ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) _ A group of five farm families is seeking a state permit for a natural gas well using gelled propane instead of water for fracking, thus skirting the state's ban on high-volume hydraulic fracturing.
The Snyder Farm Group announced Wednesday that they're seeking to develop a 53-acre natural gas well tapping the 9,500-foot-deep Utica Shale formation in Tioga County, near the Pennsylvania border.
The state Department of Environmental Conservation's recent prohibition applies to fracking operations using more than 300,000 gallons of water.
Snyder Farm Group spokesman Kevin Frisbie says the group's application was filed Tuesday for a well in the town of Barton.
A DEC spokesman didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.
