ALBANY (AP) -- An agency spokeswoman says the state Department of Environmental Conservation will file for a 90-day extension when the deadline for finalizing new gas-drilling regulations arrives on Thursday.
DEC spokeswoman Emily DeSantis says Tuesday that the agency will file for an extension to allow time for Health Commissioner Nirav Shah and three national experts to review health effects of shale gas drilling and hydraulic fracturing.
The state has had a moratorium on shale gas development since DEC started an environmental impact study in 2008. Under state law, proposed new regulations stemming from that study expire on Thursday, 365 days after the last public hearing.
The law allows regulators to seek a 90-day extension on the regulations, which will include a 30-day comment period.
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