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New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said he will make the long-delayed decision on whether to lift a moratorium on high-volume hydraulic fracturing (HVHF) before the next gubernatorial election in 2014.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has extended the deadline from April 30 until Nov. 15 for the public to submit data and scientific literature as part of the agency’s study of the potential impacts of hydraulic fracturing (fracking) on drinking water sources.

Portions of the Susquehanna River Valley aquifer in an area of New York that overlies the Marcellus and Utica shales are among the most favorable for potential large-scale groundwater supply, according to a U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) study.

As the state of New York missed Wednesday’s deadline to create regulations for high-volume hydraulic fracturing (HVHF), supporters and opponents of the practice took aim at Gov. Andrew Cuomo, anti-fracking lawmakers sought a one-year moratorium, and a landowners group said it would sue the state over the delay.

The re-emerging Mississippian Lime may be cheaper to drill than in some deeper formations, but an abundance of produced water has created a flood of innovative solutions by some operators.

The Independent Petroleum Association of America (IPAA) has requested a public forum with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) on the agency’s plans regarding the Endangered Species Act (ESA) because members are concerned that new listings could harm domestic oil and natural gas exploration and production. In a letter to FWS Director Daniel Ashe, IPAA CEO Barry Russell said members understand that the agency is obligated to meet certain deadlines under a court-approved settlement with the Center for Biological Diversity and Wild Earth Guardians. However, there has been “little transparency afforded to the public on which species are coming up for review,” Russell said. “The pure depth and breadth of these settlement agreements could harm our membership and create uncertainty in the development of domestic oil and natural gas.” By 2016 FWS is required to complete a review of 250 candidate species for final listing on the ESA and is required to complete other actions on listings and critical habitat petitions of more than 1,000 species.

Tennessee Gas Pipeline Co. got the go-ahead from FERC Thursday to start up facilities that will enable it to provide interim firm transportation service to three shippers on its Northeast Supply Diversification (NSD) Project beginning Oct. 1, one month ahead of the in-service date for the entire project.

An energy official in New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s administration said natural gas is being viewed as a potential “bridge fuel” to the future, when technological advances will presumably open the door for renewables.

Legislators and regulators in New York are hinting that should high-volume hydraulic fracturing (fracking) be permitted in the Empire State, localities that are the most receptive to the practice may be the first — and, possibly, the only — areas to allow it.