New York voters continue to be split on whether the state should allow hydraulic fracturing Upstate, according to a poll released this morning by the Siena (College) Research Institute (SRI).
Support for the state Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) to allow the natural gas recovery procedure in parts of upstate New York stood at 37 percent, according to the SRI poll. Opposition was essentially equal at 36 percent.
Another 25 percent of survey respondents said they did not have enough information to answer. And 2 percent said they had no opinion.
The equal amounts of support and opposition are similar to the results of a poll taken last year, according to SRI Director Donald Levy.
“Voters remain divided on hydrofracking,” Levy said in a news release. “In September of 2011, 44 percent were in favor of allowing fracking on private lands outside of areas that provide drinking water under strict regulation by the DEC, while 40 percent opposed.”
Most survey respondents had heard about the hydrofracking issue. SRI found that 66 percent of respondents said they had heard or read about the debate.
SRI conducted its poll by making random telephone calls from May 6 to May 10. The institute surveyed 766 registered voters in New York, and the poll has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.5 percentage points.
Contact Seltzer at rseltzer@cnybj.com