On June 29, 2015, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation issued its Findings Statement which officially prohibits high-volume hydraulic fracturing to develop natural gas resources in the Marcellus Shale. The issuance of the Findi(…)
On May 13, 2015, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) released its Final Supplemental Generic Environmental Impact Statement (SGEIS) on the Oil, Gas and Solution Mining Regulatory Program, signaling the completion of it(…)
FuelFix.com reports that the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania recently ruled that the Constitution Pipeline can be built across seven northeastern Pennsylvania properties despite the fact that the respective landowners had n(…)
This week the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation adopted regulations establishing a permitting program for the siting, construction and operation of liquefied natural gas (LNG) facilities in New York State. The New York Legislatu(…)
U.S. Representative Tom Reed (R-NY) recently introduced into Congress the Defense of Property Rights Act (H.R. 510), which would allow landowners affected by New York’s hydraulic fracturing ban to sue the government over agency action that “unreasonab(…)
On December 17, 2014, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo’s administration said it would ban hydraulic fracturing for shale gas development throughout the state. Dr. Howard Zucker, the Acting Commissioner of Health, announced that the state Department of(…)
StateImpact, a reporting collaboration supported by NPR, that the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission has approved a proposed interstate pipeline that would transport Marcellus Shale natural gas from Pennsylvania to New York and New England markets. (…)
On October 16, 2014, the New York Court of Appeals denied a request by the bankruptcy trustee for Norse Energy to re-hear arguments in the landmark case affirming local zoning laws adopted by two upstate towns that prohibited oil and gas-related activ(…)
On September 22, 2014, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo signed into law the “Community Risk and Resiliency Act”, which amends several provisions of the Environmental Conservation Law (ECL) to incorporate consideration of potential climate change impacts(…)
Citing a recently decided case in Colorado, the bankruptcy trustee for Norse Energy filed a motion in early August urging the New York Court of Appeals to re-hear arguments in the case. In June, the Court of Appeals issued an opinion which affirmed l(…)
On July 11, 2014, a New York state trial court dismissed two similar cases in which the plaintiffs sought to compel the State to finalize a Supplemental Generic Environmental Impact Statement (“SGEIS”) pursuant to the State Environmental Quality Revie(…)
Today the New York Court of Appeals issued an opinion affirming local zoning laws adopted by two upstate towns that prohibited oil and gas-related activities within their borders. Specifically, the Court ruled that there was nothing within the plain(…)
New York Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver announced that the Assembly passed a bill on June 16, 2014, that would impose a moratorium on hydraulic fracturing for a period of three years. The legislation, which passed by a vote of 96 to 37, calls for th(…)
Yesterday the New York Court of Appeals heard oral arguments in two cases challenging the authority of a municipality to ban certain oil and gas activities within its jurisdiction. The Court is reviewing two lower court decisions from May 2013 which(…)
The New York Attorney General’s office has filed motions to dismiss two lawsuits that seek to force Governor Cuomo to end a delay in deciding the future of shale drilling within the State. The two lawsuits, filed separately by a group of landowners a(…)
The New York State Energy Planning Board released its Draft 2014 State Energy Plan on January 7, 2014. Although one of the draft plan’s key initiatives includes expanding access to natural gas as an alternative to petroleum products for heating and p(…)
New York State Department of Health Commissioner Nirav Shah announced earlier this week that his public health review of hydraulic fracturing will continue in private until it is complete. Despite facing harsh criticism for a lack of transparency in(…)
Environmental groups and industry organizations are at an impasse over regulations proposed by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) that would lift the state’s 40-year ban on the construction and operation of liquefied nat(…)
On November 12, 2013, the Joint Landowners Coalition of New York announced that it has finalized a complaint which the group intends to file in New York state court over the delay in deciding the future of shale drilling in the State. The complaint,(…)
The New York Court of Appeals on September 30, 2013 set a schedule for the parties to file briefs in two cases that will likely have a substantial impact on the future of hydraulic fracturing in the state. In August of this year, the Court of Appeals(…)
An environmental advocacy group reportedly filed a lawsuit against the New York Department of Health on September 13, 2013, seeking to force the release of documents related to the agency’s public health review of hydraulic fracturing. The Seneca Lak(…)
Chesapeake Energy Corp. and lease partner StatoilHydro have reportedly agreed to end a two-year legal battle to extend 200 natural gas drilling leases covering approximately 13,000 acres in southern New York, near the Pennsylvania border. In a settle(…)
On September 6, 2013, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation’s Deputy Commissioner for Administration told a legislative committee there is no timeframe for a decision on whether to lift a state moratorium on hydraulic fracturing.(…)
On August 29, 2013, the New York Court of Appeals announced that it has granted appeals to review two cases which upheld local natural gas drilling bans in the upstate towns of Dryden and Middlefield. The lower court decisions, both of which were iss(…)
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo reportedly stated in a radio interview on August 19, 2013 that although the economic benefits of shale gas drilling are “obvious,” the question of whether such benefits outweigh potential environmental and public health(…)
During a recent radio interview, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said that additional initiatives beyond hydrofracking, including reducing taxes and increasing tourism and manufacturing, will be required to improve the economy of Upstate New York. “If(…)
New York’s moratorium on hydraulic fracturing has entered its sixth year. On July 23, 2008, former Governor David Paterson directed the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) to conduct an environmental review of high-volume hy(…)
On July 1, 2013 the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) released its annual oil and natural gas production data for 2012. While oil production in New York increased by 1%, the 2012 reported total gas production of 26.424 bil(…)
Democrats in the Monroe County Legislature are seeking to permanently ban fracking on county-owned land. If they succeed, Monroe County would join 13 other counties in New York that have enacted similar fracking bans on county land. However, the Dem(…)
On June 13, 2013, Constitution Pipeline Company, LLC filed an application with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to construct a 122-mile interstate transmission line from Susquehanna County, Pennsylvania, to Schoharie County, New York. The lin(…)
Lawyers for parties challenging local gas drilling bans enacted in two upstate towns filed briefs on May 31, 2013 asking the New York Court of Appeals to review recent intermediate appellate court decisions. Permission to review the decisions is requ(…)
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo recently stated that he would make a decision on whether to lift the state moratorium on hydraulic fracturing before the 2014 election. Cuomo said that the results of a review of potential health effects from hydraulic(…)
On May 20, 2013, the Town of Canandaigua, New York, adopted a local law to extend by nine months a moratorium on all natural gas exploration and extraction activities within the town. The new local law extends the initial 18-month moratorium passed b(…)
According to recent press reports, Millennium Pipeline Company, L.L.C., plans to submit an application to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to build a new 60-mile natural gas pipeline in New York to transport gas from the Marcellus Shale. The(…)
An energy company’s proposal to expand its use caverns left behind from a century of salt mining in New York’s Finger Lakes Region for the storage of natural gas has drawn the ire of several community members that oppose the plans. The company would(…)
In two decisions issued on May 2, 2013, a New York State intermediate appellate court held that the New York Oil, Gas, and Solution Mining Law (“OGSML”) does not preempt a municipality’s authority to enact a zoning ordinance to prohibit natural gas dr(…)
New York State officials said on May 1, 2013 that there is “no timetable on a decision” to lift the state moratorium on hydraulic fracturing. The Commissioner of the New York Department of Health said that new information obtained during a recent mee(…)
Environmental groups recently announced that they are dropping a First Amendment lawsuit filed against the Town of Sanford, New York, because earlier this month the town repealed a September 2012 resolution that banned the public discussion of natural(…)
On April 10, 2013, the Oneida County Board of Legislature reportedly approved a resolution that prohibits the extraction of shale gas on property owned by the county. Oneida County is located in central New York to the east of Syracuse. The resoluti(…)
The Independent Oil & Gas Association of New York reportedly filed a formal complaint with New York’s Joint Commission on Public Ethics on March 26, 2013, requesting an investigation into whether the group known as “Artists Against Fracking” is vi(…)
On March 15, 2013, the Town of Avon reportedly became the third upstate New York municipality to prevail in a court challenge of a local zoning ordinance banning gas drilling. The trial court rejected the argument that New York’s Oil, Gas and Solutio(…)
A mid-level New York State appellate court recently heard oral arguments in reviewing two trial court decisions which upheld municipal zoning laws that ban oil and gas drilling within the upstate towns of Dryden and Middlefield. The appeals focus on(…)
On March 8, 2013, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) issued an order authorizing Dominion Transmission, Inc.’s requests to build two new pipeline projects in New York and Pennsylvania. The two projects are the Tioga Area Expansion Projec(…)
The State Journal reported earlier this week that New York Health Commissioner Nirav Shah plans to make a recommendation to Governor Andrew Cuomo “in weeks” on whether the state should approve hydraulic fracturing, despite reports that the Pennsylvani(…)
The New York State Assembly recently passed legislation to extend the moratorium on high-volume hydraulic fracturing until May 2015, but the measure faces an uncertain future in the state Senate. Supporters of the moratorium, which has been in place(…)
This week the Joint Landowners Coalition of New York, Inc. (JLCNY) announced that they are seeking landowner plaintiffs for a lawsuit against New York State. JLCNY announced in early February its plan to sue the state. According to JLCNY, the lawsui(…)
The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) missed a Wednesday, February 27th deadline to issue a final version of its proposed regulations for high-volume hydraulic fracturing, or fracking. DEC Commissioner Joe Martens reported(…)
On February 12, 2013, two environmental groups reportedly filed a lawsuit in federal district court against the Town of Sanford, New York, alleging that the town board unconstitutionally restricted free speech rights by passing a resolution that precl(…)
The fate of New York’s fracking moratorium remains uncertain. According to the Huffington Post, if the rules proposed by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) are not finalized by February 27, 2013, the proposal will expir(…)
New York State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli has announced that Cabot Oil and Gas Corporation has agreed to disclose its policies and procedures for reducing and eliminating toxic substances associated with its hydraulic fracturing fluids. DiNapoli com(…)
Bloomberg News is reporting that New York Supreme Court Judge Eileen A. Rakower has denied a petition to block Spectra Energy Corporation’s New Jersey-New York Expansion Project. According to Bloomberg, Judge Rakower ruled that federal law precludes(…)
The 30-day public comment period for the New York Department of Environmental Conservation’s (DEC’s) proposed regulations regarding hydraulic fracturing activities ended on Friday, January 11, 2013. The DEC rejected earlier calls to extend the commen(…)
John Holko, president of Lenape Resources, recently filed suit against the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation and the town of Avon, NY (Livingston County), seeking $50 million in damages for lost business since the town enacted a(…)
On January 3, 2013, Minard Run Oil Company (Minard Run), which is based in Bradford, Pennsylvania, announced that it has acquired more than 400 natural gas wells, 56,130 acres of oil and gas leasehold rights, and approximately 195 miles of field produ(…)