Crowd lining up in Binghamton for next hearing on natural gas drilling

PHOTOGRAPHER: The Associated Press

People have begun lining up outside the downtown Binghamton theater where the second in a series of state hearings on proposed regulations for natural gas drilling is being held.

Scores of supporters and opponents of fracking in the Marcellus Shale region of southern New York have gathered outside The Forum, where the hearing is scheduled to begin at 1 p.m. today. An evening session is scheduled to start at 6 p.m.

The first hearing, held Wednesday, drew hundreds of people to Dansville, in Livingston County south of Rochester.

Fracking, short for hydraulic fracturing, involves injecting millions of gallons of chemical-laced water into a gas well to free gas from dense shale a mile underground.

Opponents say it poses environmental hazards, while supporters say fracking will bring thousands of jobs to upstate New York.