Albany Watch

The Assembly’s minority leader has asked the state to impose a “buffer zone” around the Finger Lakes in central New York that would prevent natural-gas drilling and hydrofracking within 4,000 feet of shore.

Assemblyman Brian Kolb, R-Canandaigua, Ontario County, made the request in his formal comments to the state Department of Environmental Conservation on its ongoing review of high-volume hydrofracking in New York. A comment period is currently underway on the agency’s 1,500-page environmental impact statement, and a set of four public hearings kick off in mid-November.

“As a matter of principle, we must be cognizant of the need to safeguard the Finger Lakes from any contamination, be it source or non-source in origin,” Kolb wrote to the DEC. “As a matter of public policy, the establishment of a minimum 4,000-foot “buffer zone” around ten Finger Lakes – Otisco; Owasco; Cayuga; Seneca; Keuka; Canandaigua; Honeoye; Candice; Hemlock and Conesus – must be a top priority.”

The Skaneateles Lake is part of the Syracuse watershed, which already has a 4,000-foot buffer zone proposed by the DEC.

Here’s video of Kolb discussing his proposal after he appeared on Talk 1300 AM in Albany today. A copy of Kolb’s comments to the DEC is included after the jump.

Public Comment From NYS Assembly Minority Leader Brian Kolb on RdSGEIS, Oct 24, 2011