About 100 people are listening to impassioned arguments about natural gas drilling at a hearing in Binghamton, the epicenter of expected development in New York of the Marcellus Shale formation.
Local officials and residents are making three-minute statements about hydraulic fracturing. Some are calling on the Department of Environmental Conservation to lift its three-year moratorium. Others are urging more study of health impacts.
Hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, involves injecting millions of gallons of chemical-laced water into a gas well to free gas from dense shale a mile underground.
Opponents say it poses environmental hazards, while supporters say fracking will bring thousands of jobs to upstate New York.
The first hearing, held Wednesday, drew hundreds of people to Dansville, in Livingston County south of Rochester.