ALBANY — The state could issue final hydrofracking regulations before the end of the year.

The Department of Environmental Conservation has to review roughly 43,000 public comments submitted on the draft regulations to permit the controversial natural-gas drilling plan as thousands poured in before today’s deadline.

No other issue in recent memory has elicited even 1,000 comments, said DEC spokeswoman Emily DeSantis.

Fracking opponents yesterday delivered 12,000 comments from residents concerned about the health impact of the process, while a pro-drilling group submitted 10,000 comments backing the regulations.