New York

Energy Companies | Industrywide Issues | Inflection Energy | Lease & Royalty Payments | Litigation | New York | Tioga County (NY)

NY Landowners Sue Inflection Energy over Force Majeure
February 20, 2012February 20, 2012

A group of 18 Tioga County, NY landowners have sued Inflection Energy to overturn Inflection’s “force majeure” claim to extend the lease on their collective 1,200 acres. A force majeure clause is written into most gas lease contracts. It means a driller can automatically extend the length of the lease if there are unforeseen events that hinder the terms of the contract—in this case commencement of drilling—from happening.

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Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | New York | Regulation | Steuben County

Wayne, NY Votes to Ban Fracking for One Year
February 20, 2012February 20, 2012

The Town of Wayne, in Steuben County, NY is the latest New York municipality to enact a legally questionable ban on horizontal hydraulic fracturing:

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Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | New York | Regulation | Steuben County

Fremont, NY Considers a Ban on Fracking
February 15, 2012February 15, 2012

The Town of Fremont, NY is heading toward a vote to ban hydraulic fracturing. Fremont is in Steuben County, and a ban would adversely affect the property rights of rural landowners in the township.

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Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | New York | Regulation | Statewide NY

Gov. Cuomo Says Decision on NY Fracking Due in “Few Months”
February 9, 2012February 9, 2012

In an interview yesterday with the editorial board of the Syracuse Post-Standard, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said a decision about whether or not to allow high volume hydraulic fracturing to move forward in the state is “a couple of months” away.

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Chenango County | Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | New York | Regulation | Statewide NY

Libous, Martens Shoot Down Proposal for Fracking Test
February 8, 2012February 8, 2012

A group of Chenango County, NY officials have come up with a great idea: Use the abandoned Camp Pharsalia prison facility in a very rural part of the county (sits on 52 acres, owned by the state) to drill several test Marcellus and Utica Shale wells, and use it as a living laboratory with everyone involved—the state, the drilling industry, environmental groups and academe. In other words, let’s just test this out to see if there are any problems. The experiment would be a public-private partnership between the state and the drilling industry. Brilliant!

This forward-thinking group submitted their proposal to the state Hydraulic Fracturing Advisory Panel in January:

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Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | New York | Regulation | Statewide NY

NY DEC Com. Joe Martens Now Says “If” Drilling is Allowed
February 8, 2012February 8, 2012

On Tuesday, New York Commissioner of the Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) Joe Martens gave testimony at a legislative budget hearing in Albany about the department’s staffing needs for 2012. The conversation turned to the DEC’s lack of a request for additional staffing that would be needed to oversee permits and drilling for shale gas should hydraulic fracturing finally, after four years, be allowed in the state. Once again, Martens’ language is very telling. His responses have moved away from “when” to “if” fracking will be allowed:

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Broome County | Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | New York | Regulation | Statewide NY

Is NYS State Senator Tom Libous Reversing Course on Drilling?
February 7, 2012February 7, 2012

Are the political winds shifting in New York State among the politicians that have been staunch supporters of gas drilling? There’s perhaps no stronger supporter among elected politicians in Albany than Tom Libous, a powerful state senator from Binghamton. Sen. Libous is the deputy majority leader of the NYS Senate and a member of the DEC’s Hydraulic Fracturing Advisory Panel (see this MDN story).

So when MDN spotted this quote by Sen. Libous in the New York Times in a story about how the review and approval process for fracking in the state is slowing down, it gives us great pause:

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Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | New York | Regulation | Statewide NY

NY Fracking Advisory Panel Work Grinds to Halt
February 6, 2012February 6, 2012

As part of the process to enact new drilling regulations in New York State, Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) Commissioner Joe Martens appointed a Hydraulic Fracturing Advisory Panel last July to make recommendations to the DEC on how to oversee, monitor and enforce new shale drilling regulations in the state (see this MDN story for background). An important part of the panel’s duty is to craft a new fee structure to generate state revenue from a potential gas-drilling boom. But the work of the panel has now ground to halt.

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Broome County | New York

Binghamton Mayor Ryan Working Hard on City’s Top Priority
February 6, 2012February 6, 2012

Binghamton, NY’s anti-drilling mayor, Matt Ryan, is hard at work on the city’s top priority. There’s the mundane “usual stuff” a mayor does. You know, trying to attract new business to the area, generate jobs, lower taxes, ensure the city attracts more welfare recipients…all of the things you would expect from a hard-working mayor like Matt. But then there’s the “top priority” really really important stuff that takes up the majority of this great man’s time. Like organizing anti-fracking concerts featuring singers you’ve never heard of. Yessiree, that’s good ole Matt hard at work, doing the people’s business:

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Economic Impact | Industrywide Issues | New York | Pennsylvania | Steuben County | Tioga County (PA)

RailAmerica Buys Wellsboro & Corning Short Line Railroad
February 3, 2012February 3, 2012

One of the interesting but often-overlooked stories of the rapid growth of Marcellus and Utica Shale drilling is the revival of short line railroads. As drillers enter an area, equipment and materials need to be shipped to that area. Sand, especially, is used in large quantities, and short lines are the most economical way of getting sand to an active drilling area.

One of the short line railroads to came roaring back to life not so long ago is the Wellsboro and Corning Railroad (WCOR), running from Wellsboro in northeastern PA to just across the border connecting to Corning, NY.

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Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | New York | Statewide NY

SUNY Prof Dr. Gary Lash Discusses the Science of Fracking
January 31, 2012January 31, 2012

Dr. Gary G. Lash, Department of Geosciences Professor at SUNY Fredonia and Director of the SUNY Fredonia Shale Research Institute, doesn’t often grant interviews. But he recently opened up with reporter from the Dunkirk (NY) Observer about the science, and politics, of hydraulic fracturing. Dr. Lash is an international authority on the Marcellus, so when he talks, people listen!

Commenting on the fracking debate in New York State, he said:

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Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | New York | Regulation | Statewide NY

Obama Speech Gives NYers Hope that Fracking Will Soon Begin
January 26, 2012January 26, 2012

President Barack Obama’s State of the Union address, in which he openly supports drilling for natural gas and the “safe” use of hydraulic fracturing, has given a glimmer of hope to landowners in New York State that perhaps the President’s support for fracking will finally end the moratorium on drilling in New York.

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Energy Companies | New York | Norse Energy | Statewide NY

Norse Energy Continues Selling Pieces of the Company
January 26, 2012January 26, 2012

Norse Energy, with leased acreage in both the Marcellus and Utica Shales in New York State, has been fighting to keep the company afloat until New York finally allows hydraulic fracturing and they can take advantage of their leaseholds. But to keep holding on, they’ve sold off bits and pieces of their leaseholds, as well as bits and pieces of the company. A few weeks ago they converted $3.5 million of bonds (or debt) into stock (or ownership) of the company (see this MDN story).

Yesterday, we learned they’ve sold off another $12.5 million of the company in another bonds for stock swap deal. And now they’re making the same offer to all of their bondholders: Let’s make a deal—soon.

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Broome County | Energy Companies | Lease & Royalty Payments | New York | Talisman Energy

Broome County, NY Landowners Get Big Payment from Talisman
January 25, 2012January 25, 2012

New York landowners in Broome County will receive millions in lease payments this month from Talisman Energy—$5000 per acre (they’ve already received $500 per acre). The landowners belong to the Friendsville Group, a landowner coalition that signed a deal with Talisman in 2009. Most of the Friendsville Group members are landowners just over the border in Pennsylvania, who already received their full $5,500 per acre payments two years ago. The New York members had to wait—either until permits were granted, or January 2012.

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Albany County | Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | New York | Public Opinion

Enviro Groups Demand Fracking Ban in Albany Protest
January 24, 2012January 24, 2012

Environmentalists opposed to natural gas drilling were out in force in Albany, NY yesterday, demanding a ban on hydraulic fracturing. (MDN wonders if they know that vertical fracking has been going on in New York State for the last 40 years with no environmental apocalypse?!)

The rally, organized by Citizens Campaign for the Environment, Catskill Mountainkeeper, Earthworks, Shaleshock and other anti-drilling organizations, was designed to bring pressure on elected representatives in Albany.

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Broome County | Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Litigation | New York | Regulation

Expert Says Binghamton Fracking Ban is “Legally Dubious”
January 24, 2012January 24, 2012

Robert Alt, a Fellow in Legal and International Affairs at The John M. Ashbrook Center for Public Affairs at Ashland University (Ohio) has written an op-ed article in the Binghamton Press & Sun-Bulletin on the topic of “legally dubious” moratoriums like the one recently passed by the City of Binghamton. Given that according to forthcoming new drilling regulations from the state Department of Environmental Conservation there would be no drilling in Binghamton anyway, Alt asks the question, just what “message” did City Council send?

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