The state Legislature’s joint budget hearings keep rolling along Monday—and this one is expected to draw a crowd.

State Environmental Conservation Commissioner Joseph Martens is scheduled to testify in front of a panel of lawmakers beginning at 9:30 a.m., with a large contingent of opponents to hydraulic fracturing expected to be on hand. Later, the protesters will head to the state Capitol and hold a rally.

Martens’ appearance is supposed to focus on the state budget, which does not include and regulatory funding or revenues from high-volume hydrofracking—a technique that has been on hold in New York since the Department of Environmental Conservation launched a review in 2008. But Martens is expected to be questioned on the topic by lawmakers, just as he was last year and Health Commissioner Nirav Shah was last week ^[1].

Martens’ appearance Monday comes at a critical time for his agency. The DEC faces a Nov. 27 deadline to finalize a set of proposed regulations for fracking. But in order to meet that deadline, its lengthy environmental review may have to be released by Feb. 13 ^[2].

You can watch the environmental conservation budget hearing below, beginning at 9:30 a.m.: