New York

Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | New York | Ohio | Pennsylvania | Pipelines | Statewide NY | Statewide OH | Statewide PA | Statewide WV | Supply Chain | West Virginia

ShaleNavigator Cloud-Based Mapping Service Continues Expansion [Free]
November 5, 2012November 5, 2012

MDN friend and “partner in crime” Ed Camp (from ShaleNavigator) released a press release on Friday to call attention to some of the latest and greatest features he’s added to the ShaleNavigator service—the web’s premier cloud-based shale mapping system. Ed’s ShaleNavigator maps are the basis for the MDN Marcellus and Utica Shale Databook series (see here for more info on the Databook).

We’re happy to bring you Ed’s latest press release, along with his offer of a free 7-day trial:

Read More “ShaleNavigator Cloud-Based Mapping Service Continues Expansion [Free]”
Erie County (NY) | Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | New York | Research

UB CLEAR: Burn the Fracking Witches and Their Castle
November 1, 2012November 1, 2012

What happens when those who commit the academic “crime” of supporting the miracle of hydraulic fracturing won’t apologize or back down from their views, and the academic institution “harboring” them bravely defends their right to have a contrary-to-orthodoxy opinion? Those in the witch hunt sharpen their pitchforks and become even more shrill, banging at the gates, demanding the witches be burned and the department (castle) they work for be obliterated. That’s the situation at University at Buffalo (UB).

Yesterday a group of faculty members, led by an English professor, along with some of their impressionable young students (whom they’ve convinced that fracking is a sin against the renewable energy orthodoxy), sent a letter and “report” (full copy embedded below) to the SUNY Board of Trustees demanding the UB Shale Resources and Society Institute be shut down because they won’t admit to their crime of being pro-fracking. Yeah, real science and academic freedom rule at UB.

Read More “UB CLEAR: Burn the Fracking Witches and Their Castle”
Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | New York | Statewide NY

JLCNY Endorsements for NY Elections – Solid Republican
November 1, 2012November 1, 2012

The Joint Landowners Coalition of New York (JLCNY) has provided New Yorkers with a handy list of endorsements from their organization for the upcoming election in a 14-county region (see the full list below). The offices they cover are either county, state or federal elections—mostly for New York State Senate and Assembly, with a few congressional and other offices on the list. The JLCNY has not endorsed candidates at the local town board level, instead referring voters to their local landowner coalition for guidance.

Read More “JLCNY Endorsements for NY Elections – Solid Republican”
Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Litigation | New York | Statewide NY

53 NY Towns Ask to Join Fracking Ban Court Case
October 31, 2012October 31, 2012

While New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo dithers about whether or not to allow fracking in the state, two court cases that will have a profound effect on where fracking can happen (should he finally make up his mind) continue to work their way through the court system. Those cases address of the issue of whether or not local municipalities should have the right to completely ban fracking within their borders—sometimes referred to as “home rule.”

Not long ago MDN updated you on the status of those cases with word that oral arguments are likely to take place in February with a decision by late spring (see this MDN story). A new development in those cases: 53 municipalities have filed a request with the court to join the cases on the side of pro-ban/anti-fracking:

Read More “53 NY Towns Ask to Join Fracking Ban Court Case”
Economic Impact | Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Jobs | New York | Statewide NY

NY vs ND Unemployment Rates: Why is One High, the Other Low?
October 31, 2012October 31, 2012

We interrupt this blog post to bring you the following news: New York’s unemployment rate is 8.2% (a full 9% in Chemung County). The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that 345 out of 372 metro areas in the country (93%) have lower unemployment rates than the New York State average. The lowest unemployment rate in the country? North Dakota—at 2.2%.

Why is ND’s unemployment rate so low? And why is NY’s so high? Is there a connection?

Read More “NY vs ND Unemployment Rates: Why is One High, the Other Low?”
Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | New York | Statewide NY

Robert Redford Anti-Fracking Commercial: Bald-Faced Lie
October 30, 2012

Sadly, but predictably, movie star Robert Redford is lending his star power to the anti-fracking movement in New York, no doubt because his long-time friend Debra Winger (Catskill Citizens for Safe Energy) asked him to. Redford has cut five radio commercials misrepresenting the miracle of hydraulic fracturing, encouraging New Yorkers to contact and tell Gov. Andrew Cuomo “fracking is a bad deal for New York.”

Unfortunately, either knowingly (or perhaps ignorantly) Redford repeats the lie that fracking is somehow responsible for the contamination of drinking water “all across the country.” That statement is 100% false. Give this latest anti-fracking lie a listen (below).

Read More “Robert Redford Anti-Fracking Commercial: Bald-Faced Lie”
Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | New York | Public Opinion | Statewide NY

Clear Majority of New York Residents Now Favor Fracking
October 29, 2012October 29, 2012

More New Yorkers now support fracking in the state than at any time in the past according to the latest Siena College Research Institute Poll. By a clear majority, 42% of New Yorkers support fracking vs. 36% who oppose it. In August, the numbers were 39% supporting vs. 38% opposing—so clearly there has been a shift over the past three months since Siena last polled on this question.

Read More “Clear Majority of New York Residents Now Favor Fracking”
Energy Companies | Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | New York | Norse Energy | Regulation | Statewide NY

Will Drillers Bother to Show Up if NY Allows Fracking?
October 24, 2012October 24, 2012

A new article by Platts asks the question MDN is often asked: “If shale drilling is allowed in New York State, will any drillers bother to show up and drill?” The Platts article quotes a number of experts who say, in a word, “no.” MDN has heard the same “no” sentiment from other experts as well. We’ve grappled with this issue in the past (see this MDN story from March 9, 2011).

These days, MDN has a contrary-to-popular-opinion position on the question of whether drillers will want to drill in New York soon after it’s allowed. But first, the viewpoints of those who say no:

Read More “Will Drillers Bother to Show Up if NY Allows Fracking?”
Health Impacts | Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | New York | Regulation | Statewide NY

More Comments from Martens about NY Fracking Health Review
October 23, 2012October 23, 2012

Here’s a bit more about what New York Dept. of Environmental Conservation (DEC) Commissioner Joe Martens said last Friday about the current health review, some comments he made we did not previously see reported:

Read More “More Comments from Martens about NY Fracking Health Review”
Health Impacts | Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | New York | Regulation | Statewide NY

NY DEC Com. Martens Gives Update on SGEIS Health Review
October 22, 2012October 22, 2012

We now know a bit more about where things stand with the “health review” taking place of New York’s proposed new drilling regulations (called the SGEIS). When Dept. of Environmental Conservation (DEC) Commissioner Joe Martens announced he was asking NYS Health Commissioner Nirav Shah to conduct a review of the SGEIS’ handling of potential health impacts of fracking on residents, he said that Shah would assemble a panel of “outside experts” to advise him.

It appears the outside experts have been identified but haven’t agreed (yet) to the money being offered by the DEC and Health Department to do the work. Meanwhile, the clock is ticking on a Nov. 29 deadline. Martens says it’s still possible to make that deadline. Here’s what he said on Friday to reporters:

Read More “NY DEC Com. Martens Gives Update on SGEIS Health Review”
Anschutz Exploration | Energy Companies | Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Litigation | New York | Norse Energy | Otsego County | Regulation | Statewide NY | Tompkins County

Important Developments in NY Fracking Ban Court Cases
October 18, 2012October 18, 2012

There’s been an important development in two cases on appeal in New York State courts that challenge municipal bans of fracking. The two cases challenge municipal fracking bans in the Town of Dryden, NY (see this MDN story for background) and the Town of Middlefield, NY (see this MDN story for background).

According to lead attorney Tom West, all the necessary paperwork for both cases has been filed (called “perfecting” the case). West believes both cases will make it onto the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court docket for an early February hearing of oral arguments. The Appellate Division typically issues an opinion 6-8 weeks following oral arguments, so we should have a decision by late spring. In addition and of keen interest, the plaintiff in one of the cases has changed.

Read More “Important Developments in NY Fracking Ban Court Cases”
Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | New York | Sullivan County

RIP Fracking Supporter Noel van Swol of Sullivan County, NY
October 17, 2012October 17, 2012

Tragedy struck on Monday after the pro-fracking rally in Albany, NY when long-time resident of Sullivan County, NY (and outspoken supporter of fracking) Noel van Swol died in a car crash on his way home from the rally:

Read More “RIP Fracking Supporter Noel van Swol of Sullivan County, NY”
Albany County | Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | New York | Public Opinion | Regulation | Statewide NY

1,000 Pro-Drillers Rally in Albany with a Message of ‘Jobs’
October 16, 2012October 16, 2012

$math challenged$ Are AP reporters math-challenged, or do they intentionally lie about the events they cover? Yesterday a rally was held in Albany, NY to support shale gas drilling in the state. According to a reporter from Middletown who covered the event, there were “about 1,000” people in the crowd. But the AP (and almost all stories found in the media today about the event use the AP’s coverage) said there were “several hundred” in attendance. If you look closely, you’ll see the AP story was posted at 3:02 am yesterday, before the event took place!

Enough of the rant against mainstream media bias which we all know exists. Yesterday a group of 1,000 or more gathered at the Corning Preserve on the Hudson River in Albany for a rally. The group then marched to the Capitol with signs, chanting as they went. Here’s reporting from someone who was actually there:

Read More “1,000 Pro-Drillers Rally in Albany with a Message of ‘Jobs’”
Erie County (NY) | Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | New York | Research

UB Defends Shale Institute & Study in Response to SUNY Board
October 15, 2012October 15, 2012

An update on the witch hunt at University at Buffalo (UB). You may recall that UB had the temerity, the gall, to establish a Shale Resources and Society Institute (SRSI) in April of this year. When said institute turned out its first report in May, which detailed how environmental problems caused by Marcellus Shale gas drilling in Pennsylvania were isolated, mostly minor and on the decline, the anti-drillers just about came off the rails. It was an all-hands-on-deck, we-must-obliterate-the-credibility-of-the-report-and-the-people-who-wrote-it campaign. And so the witch hunt began (see this MDN story).

Read More “UB Defends Shale Institute & Study in Response to SUNY Board”
Carrizo Oil & Gas | Energy Companies | New York | Tioga County (NY)

Carrizo Says Owego, NY Well Vertical Only (for Now)
October 12, 2012October 12, 2012

Yesterday MDN told you about an exploratory shale well being drilled in Tioga County, NY, just a few miles outside of the Town of Owego by Carrizo Oil & Gas (see this MDN story). We said that Carrizo was drilling a vertical well with plans to turn it horizontal when and if the fracking moratorium in New York is lifted. Were we wrong?

According to an interview given by Carrrizo to NGI’s Shale Daily publication, the well being drilled near Owego will not be turned horizontal. This is what was said:

Read More “Carrizo Says Owego, NY Well Vertical Only (for Now)”
Coterra Energy (Cabot O&G) | Energy Companies | Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | New York | Otsego County | Pipelines | Statewide NY | Williams

Who is Behind StopThePipeline.org?
October 12, 2012October 12, 2012

A so-called “grassroots coalition” has formed to oppose the proposed 120-mile Constitution Pipeline. The Constitution will be built by Williams and Cabot Oil & Gas, stretching from the Marcellus Shale gas fields of Susquehanna County in northeaster Pennsylvania through New York State to Schoharie County (see this MDN story for background).

A “group” opposing the new pipeline has sprung up with an impressive web presence at the URL StopThePipeline.org. But who’s behind this group? And what are their true aims? MDN has done a bit of nosing around.

Read More “Who is Behind StopThePipeline.org?”