Bad Timing

As the threat of hydrofracking bears down on the city's watershed, Gov. David Paterson has ordered the state's Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) to lay off 209 employees by the end of 2010.

State Senator Neil Breslin and Assembly Majority Leader Ron Canestrari have joined environmental groups in calling on the Governor to reconsider.

Additional cuts to the already-overwhelmed DEC, headed by Alexander (Pete) Grannis, will dramatically hinder its ability to respond to the serious environmental hazards posed by hydrofracking, not to mention maintaining its critical monitoring functions.

The layoffs, expected to be announced soon, come on top of the agency's having lost 260 employees to early retirement.

In 2007-08, the DEC, charged with protecting the quality of the state's air and water, had 3,775 staff. The target number for the end of 2010 is 2,926 staff, a decrease of 849 staff or 22%.

These are the lowest staff levels since the 1980’s, despite vastly increased risks to the state's air and water quality.

The 40-year-old DEC may even have to give money and regulatory authority back to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

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