CITIZEN POWER ALLIANCE

A handful of Senate Democrats from New York City are on hand today for a public hearing forum in Manhattan today, where concerns about hydrofracking and emails between the gas industry and state regulators will be aired.

It’s the latest public forum—as the minority conference, they can’t hold a formal hearing—on hydrofracking hosted by the Senate Democrats (specifically Sen. Tony Avella, D-Queens, a major fracking critic).

This time, however, its expected to focus heavily on a series of emails between a natural-gas industry lobbyists and the state Department of Environmental Conservation. Anti-fracking groups say the emails represent unethical collusion; regulators say was a legally required look at the costs of their proposed regulations.

The forum—which will feature several anti-fracking and environmental groups and no gas-industry representatives—just kicked off, and can be viewed below: