The preliminary draft permit rules for hydraulic fracturing operations, which would impose additional regulations on natural gas drillers operating in New York’s Marcellus Shale, were published Friday in their entirety by the state’s Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC).

More than 13,000 public comments were sent to the DEC for the first Draft Supplemental Generic Environmental Impact Statement (SGEIS), which was issued in September 2009, the commission said. In response, a preliminary revised draft SGEIS, as well as fact sheets, were prepared.

The preliminary recommendations were issued earlier this month by the DEC to mixed reaction (see Shale Daily, July 5).

Individual chapters of the document, which is more than 700 pages long, may be downloaded at www.dec.ny.gov/energy/75370.html. Details regarding the public comment period will be announced later, the DEC said. For additional information contact (518) 402-8044 or e-mail public@gw.dec.state.ny.us.