ALBANY (AP) -- Town officials and landowners eager for shale gas drilling to begin in southern New York are pressing Gov. Andrew Cuomo to approve an environmental review that's been four years in the making.
More than 40 towns have passed resolutions in favor of drilling and hydraulic fracturing, or "fracking." Many more have enacted bans or moratoriums on shale gas development.
Supervisors of 22 towns that passed positive resolutions sent a letter to Cuomo on Thursday imploring him to lift the moratorium on shale gas extraction.
Cuomo has given no definite deadline for the Department of Environmental Conservation's review to be finalized. The administration has met with industry leaders and environmental groups in recent weeks to discuss issues such as monitoring health impacts.
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