The public comment period for the draft Supplemental Generic Environmental Impact Statement (SGEIS) about hydraulic fracturing in New York State closed yesterday with more comments than any other state environmental issue ever.
New York State Department of Environmental Conservation Commissioner Joe Martens issued a statement yesterday about the high volume of comments about high volume hydro-fracking that hinted that the public's input will be reflected in the final version of the document:
There has been an unprecedented response to this issue with tens of thousands of comments submitted. All comments are being carefully considered as we develop the final rules and conditions for high-volume hydraulic fracturing ... We expect additional improvements will be made to the 2011 draft based on the comments submitted during this comment period.
