RALLY IN WEST CAPITOL PARK PLANNED FOR JANUARY 25TH  

WHO: On January 25th, hundreds of concerned New Yorkers will join representatives from environmental and conservation groups including Citizens Campaign for the Environment, Environmental Advocates of New York, Sierra Club – Atlantic Chapter and Catskills Mountainkeeper, among others, at a rally in West Capitol Park on the west side of the New York State Capitol to call attention to what is arguably the most pressing threat to the health of the state’s environment—particularly our drinking water—the rush to drill for natural gas in the Southern Tier and Catskills regions.   

WHAT: The natural gas industry is eager to drill in New York. Drilling companies propose to use a dangerous technique, called hydraulic fracturing or “fracking,” to extract natural gas buried beneath the rock of the Marcellus and Utica Shale formations. In other parts of the country, fracking has poisoned wells and spilled toxic chemicals across landscapes. 

The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) is currently reviewing comments submitted on its draft natural gas drilling guidelines. The DEC’s draft Supplemental Generic Environmental Impact Statement has been called inadequate by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, New York City Council, New York Department of Environmental Protection, and members of Congress including Representatives Hinchey, Arcuri, Massa and Nadler, among others.

WHEN: Monday, January 25, 2010   

Rally scheduled to begin at 10:30 a.m.; program at 10:45 a.m.

WHERE: West Capitol Park on the west wide of the New York State Capitol Building 

WHY: This is the first time in 2010 that New Yorkers will come to Albany to call on Governor David Paterson and other state leaders to protect New York’s environment from the dangers of natural gas drilling. 

HOW: New Yorkers can sign up for the rally at http://www.citizenscampaign.org/fracking-action-day/register.asp