With procedural deadlines looming for the state to act on whether to allow natural gas hydrofracking, a key health review of the controversial drilling technique is going to take longer, state Health Department Commissioner Nirav Shah said Tuesday.

The state’s top health regulator signaled Tuesday he needs more time to complete his review of large-scale hydraulic fracturing, but the head of the Department of Environmental Conservation said a final decision on fracking may be weeks — not months — away.

Dueling pro and anti fracking filmmakers held screenings and promotions for their films, as they await a decision by Governor Cuomo on whether fracking will go forward in New York. That could come by the end of the month.

A fast-approaching deadline for the state’s review of shale-gas drilling drew a flurry of activity Monday at the state Capitol as Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s administration continues to weigh whether to allow large-scale hydraulic fracturing upstate.

The long-running debate over whether or not New York State should allow hydraulic fracturing is picking up steam these days as another deadline is looming later this month on completing new rules that would govern the practice.

It is in Oxford, and other rural communities in New York state, that the most hard-fought regional environmental battle of this generation is playing out - whether to allow the contentious form of natural gas drilling, known as hydraulic fracturing.

The Niagara Falls Water Board hired a professional lobbyist in Albany to help it explore the possibility of treating wastewater from natural gas drilling sites while the debate was playing out in the public.

The signs at the natural gas rally were direct. “Release fracking for jobs,” the hand-written placard read. Union members wanted to raise their voice in what has developed into one of the most contentious issues in New York.

Environmentalists are hailing a nine-state agreement to cut Northeast carbon emissions almost in half within seven years, as states participating in a Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative announced plans recently to reduce such pollution 45 percent by 2020.

Gov. Cuomo has a chance to protect New Yorkers by maintaining the moratorium on fracking until a full and independent health impacts assessment has been released and reviewed. But to date the governor’s track record is not promising.

When Terry Pegula appeared before the Western New York legislative delegation 15 months ago to make a pitch for hydraulic fracturing, his audience agreed few others were better versed in the controversial subject.

The state Department of Environmental Conservation may miss a critical deadline for finalizing hydraulic fracturing regulations later this month as it waits for a health review of the drilling method to be completed.

The nation's first greenhouse gas control program, which includes New York, is being changed to further cut greenhouse gas emissions from power plants while not making electrical bills shoot up.

The 30-year life expectancy on the cap over the Love Canal Superfund site expired five years ago. Let’s not let the lessons learned expire with it. New York’s health and well-being are at stake.

Might New York state finally get the green light to drill the Marcellus Shale for natural gas? Brad Gill thinks so.

No stranger to the anti-hydrofracking movement, Binghamton Mayor Matthew T. Ryan has railed against natural gas drilling at rallies, in news conferences at City Hall and on national radio programs.