According to a recent article on Inhabitat, the Attorney General of New York, Eric Schneiderman, is suing the federal government for failure to comply with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA).
The lawsuit, filed in Brooklyn, states that the Delaware River Basin Commission, with full approval by federal agencies, proposed regulations on fracking without conducting a full review on the possible effects on the environment.
Fracking, the common term for high-volume hydraulic fracturing, uses enormous quantities of water mixed with chemicals and sand to break through the layer of shale and access natural gas deposits, and as other incidents in the past have shown, can endanger the local drinking water supply. (There are a couple of great documentaries on this subject, like 2009’s Split Estate and 2010’s Gasland.) The drinking water supply at stake in this lawsuit could affect up to 15 million people in the New York and Philadelphia areas.
Head over to Inhabitat (linked above) to read more about this important case, and visit the Denver Post to read about the impact of fracking here in Colorado.
photo via Split Estate
