Department of Health Commissioner Nirav Shah sent a letter to DEC commissioner Joe Martens today, asking for more time to complete a review of the public health impacts of fracking.
This means that the DEC will miss tomorrow's deadline to complete its overall environmental review of fracking (known as the SGEIS), and the regulations it's written to govern the industry will expire at the end of the month.
This development could stall a final decision on fracking for months, but in a statement Martens says his agency will still be able to issue well permits if the health review concludes that the SGEIS is adequate.
