A new lobbying group has formed in Albany, N.Y., to argue on behalf of hydraulic fracturing for natural gas at the state level, in what may signal the start of open support from labor unions for the controversial drilling practice.

Clean Growth Now has 16 member organizations, including several unions, and was cobbled together with the idea that it would strike a middle ground between industry interests and environmental groups on fracturing, or fracking. Its formation comes as New Yorkers across the state continue to debate whether to allow and then regulate thousands of new wells.

The coalition is stacked with veteran Albany political professionals from groups like the Associated General Contractors of New York State, the Joint Landowners Coalition of New York Inc., the International Union of Operating Engineers, the New York State Economic Development Council and the Northeast Council of Carpenters.

Mike Elmendorf, executive director of Associated General Contractors and a leader of the new group, said nobody should be surprised that labor unions have an eye on the jobs that would be created by a sudden jolt to the state's drilling industries, even if the coalition cannot claim major unions like New York State AFL-CIO on its roster.

"There's certainly folks from organized labor who are part of the coalition," Elmendorf said. "Our friends in labor want more jobs."

But Elmendorf stressed the coalition will push for smarter development along the lines of the position advocated by Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D), who has tried to straddle local opposition and the need to boost the upstate economy. Cuomo has attempted to lay out a plan through the state Department of Environmental Conservation that would wall off major watersheds and block development close to primary aquifers.

The department is in the process of developing new regulations with public hearings occurring this month before the public comment period on fracking closes Dec. 12. After that, many expect the state to pass the rules and issue permits as early as next year.

At stake are vast deposits of natural gas in the sprawling Marcellus Shale, which reaches into much of the Appalachian Basin. Similar debates have occurred and are ongoing in neighboring states, and the federal Delaware River Basin Commission is poised to move next week (E&ENews PM, Nov. 8).

Environmentalists in Albany have reacted aggressively to the creation of Clean Growth Now, describing it as a coalition of insiders that has falsely paraded itself as a grass-roots movement.

Robert Moore, executive director at Environmental Advocates of New York, said key members of the group "are some of the more politically connected people in Albany," noting that Elmendorf once worked for former New York Gov. George Pataki (R).

"They're a closely allied group of organizations that seek common causes," Moore said, adding that he has "no reason to believe" the group is being financed by gas and oil companies.

"My point is they're not really a grass-roots movement," he said. "These are career Albany insiders."

Eyes on Delaware River Basin Commission

As for the labor angle, Moore deferred, saying he is not sure whether the big unions are poised to enter the fight. Calls to the New York chapter of AFL-CIO and other influential unions were not returned.

Moore's position on the underlying issue is that the state is moving too quickly to issue permits and still has to complete reviews under the National Environmental Policy Act before proceeding. New York's Democratic attorney general, Eric Schneiderman, has advanced the same position and sued the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers earlier this year for allegedly not completing its environmental review under NEPA.

That lawsuit has since been backed by a number of environmental groups, but it also looks like Schneiderman is poised to do more. The attorney general recently served subpoenas on five of the largest fracking companies in New York seeking information on their research and other knowledge about the practice, which Moore says could complicate the process at the state level.

"There are just a lot of unanswered questions about how this industry operates," he said. "The gas industry itself has been its own worst enemy. They have refused to acknowledge problems it causes with drinking water."

These developments comes as the Delaware River Basin Commission looks to approve water quality rules for fracking throughout its jurisdiction next week at its headquarters in Trenton, N.J. But even that vote appears to be in doubt after N.Y. DEC Commissioner Joe Martens last week said that New York will vote "no" in Trenton next week, leading to pressure on other key figures, including New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R), to follow suit and oppose the commission's draft plan.

Moore says New York has to look at the "cumulative impact" of drilling that he claims could see as many as 60,000 new wells constructed in the state. He and others have pointed to Pennsylvania, where some claim fracking operators have violated their safety permits.

"I don't think a lot of communities really understand what this industry might look like," Moore said.

Elmendorf counters that Moore and others in the environmental community are spreading "political hyberbole" to stem development. He insists drilling can proceed safely as long as the rules are strict enough.

"Look, I don't represent the gas industry, I represent my members," he said. "This is really a critical time for this process."

Rosy job estimates?

But another group says that if organized labor thinks shale gas drilling can deliver lots of jobs, they may be disappointed. Food & Water Watch released a study today that said rosy estimates of drilling delivering thousands of new jobs are exaggerated.

"Contrary to their claims, shale gas development is not a cure-all for our economic ills," said Emily Wurth, water program director for Food & Water Watch.

The group's researchers studied job growth in Pennsylvania counties along the New York border and compared it with New York counties on the other side of the line. They compared it to an analysis that had found drilling would create more than 62,000 jobs by 2018.

Their research shows that the economic forecasting model supports a claim of 6,656 jobs in New York by that date.

They said the more optimistic studies also ignored the negative economic effects of drilling, such as losses to agriculture and tourism, and counted jobs that would go to out-of-state residents. So the true total would be even less than that 6,000 figure, they said.

Click here to view Clean Growth Now's membership.

Reporter Mike Soraghan contributed. Sullivan is based in New York.