ALBANY (AP) -- The State Department of Environmental Conservation has posted online its proposed regulations for hydraulic fracturing of natural gas wells in the lucrative Marcellus Shale region of southern New York.
The document, more than 700 pages long, outlines proposed rules for permitting gas-drilling companies to pump water, chemicals and sand into deep wells at high pressure to release natural gas from shale. New York hasn't allowed "hydrofracking" in the Marcellus Shale since it began drafting new permitting rules three years ago.
The proposed rules, while now available for public reading, will not be released officially for public comment until August, when an analysis of economic and community impacts is scheduled to be finished.
The report is available at http://1.usa.gov/frackrules.
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