New York Governor Andrew Cuomo has made some of his most extensive comments on the controversial topic of hydrofracking to date. But the governor says he’s still studying the matter and won’t make a decision before Election Day.
For the past two years, ever since the governor asked his health department to conduct a health review, Cuomo has had little to say about the review or even what was being studied. He would only say that the work was continuing.
Cuomo now says it’s a challenge for his administration to hurry a decision, because there is new and often conflicting evidence emerging every day.
“You can get academics in reports saying it’s totally safe, and the next week you get a report that says it’s the most dangerous thing since a nuclear explosion,” Cuomo said. “It’s become a very highly politicized, highly emotional, highly opinionated topic.”
Cuomo says his health experts “don’t bring any bias” to their work, and he’ll follow whatever advice they ultimately give him, but he says the review won’t be concluded before Election Day.
