's woefully inadequate," said Ellen Harrison of Caroline, NY.

Mayor Matt Ryan has joined thousands of legislators who say the DEC's draft on the environmental impacts of natural gas drilling in the area is not good enough.

The mayor says the draft doesn't take into consideration the potential for the Susquehanna River to become polluted.

As a result, the mayor wants the governor to withdraw the DEC's draft.

He says the DEC isn't prepared to handle the possible side effects of water pollution because of the state's budget crisis.