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Fracking Iowa Ad Takes Aim at Cuomo

Andrew Cuomo State of the State
Andrew Cuomo State of the State

Environmentalists are going after New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo—in Iowa.

Hydraulic fracking opponents published an ad in The Des Moines Register Tuesday urging the governor to take a lead role in climate issues and shoot down the controversial gas drilling technique in New York.

The ad warns the governor that his decision will be scrutinized for years to come.

“Governor Cuomo, America is looking to you,” it declares. “Stand up for people over pollution. Don’t allow a single fracked shale gas well in New York. This is your chance to be a national leader on climate. Your choice will be remembered forever.”

The state Department of Environmental Conservation is expected to issue regulations regarding fracking at the end of the February. There is currently a moratorium on fracking in New York State. The DEC has held several hearings on the issue and has received thousands of comments on the Draft Supplemental Generic Environmental Impact Statement (SGEIS), which was issued in 2009.

The ad, which was paid for by nonprofit environmental advocacy group Food & Water Watch, Greenpeace and Center for Biological Diversity, is a preemptive strike by environmentalists who expect the New York governor to run for president in 2016.

Cuomo addressed the ad, saying, “I’m not going to read it because I’m not going to be in Des Moines,” according to the New York Daily News. The governor also said he doesn’t intend to visit Iowa in the near future.