After literally years of study, New York State and Gov. Cuomo have made a decision: There will be no fracking for natural gas in New York State.

If you haven’t been following so far, fracking, or hydraulic fracturing, is a process whereby large amounts of chemically-laced water are forced through relatively fragile shale rock formations, breaking them and forcing trapped gas to flow into wells. There is an immense shale formation called the Marcellus Shale, part of which lies under New York State’s Southern Tier (the area near Binghamton).

The development of a natural gas industry was initially seen as a boon to a part of the state that has long suffered from declining opportunities and a stagnant or worse economy, but downstate environmentalist have long been concerned about the effects of fracking on water tables and possible health problems that could arise from chemical contamination. Activists passionately applied themselves to raising awareness of the dangers of fracking, winning a statewide moratorium from Gov. Cuomo in 2012. And if you approve of the governor’s decision, you can let him know here.