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LIVINGSTON COUNTY, N.Y. -- The State Department of Environmental Conservation kicked off three days of public hearings Wednesday as they look for feedback about proposed guidelines for hydraulic fracturing in New York.

Speakers from all over the state packed Dansville Middle School in Livingston County to give their perspective. Each speaker had three minutes to comment and was heard on a first come first serve bases. The draft regulations will create a legal framework for implementing the proposed guidelines.

Proponents say the state can't afford to pass on hydrofracking while those opposed it is as much about the environmental and financial impact as it is about clean safe drinking water and life itself.

“We strongly support a one year moratorium on the use of hydraulic fracturing in the state. The moratorium is important to ensure fracturing unless it is done in a manner that is safe for the environment and will not jeopardize the health of our citizens of New York State,” said hydrofracking opponent Sandra Frankel.

"We're hurting for jobs. We need this type of activity to create jobs and get people to work. We need revenue. The counties and the towns are fighting to keep taxes down and we need jobs to create the revenue and the environment. What we need and to make the Empire State the Empire State again,” said hydrofracking proponent Robert Nichols.

Day two of hearings will take place in Binghamton at the Forum Theatre on Thursday. If you can't make it out there, be sure to tune into YNN around 1 and 6 p.m. We'll carry a portion of the hearings live. The entire meeting will be streamed live on the web at YNN.com.