Ousted DEC boss lands job with watchdog group

Pete Grannis, the ousted former commissioner of the state Department of Environmental Conservation, has joined an Albany conservation watchdog group that has criticized cutbacks at the agency and questioned the state's ability to regulate natural gas extraction upstate.

Grannis' appointment as special counsel to Environmental Advocates of New York comes as the state plans to lay off about 140 DEC employees by the end of the year. Gov. David A. Paterson fired Grannis in October for insubordination after an agency memo was leaked to the media that said more cuts would cripple the state's ability to protect public health and the environment.

A former assemblyman who began his state career as an attorney at the DEC, Grannis will now advise Environmental Advocates on environmental policy and lobbying the state legislature, according to a statement the group released Monday.

"He not only brings a seasoned perspective on the issues, but in-depth and invaluable knowledge about how state government works and how it should work," said executive director Robert Moore.

The announcement followed upheaval this weekend over high volume hydraulic fracturing, or "fracking," a method of extracting natural gas deposits. Some advocates and residents say chemicals used during fracking could endanger upstate drinking water and the reservoirs supplying New York City.

On Saturday Paterson vetoed a bill that would have imposed a moratorium on all new oil and gas drilling permits through May 2011. In its place, he signed an executive order that put a temporary hold on fracking that involves horizontal drilling while the DEC reviews the practice in the Marcellus Shale gas deposits, which cover much of upstate.

Paterson's move elicited mixed responses from lawmakers, advocates and industry groups. The Independent Oil and Gas Association of New York praised the veto, saying the bill was "flawed" and would have cost jobs.

Assemb. Bob Sweeney (D-Lindenhurst), who sponsored the legislation, said in a statement that Paterson's actions seem "to imply that he is more concerned with the profits of oil and gas companies than the safety of our drinking water and the health of our environment."