Southern Tier voters are torn on the issue of hydraulic fracturing, according to a poll released today by the Siena (College) Research Institute (SRI) that also shows statewide support for the natural-gas drilling technique grinding into a deadlock.
In the Southern Tier — home to much of New York’s Marcellus Shale rock formation where hydraulic fracturing would take place — 47 percent of voters wanted the state to approve the drilling. But 48 percent were against the technique, which is also known as hydrofracking or fracking.
Pulling back the lens revealed statewide voters who are becoming increasingly split on the issue. SRI found an equal portion of New York respondents supporting hydrofracking and opposing it: 40 percent. That reading moved into a tie after 40 percent of the state’s voters supported hydrofracking and 44 percent opposed it in a survey last month.
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“Voters in the Southern Tier, while having more informed views, do not have significantly different views than voters from the rest of the state when it comes to fracking,” SRI pollster Steven Greenberg said in a news release. “This is clearly going to be a divisive issue for the foreseeable future.”
Hydrofracking opponents expressed stronger feelings than supporters in the SRI poll. Statewide, 88 percent of the procedure’s opponents said they will be upset if it is approved, and 54 percent said they will be very upset. Just 59 percent of supporters said they will be upset if hydrofracking is banned, with 20 percent indicating they will be very upset.
About half of voters, 49 percent, indicated they had concerns about hydrofracking contaminating drinking water, while 46 percent expressed worries about unsafe gases and chemicals finding their way to the surface. However, 61 percent thought hydrofracking would generate jobs, and 55 percent agreed it would lead to economic benefits for the Southern Tier.
The survey had a margin of error of plus or minus 5.3 points for Southern Tier data and plus or minus 3.7 points for statewide readings. SRI conducted it between Jan. 27 and Jan. 31 by making random telephone calls to 1,154 registered voters in New York.
Contact Seltzer at rseltzer@cnybj.com
