New York

At yesterday’s Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) press conference, DEC Commissioner Joe Martens announced the formation of a Hydraulic Fracturing Advisory Panel. The new panel’s job will be:

• developing recommendations to ensure DEC and other agencies are enabled to properly oversee, monitor and enforce high-volume hydraulic fracturing activities;
• developing recommendations to avoid and mitigate impacts to local governments and communities; and
• evaluating the current fee structure and other revenue streams to fund government oversight and infrastructure related to high-volume hydraulic fracturing.

Read More “NY DEC Commissioner Appoints Members to New Hydraulic Fracturing Advisory Panel”

A month ago, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo told Joe Martens, Cuomo’s new Commissioner of the Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC), to release the years-in-the-making new regulations for drilling in the Marcellus Shale in New York State by July 1. Today is July 1 and the 900+ page drilling regulations document—known as the draft Supplemental Generic Environmental Impact Statement, or SGEIS—is supposedly being released to Cuomo only, with a public release of the document set for July 8, one week from today. Which means the SGEIS is being released next week and not today.

However, Joe Martens and the DEC issued a press release yesterday (see full release embedded below) outlining the major changes and provisions that will be in the SGEIS when it’s finally released to the public. The fact that the moratorium on hydraulic fracturing will be lifted under the plan has environmental extremists in a fit. The fact that the new SGEIS will ban fracking in 15 percent of the state’s Marcellus Shale region will not sit well with landowners in those areas. So there’s something for everyone to not like. However, on the whole, it seems as if the new rules will get the job done and landowners will be thrilled that drilling will finally begin in New York State.

Read More “New York’s DEC Releases Summary of New Drilling Regulations, But Not the Actual Document”

Now that it’s clear that New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo intends to lift the moratorium on hydraulic fracturing and allow drilling in the Marcellus Shale to proceed, groups that oppose drilling are expressing their disappointment in a very public way. Some of the more extreme elements are even threatening civil disobedience.

Read More “Anti-Drillers in NY Angry with Gov. Cuomo Over Green Light for Drilling, Some Threaten Civil Disobedience”

An editorial in today’s New York Post, authored by Lawrence Mone, president of the Manhattan Institute for Policy Research, makes an impassioned plea to Gov. Andrew Cuomo to lift the moratorium on Marcellus Shale drilling. The Manhattan Institute recently released a study showing the economic benefits of lifting the moratorium (see MDN’s coverage here). In today’s editorial, Mone summarizes those economic benefits this way:

Read More “Former PA Gov. Ed Rendell to NY Gov. Andrew Cuomo: Lift the Moratorium on Drilling Now”

For the second year in a row, the New York State Assembly has passed a bill that would create a one-year moratorium on the practice of hydraulic fracturing in the state. But there’s a difference in this year’s bill. This new bill would stop all hydraulic fracturing—both horizontal AND vertical. Oy vey. Where does one begin with this?

It is MDN’s belief that most “rank and file” people who oppose Marcellus Shale drilling don’t really understand the science of it. They hear a few catch phrases about polluting water, or using too much water, or thousands of gallons of chemicals going into the ground. And vague threats that their drinking water is about to be permanently poisoned. And that’s about all they know or want to know. Their opposition is colored by their philosophy or worldview: big energy companies are evil and lie, burning hydrocarbons like oil and gas destroy the environment and cause dangerous levels of global warming, etc. Yes, this is an over-generalization and paints an entire movement with a very broad brush that does not apply to everyone who is against drilling. MDN is just saying this is the case “in general” or “on average.”

Read More “MDN In-depth: NYS Assembly Passes 12-Month Moratorium on Hydraulic Fracturing, Both Horizontal and Vertical”