(Bloomberg) -- New York state has officially banned hydraulicfracturing.

The state, following through on a decision Democratic GovernorAndrew Cuomo made in December, released its formal study of thedrilling practice Monday after almost seven years of study. Thereport, which drew the same conclusions as a shorter versionreleased Dec. 17, said studies on fracking’s effects on water, airand soil are inconsistent, incomplete and raise too many redflags.

“After years of exhaustive research and examination of thescience and facts, prohibiting high-volume hydraulic fracturing isthe only reasonable alternative,” Joe Martens, commissioner of theEnvironmental Conservation Department, said in a statement.

Parts of New York sit atop the gas-rich Marcellus shaleformation, and Cuomo had been trying to balance the prospects forthe economic development seen in Ohio and Pennsylvania againstenvironmentalists’ warnings that fracking might taint water andmake farmland unusable.

The balancing act ended in December with Cuomo’s decision tofollow the advice of the health department and ban the practice.The move was hailed by environmentalists and derided in theeconomically depressed Southern Tier region.

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