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A gas drilling site on the Marcellus Shale is seen in Hickory, Pennsylvania, in this February 24, 2009 file photo. New York City urged New York state on December 23, 2009 to ban natural gas drilling in its watershed, adding unprecedented support to critics who consider the chemicals used to mine for shale gas as poisonous to drinking water. New York joined environmentalists and small-town neighbors of drilling operations in trying to hinder the exploitation of one of the most promising sources of U.S. energy -- the Marcellus Shale formation.