The legality of town bans on gas drilling in New York State is being tested in court -- and so far, the bans are holding up. Today, a state judge upheld a gas drilling ban in the Otsego County town of Middlefield, which was challenged by a local dairy farming company.
...an acting State Supreme Court justice, Donald F. Cerio Jr., found that New York law did not prohibit municipalities from enacting legislation pertaining to land use. He said that while the state had regulatory powers over “the method and manner of drilling and the like” so that the gas industry operated under uniform standards statewide, local governments could decide whether they wanted drilling at all. Read more
Yesterday, advocates of town "home rule" won a key legal battle in the ongoing statewide debate about hydraulic fracturing. A Tompkins County state Supreme Court judge ruled that a gas drilling ban passed by the town of Dryden could stand.
Campbell writes that Rumsey based his decision on older case law involving mining:
Judge Phillip Rumsey found that a clause in the state’s oil and gas law that gives regulatory power to the state does not prohibit municipalities from banning gas drilling or using its zoning laws to prohibit it. He cited case law that allowed a town to issue zoning regulations for the mining industry, and said the “supercedure clauses” in the state laws governing the mining and gas industries serve the same purpose. Read more
Above: A map of areas that the New York City Department of Environmental Protection is seeking to place off-limits to gas drilling, in upcoming regulations by the state Department of Environmental Conservation.
Last week's member email from the Delaware County Chamber of Commerce included a link to a fiery op-ed from Jim Thomson, who chairs the county's Industrial Development Agency. Read more
And brother from brother: Reporter Neela Banerjee illustrates just how potent the issue is with a lede about Pete and Jack Diehl, two dairy-farming brothers in their 60s who own land together in Callicoon. Read more
The meeting went on nearly four hours, and, according to attendees, drew over 100 people from the town of Sidney as well as the surrounding region to testify either for or against the wisdom of enacting the ban. No decision on the legislation has yet been made by the town board. Read more
Gas drilling has been a contentious issue throughout the region. But it has been particularly fierce in Sidney, where an October 2011 meeting in which the town board voted to allow a gas pipeline to be built erupted in chaos. The pipeline will supply gas to a manufacturing plant operated by Amphenol, the county's largest employer, and its supporters claimed that building it was critical to keep Amphenol from relocating elsewhere. Read more
Big FracasProductions is staging a live concert on Friday, March 2nd. This inaugural benefit event is taking place from 7:00 PM to 10:30 PM at The Oneonta Theatre, 47 Chestnut Street, Oneonta, NY. Big Fracas is a group of concerned citizens brought together to present a series of events aimed at raising awareness of gas drilling. Funds generated will be used to support local groups working to protect our communities from the dangers of gas drilling. Musicians from area towns threatened by gas drilling, along with many volunteers, are donating their time and talent. Doors open at 7:00 PM for a gathering where representatives from regional organizations and gas drilling information will be available. The performances will start at 8:00 PM featuring Diane Ducey and Measured Mile, The Mountebank Brothers,Little Slice and The Good Things, and Hagalicious With Sage. Read more
Reporter Mireya Navarro points to an accumulating pile of evidence that New York State's government is a good deal less enamored of hydraulic fracturing than it was a year or two ago. There is no money for gas-drilling regulation in Gov. Andrew Cuomo's 2013 budget. Department of Environmental Conservation officials are bogged down under tens of thousands of critical public comments on their draft regulations. A new state advisory commission on gas drilling has cancelled several meetings, and is currently on hiatus.
Above: Fox being handcuffed during a House of Representatives hearing in Washington, DC, on February 1, 2012. Video posted by Earthjustice.
The Huffington Post and Politico have the news that anti-gas-drilling activist and filmmaker Josh Fox was arrested on Capitol Hill on Wednesday. Fox is an influential voice in the debate over the controversial practice of hydraulic fracturing, which is poised to become legal in New York. Read more
The public comment period for the draft Supplemental Generic Environmental Impact Statement (SGEIS) about hydraulic fracturing in New York State closed yesterday with more comments than any other state environmental issue ever.
New York State Department of Environmental Conservation Commissioner Joe Martens issued a statement yesterday about the high volume of comments about high volume hydro-fracking that hinted that the public's input will be reflected in the final version of the document:
There has been an unprecedented response to this issue with tens of thousands of comments submitted. All comments are being carefully considered as we develop the final rules and conditions for high-volume hydraulic fracturing ... We expect additional improvements will be made to the 2011 draft based on the comments submitted during this comment period.
