It was inevitable, really: After running a colossal three-part series about hydraulic fracturing, the New York Times expressed its opinion about the practice of gas drilling in an editorial published yesterday. In sum, the Gray Lady wants more studies, lots more regulation, and a total ban on drilling in the New York City watershed:
At the urging of Congress, the Environmental Protection Agency has begun an investigation of hydraulic fracturing’s effect on the environment. An earlier E.P.A. study in 2004 was superficial and skewed toward industry ... This time the study must involve rigorous field testing. It must also be thorough and transparent. There is a message here for New York State as well ... The state’s Department of Environmental Conservation is nearing the end of a revised environmental impact statement that is due on June 1. Given all the new information, this is a ridiculously short time frame. The department — which hasn’t even finished processing comments from a 2009 study — needs to get it right. We would hope that it prohibits drilling altogether in two watersheds that supply millions of people with unfiltered drinking water, while imposing the strictest possible drilling standards elsewhere.
