When Congress first tasked the Environmental Protection Agency in 2009 with studying the impacts of hydraulic fracturing on drinking water resources, pundits on both sides of the debate collectively held their breath: at last, they thought, there would be an independent, comprehensive, scientific study of the oil and gas extraction technique. Seven years in the … Continue Reading
In a detailed, 180-page report released Aug. 11, the EPA’s Science Advisory Board (SAB) faulted the clarity and conclusions of the agency’s landmark study on the environmental impacts of hydraulic fracturing, the high-pressure injection of water, sand and chemicals to break open shale and other “tight” geologic formations to release gas and other hydrocarbons. In … Continue Reading
The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) undertook its final official step in imposing a total ban on gas drilling using the method of high-volume hydraulic fracturing (HVHF) through its issuance this week of its “Findings Statement” pursuant to New York’s State Environmental Quality Review Act (“SEQRA”). This week’s action was a fait … Continue Reading
States and industry organizations are seeking to invalidate a recent hydraulic fracturing rule promulgated by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management (the Rule).1 The Rule will go into effect on June 24, 2015, and litigation has been filed by states and industry organizations to halt implementation of the Rule. Industry organizations brought suit to request … Continue Reading
On May 29, 2015, Gov. May Fallin of Oklahoma signed a bill that specifically prohibits cities or towns from banning oil and gas operations such as drilling, fracking, water disposal, recovery operations or pipeline infrastructure. A similar ban was signed into law ten days prior by Texas Gov. Greg Abbott. Fallin and supporters of the … Continue Reading
On May 19, 2015, Gov. Greg Abbott signed into law a compromise bill addressing how state and local governments will share regulatory powers over urban drilling in Texas. The new legislation is the result of a statewide controversy created by the fracking ban enacted by the City of Denton last fall that put local and … Continue Reading
DEC issued its Final SGEIS today which is available for review on its website. There was no mystery as to the outcome because the decision that the State would not authorize the technique in New York State was announced by the Commissioners of Health and Environmental Conservation at a December 17, 2014 cabinet meeting of … Continue Reading
In early March, Pennsylvania Governor Wolf submitted his proposed budget. The Department of Environmental Protection issued a new iteration of proposed revisions to the Pennsylvania Oil and Gas Regulations that has since appeared in the April 4 Pennsylvania Bulletin, 45 Pa. Bull. 1615. Acting DEP Secretary John Quigley reportedly stated the Administration’s support for the Delaware River … Continue Reading
In the last six weeks we’ve provided analysis of the fracking bans in New York and Denton, Texas. Further on the anti- fracking front, the Miami-Dade County Commission passed a resolution last week urging the Florida Legislature to adopt Senate Bill 166 (filed by Sen. Soto and Sen. Bullard) or similar legislation that would prohibit … Continue Reading
Bans on hydraulic fracturing (fracking) have arisen in a variety of places over recent months. Voters in Mendocino County and San Benito County, California, and Athens, Ohio, separately approved bans on fracking in the November elections. The New York State Governor and his Commissioners of Health and Environmental Conservation decided to ban fracking in New … Continue Reading
We have a new opinion today under the Environmental Rights Amendment to the Pennsylvania Constitution. Pennsylvania Environmental Defense Foundation v. Commonwealth, No. 228 M.D. 2012 (Pa. Commw. Ct. Jan. 7, 2015). Maybe the state constitution mandates some sort of environmental impact study before the commonwealth acts. Maybe it means nothing more than that one must comply … Continue Reading
The wait is over in New York on fracking. At a cabinet meeting today Governor Cuomo and his Commissioners of Health and Environmental Conservation announced that the long-awaited Final Supplemental Generic Environmental Impact Statement will be released and establish that HVHF cannot move forward in New York. The decision document will be contained in what … Continue Reading
After years of speculation, the New York State Governor announced at a cabinet meeting, with his health and environmental commissioner by his side, that New York would not authorize permitting for high-volume fracturing in New York because of unanswered scientific questions on the safety and health effects of the procedure. Cuomo’s environmental commissioner, Joe Martens, … Continue Reading
In February 2012, Pennsylvania adopted comprehensive revisions to its Oil and Gas Act known as “Act 13.” Among the changes was an expanded preemption of local regulation of oil and gas activities. Prior law prohibited municipalities from regulating “how” oil and gas development would proceed, but permitted zoning control over “where” development could occur. Act … Continue Reading
A trial court in Albany, New York has landed another blow against high-volume hydraulic fracturing (“HVHF”) in New York by tossing two lawsuits (decisions available here and here) brought by property owners and a bankrupt operator challenging New York’s failure to complete its environmental review of high-volume hydraulic fracturing in a timely manner. This comes a little … Continue Reading
This post follows up on today’s earlier post on the New York Court of Appeals’ decision in Wallach v. Dryden and Cooperstown Holstein Corp. v. Middlefield. In a 5-2 vote, New York’s highest court – the Court of Appeals – upheld the power of local governments to ban, through adoption of local laws, high-volume hydraulic fracturing. The … Continue Reading
The New York Court of Appeals has just released its decision upholding the right of local governments to enact bans on high volume hydraulic fracturing. The court held that the State’s Oil, Gas and Solution Mining Law “does not preempt the home rule authority vested in municipalities to regulate land use.” The decision can be … Continue Reading
From Chris Bell of GT Houston: EPA today published an advanced notice of proposed rulemaking seeking comment, by August 18, 2014, on a variety of options EPA is considering to collect and make available to the public information about chemicals used in oil and gas exploration and production, particularly those used in hydraulic fracturing. 79 … Continue Reading
From Jillian Bunyan of GT Philadelphia: In her recent Pennsylvania Law Weekly article, Jillian Bunyan discusses the issue of local zoning and hydraulic fracturing (“fracking”). Ms. Bunyan uses the recent decisions of Matter of Norse Energy Corp, No. 515227, 2013 N.Y. Slip Op. 3145 (N.Y. App. Div., 3d Dept., May 2, 2013) and Cooperstown Holstein, … Continue Reading
From Steven C. Russo of GT New York: In a much awaited ruling, an upstate New York appellate court unanimously upheld the right of local governments to zone out gas drilling. The case, Norse Energy v. Town of Dryden, was brought by a gas company seeking to nullify a very broad ban of gas drilling … Continue Reading
On Wednesday, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court decided Butler v. Charles Powers Estate, No. 27-MAP-2012 (Pa. Apr. 24, 2013), re-affirming the general presumption in Pennsylvania law that a deed that conveys or reserves “minerals” does not convey or reserve rights in shale gas. This presumption dates at least from Dunham v. Shortt & Kirkpatrick, 101 Pa. … Continue Reading
On November 29, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) released revised proposed regulations that would govern high volume hydraulic fracturing – “hydrofracking” – in the state of New York, together with the agency’s assessment of and response to the nearly 66,000 public comments received to date. … Continue Reading
