Cox in Open Letter to Cuomo: Stop Playing Politics with Jobs

ALBANY, NY… NYGOP Chair Ed Cox today released the following open letter to Governor Andrew Cuomo:

Dear Governor Cuomo,

Yesterday, you stated that you intend to make a decision on New York’s moratorium on hydraulic fracturing before Election Day.

This is a decision you should have made on Day One of your administration. It’s a decision you should make today. Further delay is intolerable.

When I made this point in a recent speech to the Independent Oil and Gas Association, you responded with a barrage of ad hominem attacks through your political surrogates, many of which mention my affiliation with Noble Energy.

Noble Energy was one of the first independent oil and gas producers to establish an Environmental Health and Safety Committee, which I have chaired for many years.

In 2011, Noble Energy received the Colorado Oil & Gas Conservation Commission’s Outstanding Operator Award for environmental protection. In both 2008 and 2009, we received the federal government’s prestigious Mineral Management Service SAFE Award for our operations in the Gulf of Mexico.

I have also served as a Director and Chairman of the New York League of Conservation Voters Education Fund for many years.

After your 2006 election as Attorney General, you appointed me to lead your Environmental Transition Team.

I was honored to receive that appointment and pleased that you accepted all of our recommendations. Today, I am just as disappointed with the manner in which you have responded to my speech.

This isn’t about cheap political hits. This is about jobs for a struggling region of New York State. And you do a disservice to your constituents by playing politics with jobs.

Of the over thirty states with the potential to develop shale gas, just one maintains a moratorium on hydraulic fracturing: New York.

Governor Ed Rendell of Pennsylvania, a Democrat, had the wisdom to promptly implement a robust regulatory framework for hydraulic fracturing. As a result, Pennsylvania has a dynamic and growing industry generating annual revenues of $15 billion and creating nearly a quarter of a million new jobs.

Many in the environmental community, including the Environmental Defense Fund, have publicly stated that natural gas can be safely developed to the benefit of both our economy and our environment, producing less CO2 emissions and other pollutants than coal and oil.

That’s why leader of your party, President Barack Obama, supports the development of America’s natural gas resources.

Simply put, you cannot say that New York is “open for business” while closing New York to this business.

Edward F. Cox
Chairman
New York Republican State Committee

  cox, cuomo, ny