Environmental and anti-fracking groups on Wednesday launched a new campaign targeting New York Governor Andrew Cuomo as his administration nears a final decision on whether to permit fracking in the state.
At its website, the Not One Well coalition declares: "We are holding Governor Andrew Cuomo to his promise to listen to the science and to protect the public health and safety of all New Yorkers, which compels a minimum three- to five-year moratorium on fracking in New York State."
The effort is meant to highlight the groups' continued opposition to any sort of pilot program for high-volume fracking, an idea floated by the Cuomo administration in 2012.
"Our rallying cry then is the same as it is now: Not one well," said Julia Walsh, campaign director of anti-fracking group Frack Action, at a press conference at the Capitol in Albany.
The coalition comprises local activist groups like New Yorkers Against Fracking and Riverkeeper as well as national organizations including Food and Water Watch and the Sierra Club. The campaign will consist of billboards on Albany highways and radio advertisements across the state, the groups say. Supporters are being encouraged to call Cuomo to voice their concerns and post about the issue on social media. Riverkeeper is holding a telebriefing on Tuesday, December 9 to share information on what citizens can do to spread the message.
And organizers are planning what Walsh described as "the largest State of the State anti-fracking rally ever" before Cuomo's annual speech on Wednesday, January 7.
By then, the state Department of Health is expected to have released its long-awaited health impact review of the Department of Environmental Conservation's regulatory blueprint for fracking. According to the Times Union, Cuomo said the review will be completed by the end of December. It is expected to be released to the public at the same time the governor gets it.
