Who is protecting NYC’s water supply? Not the agency in charge of the task, apparently.

The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) says it “does not… find a significant environmental impact” connected with a controversial natural gas drilling practice, noting that it has been in use for 50 years in New York State. The practice, hydraulic fracturing, involves pumping fluids including diesel fuel into the ground in order to force open natural gas reservoirs for drilling.

Despite the state agency’s “finding,” it turns out the state hasn’t done any looking for evidence. The Environmental Working Group, an activist group based in Washington, DC, asked the state agency to disclose its test results. But, according to an EWG report, the state admitted having done no testing and having no test results on the environmental safety of hydraulic fracturing.

The question is coming to the fore now because several natural gas companies are significantly interested in using the technique in the Marcellus shale formation in upstate New York, which is close to the reservoirs that hold New York City’s water supply.

In 2004, the US Environmental Protection Agency reported that diesel fuel, used as a fracturing fluid, results in toxic compounds being left underground, “likely to be transported by groundwater supplies.”

In the wake of EWG’s report, New York City Councilman James F. Gennaro demanded the state acknowledge its lack of testing in the matter and perform tests to see whether the proposed chemicals would be dangerous to the NYC water supply.