A Binghamton Assemblywoman who is on the Cuomo Administration's hydrofracking advisory panel is asking for a do-over of an ongoing heath review, saying the secretive process has compromised public confidence.
Assemblywoman Donna Lupardo, a Binghamton Democrat, has written a letter to Cuomo's environmental commissioner asking that a health review by the governor's health commissioner, Dr. Nirav Shah, be put on hold. The year-long study has been conducted mostly in secret.
Her letter, posted on her Facebook page, says in part “In order for the public to have confidence in New York state’s “health impact analysis” of shale fracking, a comprehensive public health impact study should be undertaken openly and transparently to resolve all shale fracking concerns once and for all.”
Walter Hang, with the anti-fracking group Toxics Targeting, says the letter is significant.
“When someone so low-key and behind the scenes as Assemblywoman Lupardo takes such dramatic action, I really think that sends an unmistakable message to Governor Cuomo,” Hang said. “This has gone past the point of no return.”
Lupardo is the Assembly’s representative on the Cuomo Administration’s fracking advisory board. It has not met in over a year-and-a-half.
Letter to Commissioner Joe Martens October 7, 2013 by Donna Lupardo
