(AP) — In this May 9, 2012 photo, Otsego County dairy farmer Jennifer Huntington, a member of the Joint Landowners Coalition of New York, speaks during a news conference in Albany, N.Y.
While other states are reaping the wealth of the Marcellus Shale, New York has had a moratorium on drilling for four years while it overhauls regulations amid intense lobbying for a ban. In the middle of the debate over whether the gas unlocked by fracking is worth the risks of drinking water contamination and adverse health effects are the landowners who must decide whether to sell their mineral rights. Many are dairy farmers and many struggle under heavy debt. (AP Photo/Mike Groll)
