Eight environmental groups are calling on Gov. David Paterson to enact a moratorium on new natural gas drilling permits until an environmental impact statement is completed, reports the New York Times.

The groups- including Catskill Mountainkeeper, Sierra Club Atlanta Chapter, Riverkeeper, Delaware Riverkeeper Network, Natural Resources Defense Council, the Catskill Center for Conservation and Development, The Wilderness Society and Catskill Citizens for Safe Energy - said in their letter that "natural gas development is progressing across the country at a scale and pace that no one ever envisioned," and continued, "Let New York State be a model of how to do this right."The Marcellus Shale formation runs through Ohio, West Virginia, Pennsylvania and much of southern and western New York.

A new law that Paterson signed last week makes it far easier for gas companies to dig wells using sophisticated horizontal drilling. The process, called hydrofracking, uses millions of gallons of chemically treated water to crack shale formations thousands of feet underground and release the gas within them. The regulations were needed to allow gas companies to proceed expeditiously with drilling in the Marcellus Shale formation, a gigantic field running through much of southern and western New York.

Although Paterson signed a law that would allow for more drilling, he also called for a study of the potential cumulative effects of multiple drilling sites on air quality, aesthetics, noise, traffic and community character. The environmental review would include hearings across the southern and western parts of the state in September and October and a subsequent analysis that would aim for the new permit statements by next spring or summer.