New York regulators toughen rules on natural gas drilling amid concerns over extraction method

NY toughens rules on gas drilling in watersheds

ALBANY, N.Y. — New York environmental regulators are toughening natural gas drilling regulations in key watersheds amid concerns about extraction techniques that only recently have enabled the gas to be tapped profitably.

The new rules will apply to the New York City and Syracuse watersheds above the Marcellus Shale, a gas rich rock formation beneath parts of New York, Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Ohio. Those watersheds were singled out because city water supplies are drawn from surface sources that have federal exemption from filtration requirements.

New York plans to require developers who want to drill there to file costly and complicated environmental impact statements for each well.

New York’s new rules come as regulators throughout the region grapple with potential problems that could be caused by hydraulic fracturing, which blasts water, sand and chemicals into the shale to release gas.