The New York Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) has recently issued proposals for regulations that would affect hydraulic fracturing activity occurring in the portion of Marcellus shale that exists in New York. Hearings created for the discussion of these proposals have been scheduled between November 16 and November 30, The Associated Press reports.

A document containing proposed regulations for fracking procedures was posted on the internet by DEC in July, according to the media outlet. The environmental regulatory authority has released a separate preliminary environmental analysis, and is planning on receiving public comments on both of these documents until December 12.

New York state banned fracking activity in the Marcellus shale three years ago when it started creating new rules for permitting, the media outlet reports.

The Marcellus shale is a natural gas play that spans several states from Tennessee to New York. The United States Geological Survey (USGS) has provided several estimates of how much natural gas and natural gas liquid is contained in the shale. The most recent USGS estimates predict that the play contains 84 trillion cubic feet of unutilized natural gas and 3.4 billion barrels of natural gas liquids.