Almost 15 months after his administration began a study to evaluate the health risks of the hydraulic fracturing process of drilling for natural gas, Mr. Cuomo said he did not have a timeline for the report's release. In May, he anticipated that it would be done "in the next several weeks," and last month he said he expected it to be done before the 2014 general election, when he will be running for a second term.
But on Monday, sitting at the same table as the state's health commissioner, Dr. Nirav R. Shah, Mr. Cuomo said, "My timeline is whatever commissioner Shah needs to do it right and feel comfortable." The governor said he did not want "to put undue pressure on them that would artificially abbreviate what they're doing."
"I want the right decision," he added. "Not necessarily the fastest decision."
The remarks came at the conclusion of a year-end event in Albany, at which Mr. Cuomo recapped the accomplishments of 2013 in the ceremonial Red Room of the State Capitol.
Toward the end of the event, Dr. Shah was asked by a reporter about the status of the fracking report. He responded that he was still conducting his review, saying that "as the science evolves, we will reflect the science in my recommendations." He explained that he had been collecting "new data from Texas and Wyoming," two states where the procedure is legal, as recently as a month ago, but would not characterize that information.
"There are studies out there," said Dr. Shah, adding that they were part of the public record and that "we use the same studies that everyone has access to."
Pressed on whether he was being open enough about the study's methods and findings, Dr. Shah said that "science needs to be done in a sacred place where we can, with objectivity, understand both sides of the issue."
"The process needs to be transparent at the end, not during," he added.
Mr. Cuomo said he understood that fracking could bring jobs to economically depressed regions, especially the Southern Tier area along the state's border with Pennsylvania; that region is atop the Marcellus Shale, a rich deposit of trapped gas. But the governor has also faced strong opposition from environmentalists and others worried about the impact of fracking on watersheds and aquifers.
Brad Gill, the executive director of the Independent Oil and Gas Association of New York, which has lobbied to legalize the drilling technique, said the delays by the governor had resulted in many fracking companies giving up on the state.
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