A new ad campaign calling for the commencement of natural gas extraction using fracking has been launched ahead of a legislative deadline for filing new draft regulations.*
The advertisements are funded by a group that includes the Business Council of New York state, several Southern Tier farm bureaus, the Independent Oil and Gas Association and the Joint Landowners Coalition of New York.
The campaign's central image (shown above) is intended to highlight what the fracking advocates describe as:
...the striking contrast between upstate New York, in desperate need of an economic revival, and neighboring Pennsylvania, where the proven benefits of safe, responsible shale gas development have turned around the local economy...
The ad says that the campaign is intended to 'bring closure' to the nearly four-year fracking regulations review process being conducted by the state's Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC), and a quote from Independent Oil and Gas Association executive director, Brad Gill, refers to the 'outstanding safety record' of the natural gas industry in the state.
The one-minute radio advertisement features the voices of two women who are both represented as 'mothers', one from the New York and one from Pennsylvania. One makes the claim that studies have shown that 'natural gas is helping make our air cleaner'.
The ad refers to 'safe, responsible, shale gas development', but does not use the word fracking or hydraulic fracturing.
In previous statements, the industry has said that there is already enough existing scientific evidence to support the introduction of High-Volume (Slick Water) Hydraulic Fracturing to New York under strict guidelines, while opponents claim that additional studies of the potential risks need to be completed.
* Speaking at a visit to Rochester on Tuesday, Governor Cuomo responded to a question about the deadline from Innovation Trail reporter Kate O'Connell saying that the DEC 'will have to' apply for a 90-day extension to file the draft regulations and that they would be unable to meet the deadline of November 29th. The DEC has not confirmed it will miss the deadline, or that it will apply for the extension.
