ITHACA, N.Y. (WHCU) – Assemblymember Anna Kelles and State Senator Lea Webb have introduced a bill to ban CO2 drilling in the state.

Kelles and Webb brought the legislation forth last Friday in response to a Texas-based company’s efforts to lease land in the Southern Tier to extract natural gas from the Marcellus shale with carbon dioxide.

Kelles says the practice is a dangerous one with many potential issues, including issues with the pipeline itself.

The possibility for corrosion increases the potential for pipe bursts, like the one in Satartia, Mississippi. State Senator Lea Webb wants the public to know what this could mean for the Southern Tier, as the gas company has reportedly already solicited more than 6,000 residents in Broome County about leasing their land.

The practice is essentially a workaround of the language in New York’s hydrofracking ban by using a gas to force methane out of the ground as opposed to water. A coalition of scientists, elected officials, and activists joined Kelles and Webb to introduce the new bill, which they’re hoping to pass as soon as possible.

A familiar face in the state’s original push to ban hydrofracking joined them – actor, activist, and four-time Oscar Nominee Mark Ruffalo. Ruffalo says the company is only a few months old, and they’re refusing to identify who they’re funded by.

Kelles says they want to get this bill passed before working on something with all-encompassing language to ban fracking of any kind.

You can view the full bill presentation here.