WNYC’s Ilya Marritz reports that Governor Paterson signed the bill on Wednesday permitting the horizontal drilling but also stipulating that further environmental impact studies be made. Here’s an excerpt from the press release from the Governor’s office.

Governor David A. Paterson today signed a bill that extends the State’s uniform well spacing system to include additional wells and drilling activity, including horizontal well drilling. The Environmental Conservation Law previously established “spacing units” and “set back” requirements only for some types of drilling activity. A spacing unit is the land area from which a well is expected to recover oil or gas; a setback is the distance that a well must be from the boundaries of the spacing unit. The bill also adds requirements about how wells may be located within spacing units.

The new requirements will lead to greater administrative efficiency, result in more effective recovery of oil and natural gas, and reduce unnecessary land disturbance.
Importantly, the bill does not relax environmental safeguards.
“This new law will ensure greater efficiency in the processing of requests to permit oil and gas wells, while maintaining environmental and public health safeguards,” said Governor Paterson.

“Natural gas exploration has the potential to increase domestic supplies of natural gas, create jobs, expand the tax base and benefit the upstate economy. My administration is committed to working with the public and local governments to ensure that if the drilling goes forward, it takes place in the most environmentally responsible way possible.”