Fracking backers eye reversing New York's 12-year-old ban

ALBANY — A dozen years after New York banned hydraulic fracturing, there’s a new push to access the state’s underground natural gas and oil resources.

Republican gubernatorial candidate Bruce Blakeman, if elected, promises to allow what’s commonly referred to as fracking, tying it to the need for affordability.

A family with property in upstate Delaware County is challenging the state's ban in federal court. 

And there’s a push by the Trump administration to block the state’s efforts to build out zero-emission energy projects, dissolve environmental protections and gain public support for fracking and gas pipelines in New York.

Legal and public policy experts say New York’s fracking laws are generally legally sound, but much could change amid the current political environment and recent more conservatively aligned rulings from the U.S. Supreme Court.

"New York's approach to fracking appears defensible, but the current conservative, activist court has demonstrated a willingness to diverge from settled law and undermine the rights and expectations that buttress the public welfare," Keith H. Hirokawa, an attorney and law professor at Albany Law School told Newsday. "Anything is possible."

Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul and environmental advocates have pushed back against the idea of hydraulic fracturing in New York, saying the state must continue with electrification and building out green energy to reduce emissions and fight climate change.

"I want to make sure that we get our energy policies right, and this is the ban that's been in place for years," Hochul, a Democrat running for reelection, told reporters July 16 when asked about fracking. "You know, overturning it now when I'm on the cusp of making real breakthroughs in renewable energies sets us backwards."

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Fracking law

Fracking involves injecting a mixture of water, sand and chemicals deep into the ground at high pressures to crack rock formations and release oil and natural gas.

Former Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo prohibited high-volume fracking in New York in 2014 citing health concerns, particularly over water contamination and air pollution. The ban was codified into law in the 2020-21 state budget.

Some of the chemicals from the fracking fluid stay in the ground and there’s a lot of evidence showing their impact on groundwater, said Susan J. Kraham, managing attorney of Earthjustice's Northeast Regional Office. There’s also concern over how to properly dispose of the waste fluid, she said.

In 2024 the state closed a loophole, banning drilling and fracking that use carbon dioxide instead of water.

Fracking in court

In April the Woodward family filed a lawsuit against New York saying the prohibition and subsequent ban on alternative fracking methods forces them to leave their 164-acre lot "economically idle."

They had sold the rights to the property’s surface, but maintained what’s known as "mineral rights," meaning they own and can develop the resources below the ground’s surface.

The lawsuit claims the fracking ban violates the family’s rights under the Fifth Amendment, which prohibits the taking of private land for public use without compensation.

"They want to frack. They want to access these minerals," said Jeff Jennings, an attorney with the Pacific Legal Foundation, representing the Woodward family. "I think whenever a state law conflicts with the U.S. Constitution then it needs to be struck down."

The state appears to be within its authority, but the current federal courts may be more sympathetic toward cases such as those arguing individual property rights, Hirokawa said.

Environmental groups say it’s too late.

"This is a fight that has already been won and regardless of the particular court, the law itself and the ban itself is long-standing and will continue to hold up," said Erin Doran, senior staff attorney at Food and Water Watch, a national environmental advocate. "There is really no rhyme or reason in some of these cases ... other than to push an agenda that is pro-oil and gas."

The governor’s race

Affordability is a major talking point for both Democrats and Republicans as the cost of everything from groceries to utilities increases.

Some of the rising costs are due to the U.S. war with Iran and tariffs put in place by the Trump administration, public policy experts said.

Republicans are focusing on the need for oil and natural gas.

"The solution to New York’s affordability crisis is sitting right beneath our feet," Blakeman, the Nassau County executive, told Newsday in an emailed statement. "As governor, I will bring fracking back to New York, unleash our energy economy while protecting the environment, and cut utility bills in half." 

Whether Blakeman could actually bring fracking to the state remains to be seen, as he would likely need support from the Democratic-led State Legislature, public policy experts said.

Environmental advocates say fracking wouldn’t help with costs.

"He is trying to kind of tap into the concerns about energy affordability and falsely claim that building more pipelines and bringing more gas will make things cheaper, which isn’t true, because consumers actually bear the cost of that infrastructure," Kraham said.

A national effort

Since taking office for his second term last year, President Donald Trump has issued wide-ranging directives and policies seeking to dismantle environmental protection, dissolved administrative agencies and depleted funding for scientific research, Hirokawa said. 

Many of Trump’s orders and directives are being challenged in court, the outcome of which could impact constitutional law and potentially states’ rights, legal experts said.

The administration has also taken aim at green energy projects in New York, delaying the state’s offshore wind projects.

"They just keep trying all these things until they get their way, and you and I and the public pay the cost in terms of both the expense and health," Kraham said.

Along with fracking, the administration is pushing for more gas pipelines to run through the Empire State.

"The Trump Administration will continue to advocate for Democrat-led states to adopt commonsense policies and unleash America’s natural resources to lower energy costs in the Northeast and create new jobs," White House spokeswoman Taylor Rogers said in an emailed statement.

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin in June visited Binghamton renewing a push for the proposed 125-mile Constitution Pipeline transporting natural gas from Pennsylvania, where fracking is allowed.

If successful, the push could further open the discussion to fracking, public policy experts said.

Public opinion plays a role, Blair Horner, senior policy adviser with the New York Public Interest Research Group, told Newsday. For example, he said, Hochul, citing high energy costs along with the need for more time, in May successfully pushed for changes in the state budget to delay New York’s landmark climate law — which aims to fight climate change by lowering emissions. 

"It’s possible, sure, that somehow somewhere the Trump administration or the conservative majority in the Supreme Court could somehow activate fracking in New York," Horner said. "New York has developed a science-based position but in the world that we now live in science isn’t necessarily where public policy goes."