Former NY environmental head joins watchdog group

NEW YORK (Reuters) - The man once charged with drafting New York state's guidelines to allow a controversial method of natural gas drilling has joined the staff of a watchdog group that calls for greater regulation of the practice, the group said on Monday.

Pete Grannis, who was dismissed in October as head of New York's Department of Environmental Conservation after raising concerns about agency job cuts, has joined Environmental Advocates of New York as special counsel.

The announcement came two days after New York Governor David Paterson, Grannis's former boss, ordered a seven-month moratorium on the controversial natural gas drilling practice known as "fracking."

While neighboring Pennsylvania is experiencing a natural gas drilling boom with widespread fracking in the multi-state Marcellus Shale formation, New York has been more cautious, saying the economic benefits must be weighed against environmental concerns.

Grannis was appointed commissioner of New York's Department of Environmental Conservation in 2007. Last year, the agency released a draft environmental impact statement on fracking in the Marcellus Shale, and is reviewing feedback from the industry, environmentalists and other concerned groups.

In October, a memo, written by Grannis and warning that the elimination of 209 positions would result in fewer staff members to review drilling applications and oversee activity in the Marcellus Shale, was leaked to the press, leading to Grannis' dismissal.

(Reporting by Edith Honan; Editing by Leslie Adler)