New York

Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | Litigation | New York | Pipelines | Spectra Energy | Statewide NY

Judge Tosses Out Lawsuit Against Spectra NYC Pipeline Project
February 5, 2013February 5, 2013

Spectra Energy continues to battle environmental extremists who want nothing to do with more natural gas (especially “filthy” shale gas) coming into New York City, even though NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg calls more natural gas “vital” to the city. Spectra has had to battle nutty protesters that strip down (see NYC Pipeline Protesters Get Naked, Paint Themselves Green), and even protesters who don’t tell themselves they’re about to break the law (see Nutjob Protester Stops NYC Pipeline Construction for 2 Hours).

The protesters and their more adult-acting supporters took Spectra to court in New York State to stop the 16-mile pipeline from New Jersey to New York City from being built. A judge has just tossed the lawsuit telling the protesters, “wrong court”…

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Chenango County | Cortland County | Delaware County | Lease & Royalty Payments | New York | Ohio | Otsego County | Statewide OH | West Virginia | Wirt County

WV Group Largest Landowner Coalition in Marcellus/Utica
February 5, 2013February 5, 2013

A group of landowners in Wirt County, WV have just taken the crown as the largest landowner coalition MDN is aware of in the entire Marcellus and Utica Shale. The Wirt County Oil and Gas Group closed the door on new signups as of Monday, and the total acreage represented by the group is an astonishing 227,000 acres—almost 1/4 million acres! The really attractive part for potential drillers? The land is located in the wet gas area of the Marcellus.

The next largest group MDN is aware of is in Upstate New York—the CNY (Central New York) Landowners Coalition—with 194,500 acres. Both the Wirt County and CNY coalitions have representatives in Houston this week for the NAPE Winter Expo, shopping the acreage looking for a lease.

More details on the Wirt County group:

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

Home Stretch for NY Fracking Generates New Ad Campaign
February 4, 2013February 4, 2013

In what may be the final stretch of four and a half long years to win approval for New York State to begin using the miracle of hydraulic fracturing as has Pennsylvania, Ohio, West Virginia, Texas, Louisiana, Wyoming, Oklahoma, Colorado and so many other states, the New York State Petroleum Council (NYSPC) has launched a new ad campaign aimed at one person: Gov. Andrew Cuomo. Listen and watch the new commercials below.

Last Friday the NYSPC issued this press announcement about the new ad campaign:

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Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | New York | Oneida County | Regulation

Town of Westmoreland, NY Bans Fracking
January 30, 2013January 30, 2013

Another New York township has voted (unanimously) to strip away the Constitutional rights of some of its citizens. Westmoreland (Oneida County), NY is the latest township to decide that a board of five people know what’s best for everyone else, in contradiction of New York State law:

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Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | Education | Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | New York | Sullivan County

Ongoing Saga of 4th Graders Brainwashed Against Fracking
January 28, 2013January 28, 2013

A few weeks ago MDN told you about 44 fourth graders at Maple Hill Elementary School in Middletown (Sullivan County), NY who were given an assignment to write an argumentative paper about fracking, and shazam! Every single one of them wrote against the practice (see Middletown 4th Graders Brainwashed by Teachers Against Fracking).

Apparently the teacher who required the assignment, and the reporter who was so impressed (hoodwinked?) that every single student individually and independently came to an anti-fracking conclusion, must have gotten a fair bit of blowback from the original story because the reporter has just penned a new story seeking to justify the assignment and the original story. The new article concludes with an interesting revelation about the teacher…

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

IOGA NY Becomes “Adversarial” – DEC Must Revise Fracking Rules
January 25, 2013January 25, 2013

Although the latest public comment period for proposed new drilling rules in New York officially closed on Jan. 11, we’re just now learning about the “comments” (more like a treatise) made by the Independent Oil and Gas Association of New York (IOGA of NY) to the Dept. of Environmental Conservation (DEC), filed on the closing day of Jan. 11.

Many of IOGA of NY’s members are small and medium-sized drillers, and according to IOGA, the DEC’s latest draft of proposed drilling rules simply go too far for smaller drillers. They also say some of the new proposals are illegal. IOGA of NY provided a detailed, 119-page response/critique to the DEC which outlines chapter and verse the changes they believe must be made to the proposed new rules from the DEC before fracking in New York would be viable. A copy of the entire 119-page response is embedded below.

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

NY Democrat Senators (Yet Again) Push Fracking Ban Legislation
January 25, 2013January 25, 2013

Perhaps sensing the fracking issue is about to become moot if the New York Dept. of Environmental Conservation releases new fracking rules in a few weeks, a group of anti-fracking/anti-drilling Democrat state senators are once again pushing for a law to permanently ban fracking in the Empire State.

A pair of newly-elected Democrat senators joined their colleagues on the left to try and force the issue to a vote on the Senate floor—before it’s “too late”…

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

A Sad Milestone: NY Fracking Moratorium Turns 4.5 Years Old Today
January 23, 2013January 23, 2013

The current moratorium on high volume hydraulic fracturing (“fracking”) in New York is exactly 4 years and 6 months old today. MDN keeps a handy “Moratorium Clock” in the right sidebar to remind people how long New York landowners have been denied their Constitutional property rights to allow drilling on their land in the People’s Republic of New York. Here’s how it looked this morning:
Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | New York | Regulation | Statewide NY

NY Gov Cuomo Omits Money for Drilling Inspectors in 2013 Budget
January 23, 2013January 23, 2013

We believe we’ve seen this movie before… NY Gov. Andrew Cuomo released his proposed 2013 budget yesterday. Not included in the budget was money to hire new inspectors for the Dept. of Environmental Conservation (DEC) to inspect oil and gas drilling—inspectors that will be needed if shale drilling finally begins in the state this year.

Is the omission of money for new inspectors important, and does it indicate which way the governor is leaning with his career make-or-break decision? According to the governor himself, don’t read too much into it…

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Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | New York | Pipelines | Schoharie County | Williams

Iroquois Announces Interconnect for Constitution Pipeline in NY
January 22, 2013January 22, 2013

In news related to the soon-to-be built Marcellus Shale Constitution Pipeline (being built by Williams), Iroquois, a major interstate natural gas transmission pipeline, announced today they plan to move forward with development of a new interconnect project that will expand their existing compressor station and metering facilities in Wright, New York in anticipation of the new Constitution pipeline connecting to the Iroquois at Wright. Plans call for Iroquois’ new construction to be completed by March 2015 when the Constitution plans to go in service.

From the Iroquois/Constitution joint press announcement:

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Broome County | Chenango County | Delaware County | Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | New York | Pennsylvania | Pipelines | Schoharie County | Susquehanna County | Williams

New Marcellus Constitution Pipeline Announces “Final” Route
January 21, 2013January 27, 2013

After more than a year of work, Williams has finalized the route for the new Marcellus Shale Constitution Pipeline that will run from the heavily-producing Marcellus Shale gas fields of Susquehanna County, PA all the way up to Schoharie County, NY, where the pipeline will connect with two large interstate pipelines: the Iroquois and the Tennessee. A copy of the map showing the “final” route is embedded below.

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Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | Broome County | Chemung County | Chenango County | Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | New York | Regulation | Steuben County | Tioga County (NY)

Anti-Fracking Group Mails Propaganda Brochure to 190K NYers
January 18, 2013January 18, 2013

Catskill Citizens for Safe Energy is mailing an anti-fracking brochure (killing precious trees from the Catskills to provide the paper, no doubt) to 190,000 residents throughout the Southern Tier area of New York—a region that desperately wants and needs drilling, and the area that will see drilling when/if the current moratorium is lifted. The brochure is pure propaganda and full of outright lies, but hey, this is still Ameritopia where the First Amendment is alive and well, for people on the left anyway.

An electronic copy of the brochure is embedded below so MDN’s fellow NYers know what they can use to line the bird cage with when it arrives.

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Broome County | Industrywide Issues | Litigation | New York | Property Value | Statewide NY | Tioga County (NY)

Important Decision in Court Case Affects all NY Landowners
January 17, 2013January 17, 2013

A very important legal decision in New York potentially affects all New York landowners with and without drilling leases who have seen a sharp jump in their property assessments. A Broome County, NY Supreme Court judge has just ruled in favor of four Tioga County, NY landowners who sued to have their property assessments reduced, believing their assessments were unfairly raised because of the perceived increase in land value from the possibility (i.e. “speculation”) that the land may one day see Marcellus Shale drilling.

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

Albany Times Union Goes on Record as Anti-Fracking
January 15, 2013January 15, 2013

We suppose it’s no surprise, really, but the left-leaning Albany Times Union, a newspaper no doubt read by Gov. Andrew Cuomo, ran an editorial yesterday that dredges up all of the hackneyed, debunked, half-thought-out and simply untrue reasons why New York should ban fracking—and the Times Union went on record supporting an ongoing ban.

Let’s apply a little logic to answer the nagging angst experienced by the Times Union editorial writers, since logic seems to escape them. We’ve interspersed MDN’s comments throughout to provide perspective and answers.

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Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | New York | Onondaga County | Regulation

Irony: Marcellus, NY Votes to Ban Marcellus Shale Drilling
January 15, 2013January 15, 2013

It’s a sad and ironic day: The town for which the Marcellus Shale is named, Marcellus, NY (Onondaga County, near Syracuse), has voted to ban the Marcellus—as in no Marcellus Shale drilling will be allowed in the township.

By a 5-0 vote last night, the town board illegally stripped away the Constitutional property rights of all of its citizens in contravention to New York State law…

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Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | New York | Sullivan County

Middletown 4th Graders Brainwashed by Teachers Against Fracking
January 14, 2013January 14, 2013

What angers MDN editor Jim Willis more than almost any other issue in the fracking debate is when adults contaminate the minds of young people with their own, polluted, distorted opinions—especially on the topic of fracking. Unfortunately it happens down to the youngest grades, including the nine year-old students of fourth grade anti-fracking teachers Mary Hayes and Patricia McGorry in the Maple Hill Elementary School in Middletown (Sullivan County), NY. Shame on them.

Here’s the story and background:

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