Concerns over public health, air and water contamination has led Governor Andrew M. Cuomo’s administration to ban hydraulic fracturing in New York State. A long awaited health study has finally come to light and the acting state health commissioner found fracking to be a significant public health risk.
The decision may also have been aided by the dozens of communities that have enacted local ordinances to ban the practice. Moneyed interest fought the bans and moratoriums, but in a historic decision the state’s highest court, the New York State Court of Appeals, ruled towns could have local control to decide what they wanted in their communities and use zoning ordinances to ban unwanted practices like hydraulic fracturing.
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/18/nyregion/cuomo-to-ban-fracking-in-new-york-state-citing-health-risks.html?ref=nyregion&_r=1
Health Dept. Report on Fracking in New York State:
http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2014/12/18/nyregion/new-york-state-fracking-report.html