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Full-Text Articles in Law
Highest Court In New York Affirms Local Power To Regulate Hydrofracking, John R. Nolon, Jessica A. Bacher
Highest Court In New York Affirms Local Power To Regulate Hydrofracking, John R. Nolon, Jessica A. Bacher
Elisabeth Haub School of Law Faculty Publications
In one of the most anxiously awaited New York land use decisions in recent memory, the State’s highest court held that local governments have the power to regulate hydrofracking under their authority to enact zoning ordinances. Both the Towns of Dryden and Middlefield enacted zoning laws that entirely banned gas drilling and associated activities within their borders. The plaintiffs, a private gas company in one case and a private property owner in the other, claimed that a supersession clause in the State Oil, Gas, and Solution Mining Law (OGSML) preempted local authority. After reviewing the plain language of the OGSML, …
Mitigating The Adverse Impacts Of Hydraulic Fracturing: A Role For Local Zoning?, John R. Nolon, Jessica A. Bacher
Mitigating The Adverse Impacts Of Hydraulic Fracturing: A Role For Local Zoning?, John R. Nolon, Jessica A. Bacher
Elisabeth Haub School of Law Faculty Publications
This article focuses on the action localities have taken toward mitigating some of the adverse impacts of hydraulic fracturing, or hydrofracking. The Article will explore impacts at the local level and will show the governance gap that has resulted from federal and state regulations that leave many local impacts unmitigated. Zoning laws and other practices that local governments are adopting are also discussed, explaining why state preemption over the traditional role of local governments in regulating this particular heavy industrial activity is not the ideal situation.
Hydrofracking: State Preemption, Local Power, And Cooperative Governance, John R. Nolon
Hydrofracking: State Preemption, Local Power, And Cooperative Governance, John R. Nolon
Elisabeth Haub School of Law Faculty Publications
Advocates for the gas drilling technology known as hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, argue that it will bring significant economic benefits to the private and public sectors. Its opponents dispute these claims and point to significant environmental and public health risks associated with fracking—risks that must be considered in adopting government regulations needed to protect the public interest. One of the many issues raised by fracking is which level of government should regulate which aspects of the practice. This debate is complicated by the fact that the risks associated with fracking raise concerns of federal, state, and local importance and fit …
The Illusion Of The Blue Flame: Water Law And Unconventional Gas Drilling In New York, Anne Marie Garti
The Illusion Of The Blue Flame: Water Law And Unconventional Gas Drilling In New York, Anne Marie Garti
Elisabeth Haub School of Law Student Publications
This article explores the question of whether natural gas can still be considered a clean fuel by probing the relationship of water law and hydraulic fracturing in New York State. The paper begins by explaining the geology of tight shales, the engineering techniques needed to extract gas from solid rock, and the density and location of drilling that would be allowed under New York State law. Relying on information provided by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, scientific studies, and press accounts of the unprecedented citizen advocacy on this matter, it goes on to show the sharp distinction …
Hydrofracking: Disturbances Both Geological And Political: Who Decides?, John R. Nolon
Hydrofracking: Disturbances Both Geological And Political: Who Decides?, John R. Nolon
Elisabeth Haub School of Law Faculty Publications
There is much controversy about the mining of shale gas through a process known as hydraulic fracturing (hydrofracking) in the Marcellus Shale formation, one of the largest shale gas areas in the world. A debate is raging about its economic benefits and environmental impacts as the New York State’s Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) considers what standards to require when it issues permits to drillers. New York State law gives permitting authority to DEC and calls into question the historical home rule authority of localities to control the location and land use impacts of gas wells, through comprehensive planning, zoning, …
Cooperative Federalism And Hydraulic Fracturing: A Human Right To A Clean Environment, Elizabeth Burleson
Cooperative Federalism And Hydraulic Fracturing: A Human Right To A Clean Environment, Elizabeth Burleson
Elisabeth Haub School of Law Faculty Publications
United States natural gas production is likely to stunt the direction and intensity of renewable energy by up to two decades according to a MIT study. Gas will not provide a “’bridge’ to a low-carbon future if it erodes efforts to prepare a landing at the other end of the bridge.” Unconventional natural gas extraction need not become a “transition” to a new addiction. This article analyzes how cooperative federalism and inclusive decision-making can provide legitimacy and transparency when balancing property rights versus police powers to regulate natural gas production.
Concerning The Constitutionality Of Hydro-Fracking The Marcellus Shale, Sean Dillon
Concerning The Constitutionality Of Hydro-Fracking The Marcellus Shale, Sean Dillon
Elisabeth Haub School of Law Student Publications
The entire Marcellus Shale, from the Catskills of New York down to the northwestern border of West Virginia, is estimated to contain as little as 168 to as much as 516 trillion cubic feet of natural gas, resulting in major “shale play” in the region. If calculations are accurate, the Marcellus Shale may be one of the largest potential sources of any type of energy in this country. But the prospect of mining the Marcellus Shale is not without its downfalls. The extraction method to be used in these operations - a technique called hydraulic fracturing, also known as “hydro-fracking” …