Republican gubernatorial candidate and Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman is calling for the state’s ban on fracking to be overturned.
Fracking is a process that involves sending pressurized water deep into the earth to break up rock and extract oil and natural gas. The process has long been criticized by environmental activists who argue it poses risks to public health.
Blakeman said the Southern Tier is a hotbed for natural gas that is being untapped. He says if the state allowed fracking, it would bring utility rates down.
“Why in the world would we sit on one of the largest natural gas reserves and not enjoy that natural resource, to create prosperity, to create economic development, to lower utility bills,” said Blakeman.
Gov. Kathy Hochul defended the ban on fracking, which was first prohibited in New York back in 2014 and then permanently banned in the 2021 state budget.
“I don’t have any guarantee that the technology has gotten any better or more secure,” said Hochul. “I’ve not seen that. Which is why I’m leaning hard into our renewable energy systems and trying to find a path forward to get more capacity on the grid.”
Just this week, Environmental Protection Administrator Lee Zeldin appeared in upstate New York to also push for the ban to be overturned.
“I know how many benefits there are on the economic front, how many benefits there are on the environmental front,” Zeldin said. “Natural gas isn’t some new source we are proposing to use. It’s our primary source of energy in this state.”