Enviro Groups Back Gov. Hochul in Defending State’s Landmark Fracking Ban

Groups Seek to Intervene Against Ill-Conceived Legal Challenge

A.G. Letitia James Seeks Dismissal of Legal Challenge

Today, a group of New York environmental groups filed a motion to intervene in support of the Hochul administration, which is defending the state’s landmark ban on high-volume hydraulic fracturing, or “fracking,” from an ill-conceived legal challenge. The groups – Food & Water Watch, Catskill Mountainkeeper and Delaware Riverkeeper Network – were instrumental in advocating and organizing for the ban, which was finalized in 2015. The ban was later codified into statute in 2020.

A legal challenge to New York’s fracking prohibitions was filed in April, more than a decade after the initial ban on fracking was enacted. Governor Hochul has repeatedly voiced her opposition to fracking and full support for existing lawful prohibitions, which also include a moratorium on propane gel fracking and a ban on carbon dioxide fracking. State Attorney General Letitia James has sought a dismissal of the legal challenge from the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of New York.

The environmental groups are seeking to intervene in the case to reaffirm the overwhelming scientific and medical evidence that New York’s departments of Health and Environmental Conservation relied on in justifying the initial fracking ban – as well as the massive opposition to fracking demonstrated by their hundreds of thousands of members and supporters throughout the state. The groups played a critical role in the years-long campaign leading up to implementation of the initial fracking ban by organizing, advocating and educating New Yorkers about the inherent threats fracking poses to human health, air and water quality, and climate stability. 

“More than a decade ago, Food & Water Watch stood with countless New Yorkers to demand that state officials protect communities, the environment and our fragile climate from the inherent dangers posed by fracking,” said Erin Doran, senior staff attorney at Food & Water Watch. “We won, and there’s no going back. A decade later, we are proud to stand up again to defend against this misguided challenge to New York’s long-settled fracking ban.”

“New York’s refusal to permit fracking extends back for well over a decade, and from the outset was supported by serious environmental and public health concerns that remain completely well-founded,” said Catskill Mountainkeeper’s Executive Director Ramsay Adams. “Our state ban was and remains necessary to protect individual and community health. Catskill Mountainkeeper, our allies and all New Yorkers should continue to celebrate New York’s ban on all forms of fracking, along with its support for a rapid and just transition to cleaner, more affordable, and more sustainable sources of energy.”

“Fracking devastates water, air, habitats, and the people who depend on these resources. We will not stand idly by when communities, who are currently protected by a ban we all worked so hard to achieve, are threatened by this toxic industry,” said Tracy Carluccio, Deputy Director, Delaware Riverkeeper Network.

Food & Water Watch is represented by itself and the Pace Environmental Litigation Clinic. Catskill Mountainkeeper is represented by Earthjustice. Delaware Riverkeeper Network is represented by Kacy C. Manahan.