New York Congressional race could be referendum on fracking

A Congressional race in upstate New York could end up being the first public referendum on hydraulic fracturing and shale-gas drilling. Democratic Rep. Maurice Hinchey "has been an outspoken critic of gas drilling in the Marcellus Shale and an advocate of federal regulation of fracturing," Mike Soraghan of Environment & Energy Daily reports for The New York Times. "His opponent, Republican George Phillips, thinks state regulation is best and supports 'aggressive' development once regulators sign off." Phillips says that support is the key to his late surge in the polls.

"It's a huge factor," Phillips campaign spokesman Jazz Shaw told Soraghan. "The No. 1 issue is jobs. But this is probably the No. 2 issue." Hinchey's campaign disputes the prominence of the issue for voters but notes Phillips' support of the industry has led to crucial financial support in the final weeks before the election. "The natural gas issue is important among certain constituencies," Hinchey spokesman Mike Morosi told Soraghan. "But the natural gas industry is funding advertising against Congressman Hinchey based on his position on drilling."

The "527" group American Crossroads has injected $300,000 into the race, funding anti-Hinchey ads, Soraghan writes. "One of the major backers of the group is Texas natural gas magnate Trevor Rees-Jones, president of Chief Oil and Gas, a driller in the Marcellus Shale in neighboring Pennsylvania, where drilling is allowed." Hinchey, a senior-member of the Appropriations Committee, is a nine-term incumbent in the district that winds along the state's eastern border with Pennsylvania north to Ithaca. Hinchey has won by wide margins in the past.

Both candidates have tried to add nuance to their drilling positions. "Phillips wants to move forward 'aggressively' but only after state regulators say it is safe," Soraghan writes. "Hinchey has said he wants to 'make sure that this frack drilling does not occur in New York' but clarifies that such a moratorium could be lifted after a comprehensive study of drilling's effects on health and the environment." (Read more)