Another New York State Supreme Court Justice has supported Dryden's position that it has the power to ban gas drilling through zoning. The same decision threw out the City of Binghamton's own moratorium because it didn't fit the judge's take...
The tone of the hydrofracking regulatory conversation has changed pretty drastically over the last week or so. Solid Shale has a long list of details you absolutely should read, but the two key ones I see (from a Dryden perspective)...
It's bad enough that the gas industry can't seem to accept that two judges have already thrown out their claims about state energy law pre-empting local zoning, but really? Lenape is threatening to sue the state because localities - in...
I wrote earlier about Tom West's claiming he had found a memo that would change the landscape of at least the Middlefield case on drilling and home rule, and I wasn't very impressed by it. It seems I wasn't the...
My use of the phrase "classic Albany compromise" in my earlier post on the leaks about a proposal to allow hydrofracking in places that seem to want it has created some confusion, online and off. As I wrote elsewhere: I...
Other places post press releases as news without acknowledging they came from press releases - I prefer just to pass on the press release directly: FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE June 13, 2012 Statement on New York State's Reported Plan to...
This sounds like a trial balloon to me: Cuomo Plan Would Limit Gas Drilling to a Few Counties in New York The plan, described by a senior official at the State Department of Environmental Conservation and others with knowledge of...
The Dryden Safe Energy Coalition held an informational meeting in Owego, New York, this week. See? Energy in Depth is good for something - helping me keep track of what a supposedly Dryden organization is doing in other counties! (They...
Last night's Town Board meeting started out with a pretty full room, because of the public hearing on the Yellow Barn water district. The Town will be taking over the infrastructure of the Yellow Barn Water Company, whose board members...
I mentioned a while ago that Anschutz attorney Tom West was crowing about a memo he'd dredged up in the state archives. As was reported then: A lawyer involved in the attempt to scuttle the Middlefield ban on natural gas...
Surprise, surprise - Tom West was apparently joking about how he was just too expensive for Anschutz, his billionaire client. Not only will they appeal their loss to Dryden, "From day one, West said, it was his client's preference to...
I keep hearing rumors that Anschutz may not bother appealing their loss in their case against Dryden's gas drilling ban. There was a strange hint of that in Attorney Tom West's immediate response to the loss, in which he suggested...
Yes, it's still just the first round, but it's nice to see an in-depth story on Dryden's resistance to hydrofracking....
I love Joe Osmeloski's letter asking what Henry Kramer's 'next "end of the world" scenario for our small town will be.' However it happens, the end of the legal conversation with the gas industry will not be quick. The Dryden...
The Oneonta Daily Star has an editorial looking at the judicial and legislative paths ahead after last week's victories for home rule in the first round of the lawsuits against Dryden and Middlefield....
You may want to visit industry PR site Energy in Depth Marcellus instead of the Dryden Safe Energy Coalition's own site. I was wondering when the DSEC would post something about the first results of the lawsuit they had so...
I really didn't think Anschutz would live up to its bluster, and I'm mostly surprised they folded this argument so quickly: Although early reports (NYTimes 2/02/2012) quoted West saying Anschutz could sue Dryden under "takings" law, West said February 22...
It's been a bad week for the gas industry and their lead attorney, Tom West. The Town of Middlefield, New York was battling a lawsuit parallel to Dryden's. In Dryden's case, the gas company, Anschutz Exploration Company, had sued, while...
and minimal steering, you're bound to hit walls sometimes. When I checked in yesterday at Energy in Depth Marcellus, the PR mouthpiece for the gas companies, to see what their response to the Dryden lawsuit ruling might be, all I...
I didn't expect attorney and lobbyist Tom West to be happy about losing the first round of the Anschutz lawsuit, but I also didn't expect this in the New York Times: The Dryden case, however, is sure to prompt further...
Well, round one of three, anyway, if this takes its expected journey through New York State's court system. Judge Phillip Rumsey ruled in favor of Dryden and against Anschutz. More soon. Update: Here's the decision itself, and the Ithaca Journal...
[repurposing a long email message. Update: this New York Times article tells a similar story with a lot less background.] New York State energy policy is a game that's largely about territory and players and not so much about principles....
Supporters of gas drilling (and opponents of zoning) seem to enjoy calling every effort by any government anywhere to regulate land use for whatever reason a "taking". They argue that these takings must be compensated, and threaten gigantic lawsuits over...
I went to last night's Town Board meeting expecting to watch them pass the new zoning. Despite my serious misgivings, I encouraged them to proceed. The old random zoning isn't getting any better with age. They closed the public hearing,...
I would love to see a DEC official state something like this, in reference to potential conflicts between state and local regulation of various kinds of mining. It is important to recognize that DEC is not a land use agency,...
Apparently Super Lawyer Thomas West cannot rest in his work for the gas industry and its friends. He's now representing the landowner plaintiffs as a co-counsel in the Middlefield lawsuit as well as leading the attack on Dryden....
Peter Mantius of the DC Bureau has an overview of where the fracking battles are after Friday's court hearing and Tuesday's elections....
Back at the public hearing in July, I asked Dryden Republican Committee Chair why they were pushing so hard against the ban. "Candidates", he said, before we were shushed. I was actually trying to give him some advice - I...
It's definitely been a busy week for Dryden. Here are pointers to some of the latest election pieces: Incumbent Town Supervisor Mary Ann Sumner's Ithaca Journal piece on the biggest issue facing Dryden. Video of the last candidates' forum is...
I took today off so I could watch my town get sued. I suspect the best summary of this morning's proceedings came at its end, from Judge Phillip Rumsey: It's wonderful to have such excellent work from everyone. It makes...
I reviewed the thick stack of filings last night. I am not a lawyer, but basically I hear this from the two sides: Anschutz The DEC has historically interpreted the Environmental Conservation Law to give it lots and lots of...
WBNG-TV Binghamton has a report on today's upcoming hearing in the Anschutz lawsuit....
I was a little worried that State Senator Jim Seward had gone quiet on his earlier support for clarifying that municipalities can zone out gas drilling. Fortunately, WBNG-TV reports that he's still interested in a piece on the Middlefield lawsuit:...
Perhaps the most impressive feature of tonight's candidate forum at the Dryden Fire Station was the turnout. I'm guessing that 200 people were there, far far more than came out to the forum two years ago. Yes, a large group...
Here are all the pieces of the Town of Dryden's reply to the Anschutz lawsuit, file number 2011-0902 at the Tompkins County Courthouse. There's a lot here, but the key pieces are the Verified Answer, a paragraph-by-paragraph reply to the...
I have a certain sympathy for doom-sayers. I've been called a Cassandra myself, for example. Henry Kramer, though, is a prophet of a different sort. Cassandra was a prophet of doom, yes, but one who was always ignored, always powerless...
There were a lot of strange Republican claims in the recent Innovation Trail piece at WSKG, but I think the one that really hit it out of the park was this: Schickel is critical of town Democrats for putting Dryden...
One of the few fun things about lawsuits is that the accusers have to tell a bit of a story about themselves to prove that they have standing to bring the case. In the Anschutz lawsuit against the Town of...
Apparently the Anschutz lawsuit includes an Article 78 proceeding, which seems to be New York's way of saying "you think our courts are slow? We'll make them go so fast no one will know what happened!" At least for that...
I mentioned earlier that Dryden is at "an interesting geological location", but hadn't gone into much depth about why. The first half of the geological section of the New York State draft SGEIS (4.2MB PDF) explores the question of where...
it's compatible with what the oil and gas companies want to do with it. That seems to be the message of the career of Thomas West, the "Super Lawyer" who announced that his firm would be bringing a lawsuit against...
Thanks to the combination of a (wonderful) beekeeping class Saturday, lots of sneezing yesterday, and a huge pile of work today, I haven't been able to give the Anschutz lawsuit the coverage it deserves. Here, to get you started, are...
While I suspected that the gas companies would eventually sue to try to overturn Dryden's drilling ban through a zoning clarification, I'd also thought such jousting would wait until after the DEC finished the review of the sGEIS, came up...
They haven't actually filed it yet, so I'm guessing they bravely led with a press release, but apparently a gas company is stepping up to sue over Dryden's ban on gas drilling (Update: expanded article): Anschutz Exploration Corp. plans to...
I'm not sure why the state didn't notice a stream at the location of a gas well for which it issued a permit, but Dryden seems to have presented a case in how local officials can find genuine issues the...
I wrote last week about a propspective gas well drilling into the Trenton-Black River formation in Dryden. As I'd noted then, Town Board member Jason Leifer wrote the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, and here's the letter he...