The Marcellus Effect: Another Judge Upholds Second Town Ban on Fracking
February 24, 2012
The Marcellus Effect: Another Judge Upholds Second Town Ban on Fracking.
Town Can Ban Hydrofracking, N.Y. Judge Rules – NYTimes.com
February 22, 2012
Town Can Ban Hydrofracking, N.Y. Judge Rules – NYTimes.com.
New York Judge Rules Town Can Ban Gas Hydrofracking
By MIREYA NAVARRO
Published: February 21, 2012
In a victory for opponents of the drilling process known as hydrofracking, a New York State judge ruled on Tuesday that the upstate town of Dryden in Tompkins County can ban natural gas drilling within its boundaries.
In August, Dryden’s Town Board used its zoning laws to pass a drilling ban, one salvo in a battle that is playing out nationwide as energy companies move to drill in densely populated areas. A month after the ban’s passage, Anschutz Exploration Corporation, a Colorado driller with 22,200 acres under lease in the town, filed a lawsuit arguing that the town’s authority did not extend to regulating or prohibiting gas drilling.
In a decision issued on Tuesday, Justice Phillip R. Rumsey of State Supreme Court said that state law does not preclude a municipality from using its power to regulate land use to ban oil and natural gas production. The ruling is the first in New York to affirm local powers in the controversy over drilling in the Marcellus Shale, a gas deposit under a large area of New York, Pennsylvania and Ohio.
It is a victory for hydrofracking opponents as New York State regulators revise an environmental impact document and propose drilling regulations to decide whether to allow the drilling and under what conditions. Dozens of other municipalities in New York have also adopted drilling bans and limits.
“The communities targeted for drilling need the power to determine for themselves when, where and if fracking is permitted,” Katherine Nadeau, the water and natural resources program director for Environmental Advocates of New York, said in a statement. She said the ruling would energize “the dozens, if not hundreds, of cities and towns concerned with industrial gas drilling.”
The Dryden case, however, is sure to prompt further litigation. Thomas West, the Albany lawyer representing Anschutz, said the company might appeal or instead pursue a “takings” claim against the town — based on the principle that private property should not be taken without just compensation. Mr. West said the company had spent more than $5 million securing land leases from Dryden property owners and could claim the lost value of its assets, including any profits it would have derived from exploiting the mineral rights under the land.
“It could be a very large claim,” he said.
Efforts on Tuesday night to reach lawyers for the town of Dryden, with a population of about 14,000, were not immediately successful.
Enfield residents speak out on hydrofracking_11-30-11
December 1, 2011
Shaleshock Media : Enfield_11-30-11.
1-Intro: Enfield Residents Speak Out on hydrofrackingThursday, December 01, 2011 1:02 AM
Part 1 of 3 Enfield Board Seeks Input on Fracking Ban The Enfield Town Board heard residents’ opinions about enacting a ban on hydrofracking at a public meeting on Thursday, November 30, 2011 at the Enfield Elementary School. Over 200 showed up and 74 spoke. The meeting was called by the board to hear from residents on all sides regarding a ban or moratorium, and related issues such as road and aquifer protection. Only two spoke in opposition to a ban. This follows a November 17th meeting at which attorneys strongly recommended that the Town enact a ban or a moratorium before the State begins issuing drilling permits, perhaps as soon as early in 2012. According to Town attorney Guy Krogh and Community Environmental Defense Council attorney David Slottje, the Town faces both financial and environmental risks if the Board fails to act quickly. A ban would offer time to enact local laws protecting the Town’s highways, to map the aquifer that supplies water to most of the residents, to identify other critical natural areas, and to await the results of numerous scientific studies now underway to investigate health and safety concerns. Once permits are issued, the attorneys warned, the Town could not enact a ban or moratorium without exposure to gas company lawsuits seeking compensation for lost revenues, perhaps totaling millions of dollars. A coalition of Enfield citizens has presented the Town Board with a petition bearing the signatures of nearly 900 residents and landowners urging the Board to ban high volume slickwater hydraulic fracturing. Although 44% of the land in Enfield is under lease to the gas companies, 28 large landowners and leaseholders were among those who signed the petition. At the Board’s last two meetings, numerous residents spoke about potential adverse impacts on agriculture, public health, the environment, and the rural nature of the Town. Currently in New York State 76 municipalities are moving toward or have enacted bans or moratoria. Locally bans are already in place in Danby, Dryden, Ithaca, and Ulysses, and under consideration in Caroline where candidates supporting a ban won resounding victories in the November elections.Media files Shaleshock-1IntroEnfieldResidentsSpeakOutOnHydrofracking368.mp3 (MP3 Format Sound, 2.1 MB) Shaleshock-1IntroEnfieldResidentsSpeakOutOnHydrofracking438.mov (QuickTime Movie, 37.3 MB) Shaleshock-1IntroEnfieldResidentsSpeakOutOnHydrofracking756.mp4 (MP4 Video, 18.9 MB) Shaleshock-1IntroEnfieldResidentsSpeakOutOnHydrofracking882.m4v (MP4 Video, 23.7 MB)2-Speakers 1-30: Enfield Residents Speak Out on hydrofrackingThursday, December 01, 2011 1:20 AM
Part 2 of 3 Enfield Board Seeks Input on Fracking Ban. Video by Cris McConkey. The Enfield Town Board heard residents’ opinions about enacting a ban on hydrofracking at a public meeting on Thursday, November 30, 2011 at the Enfield Elementary School. Over 200 showed up and 74 spoke. The meeting was called by the board to hear from residents on all sides regarding a ban or moratorium, and related issues such as road and aquifer protection. Only two spoke in opposition to a ban. This follows a November 17th meeting at which attorneys strongly recommended that the Town enact a ban or a moratorium before the State begins issuing drilling permits, perhaps as soon as early in 2012. According to Town attorney Guy Krogh and Community Environmental Defense Council attorney David Slottje, the Town faces both financial and environmental risks if the Board fails to act quickly. A ban would offer time to enact local laws protecting the Town’s highways, to map the aquifer that supplies water to most of the residents, to identify other critical natural areas, and to await the results of numerous scientific studies now underway to investigate health and safety concerns. Once permits are issued, the attorneys warned, the Town could not enact a ban or moratorium without exposure to gas company lawsuits seeking compensation for lost revenues, perhaps totaling millions of dollars. A coalition of Enfield citizens has presented the Town Board with a petition bearing the signatures of nearly 900 residents and landowners urging the Board to ban high volume slickwater hydraulic fracturing. Although 44% of the land in Enfield is under lease to the gas companies, 28 large landowners and leaseholders were among those who signed the petition. At the Board’s last two meetings, numerous residents spoke about potential adverse impacts on agriculture, public health, the environment, and the rural nature of the Town. Currently in New York State 76 municipalities are moving toward or have enacted bans or moratoria. Locally bans are already in place in Danby, Dryden, Ithaca, and Ulysses, and under consideration in Caroline where candidates supporting a ban won resounding victories in the November elections.Media files Shaleshock-2Speakers130EnfieldResidentsSpeakOutOnHydrofracking118.mp3 (MP3 Format Sound, 42.6 MB) Shaleshock-2Speakers130EnfieldResidentsSpeakOutOnHydrofracking423.mov (QuickTime Movie, 731 MB) Shaleshock-2Speakers130EnfieldResidentsSpeakOutOnHydrofracking910.mp4 (MP4 Video, 266 MB) Shaleshock-2Speakers130EnfieldResidentsSpeakOutOnHydrofracking455.m4v (MP4 Video, 347 MB)3-Speakers 31-74: Enfield Residents Speak Out on hydrofrackingThursday, December 01, 2011 1:20 AM
Part 1 of 3 Enfield Board Seeks Input on Fracking Ban. Video by Cris McConkey. The Enfield Town Board heard residents’ opinions about enacting a ban on hydrofracking at a public meeting on Thursday, November 30, 2011 at the Enfield Elementary School. Over 200 showed up and 74 spoke. The meeting was called by the board to hear from residents on all sides regarding a ban or moratorium, and related issues such as road and aquifer protection. Only two spoke in opposition to a ban. This follows a November 17th meeting at which attorneys strongly recommended that the Town enact a ban or a moratorium before the State begins issuing drilling permits, perhaps as soon as early in 2012. According to Town attorney Guy Krogh and Community Environmental Defense Council attorney David Slottje, the Town faces both financial and environmental risks if the Board fails to act quickly. A ban would offer time to enact local laws protecting the Town’s highways, to map the aquifer that supplies water to most of the residents, to identify other critical natural areas, and to await the results of numerous scientific studies now underway to investigate health and safety concerns. Once permits are issued, the attorneys warned, the Town could not enact a ban or moratorium without exposure to gas company lawsuits seeking compensation for lost revenues, perhaps totaling millions of dollars. A coalition of Enfield citizens has presented the Town Board with a petition bearing the signatures of nearly 900 residents and landowners urging the Board to ban high volume slickwater hydraulic fracturing. Although 44% of the land in Enfield is under lease to the gas companies, 28 large landowners and leaseholders were among those who signed the petition. At the Board’s last two meetings, numerous residents spoke about potential adverse impacts on agriculture, public health, the environment, and the rural nature of the Town. Currently in New York State 76 municipalities are moving toward or have enacted bans or moratoria. Locally bans are already in place in Danby, Dryden, Ithaca, and Ulysses, and under consideration in Caroline where candidates supporting a ban won resounding victories in the November elections.Media files Shaleshock-3Speakers3174EnfieldResidentsSpeakOutOnHydrofracking731.mp3 (MP3 Format Sound, 44.4 MB) Shaleshock-3Speakers3174EnfieldResidentsSpeakOutOnHydrofracking423.mov (QuickTime Movie, 766 MB) Shaleshock-3Speakers3174EnfieldResidentsSpeakOutOnHydrofracking248.mp4 (MP4 Video, 290 MB) Shaleshock-3Speakers3174EnfieldResidentsSpeakOutOnHydrofracking238.m4v (MP4 Video, 377 MB)
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