Tag: NY Home Rule

Delaware Town Board and Local NY Zoning Can Regulate Gas Drilling

Posted on by Liz

I usually try hard not to say,  “I told you so.”  More,  I usually try not to end an opinion with something that sounds like,  “Nanny, nanny, poo, poo.”

First, it’s unseemly and impolite.

Second, it’s obnoxious.

Third,  it doesn’t make friends or influence people.

With that in mind,  “I told you so!”

Last month,  I suggested  the Delaware Town Board  could use its zoning prerogatives to protect the health, wealth, welfare  and happiness of   The Town of Delaware by creating  protected  areas within its jurisdiction where gas drilling would be banned.  The suggestion was met with a  scoffing  opinion that  I just didn’t understand  New York’s  Municipal Home Rule statute.

The next afternoon,  at  the monthly meeting of the Sullivan County Legislature,  I and others  repeated the  silly notion of local zoning controls being used to regulate the siting of gas wells.  The Board was voting on a resolution to ban drilling from County-owned property.  Some citizen speakers wanted the County to expand the  ban to areas of the  privately-held sector.  Once again,  the idea was  met with  head-shaking and  a some impatience by certain legislators.

Usually,  when I know I’m right and others just don’t get it,   my first instinct is to shake them by their cheeks until their brains rattle with sense.  After 40+ years  of being an active citizen,  I’ve learned that that is an ineffective tactic.

So here’s an idea:   this Wednesday,  April 21st at 7:00 PM in the  Delaware Town Hall in Hortonville,  the Town of Delaware will hold  its monthly Board meeting.  After reading  Breathing’s re-cap of last month’s meeting,  some residents  organized support for the Town Resolution Supervisor James Scheutzow  had presented at the March  Town Board about gas drilling.  They even put a petition in support of the resolution at The Callicoon Wine Merchant and Windy Hill cheese shop(s).  (The resolution can be read in its entirety here.)

The petition is still there and has garnered an impressive number of signatures.  (If you live in the Town of Delaware,  you’re eligible to sign it and besides,  the two shops are a pleasure to visit.)

The thing is,  since those meetings last month,  the New York State Assembly has begun considering several  bills our New York State counties, towns and villages must recognize when dealing with the issue of drilling.

First, on April 2, 2010, NYS Assembly bill 10490 was referred to the New York Assembly’s  Environmental Conservation Committee (EnCon).  The Bill  will establish a moratorium on gas drilling in New York State until 120 days after the Environmental Protection Agency releases its study of the gas industry and its  impacts.

To my way of thinking,  all  citizen-generated resolutions about gas drilling must  incorporate this commonsensical piece of proposed legislation.

Second — and my personal favorite  — on April, 13, 2010,  NYS Assembly Bill  10633 was referred to the Assembly’s EnCon Committee.  This  “home rule” bill makes explicit the notion that  local governments  have and will have zoning control over where gas drilling occurs in their jurisdictions no matter what powers of jurisdiction a  State authority may  claim. (Obviously, local zoning ordinances cannot discriminate,  but if a  local government has a   bona fide rationale for instituting  protections and does not over-reach or regulate too restrictively, their actions are likely to  be upheld in New York State courts.)

In a bold effort to support local sustainability, to protect local resources and to prevent harm to our residents,  members of the State Assembly are making it clear that localities have the right and duty to defend and protect their local resources and residents.

No longer will  New York State villages, towns  and counties with zoning boards have the right or leeway to blame the State when gas wells or other potentially injurious enterprises  sprout up in their school yards or rural residential areas as is threatened, for example, across the River in Damascus, Pennsylvania.

Inaction will no longer be an option for local governments in New York.  It  will now be clear that if local governments do not regulate gas drilling enterprises within their jurisdictions, they are choosing to support  the short term pecuniary interests of a few lessors over the long-term and communal interests of  the land, water and people they are obligated to defend and protect.

So, instead of ending this  with “I told you so,”  I will ask  citizens throughout New York State  to petition  their local governments to adopt resolutions and/or ordinances that:

  • support  A10490’s  requirement that a moratorium be effected in New York State until 120 days after the Environmental Protection Agency submits its report on hydraulic fracturing;  and
  • amend  or enact zoning laws which preserve and protect the local citizenry and their natural resources.

An example of a zoning ordinance written  in Nockamixon, PA is available here. Although  Pennsylvania and New York State regulations are often baffling  in their differences,   the language of the Ordinance is instructive;  as is a reading of this article and its links which help explain  the legal reasoning that New York  and Pennsylvania  State courts might bring to considerations of local zoning ordinances that regulate drilling. An important legal tenet is that the decision of a  State Supreme Court may be cited as precedent in other states in the absence of  more weighty legal decisions.  That does not  mean the precedent will stick,  but it does mean it will be treated with value  when a different state court weighs similar legal issues.

Delaware Town Board and Local NY Zoning Can Regulate Gas Drilling

Posted on by Liz

I usually try hard not to say,  “I told you so.”  More,  I usually try not to end an opinion with something that sounds like,  “Nanny, nanny, poo, poo.”

First, it’s unseemly and impolite.

Second, it’s obnoxious.

Third,  it doesn’t make friends or influence people.

With that in mind,  “I told you so!”

Last month,  I suggested  the Delaware Town Board  could use its zoning prerogatives to protect the health, wealth, welfare  and happiness of   The Town of Delaware by creating  protected  areas within its jurisdiction where gas drilling would be banned.  The suggestion was met with a  scoffing  opinion that  I just didn’t understand  New York’s  Municipal Home Rule statute.

The next afternoon,  at  the monthly meeting of the Sullivan County Legislature,  I and others  repeated the  silly notion of local zoning controls being used to regulate the siting of gas wells.  The Board was voting on a resolution to ban drilling from County-owned property.  Some citizen speakers wanted the County to expand the  ban to areas of the  privately-held sector.  Once again,  the idea was  met with  head-shaking and  a some impatience by certain legislators.

Usually,  when I know I’m right and others just don’t get it,   my first instinct is to shake them by their cheeks until their brains rattle with sense.  After 40+ years  of being an active citizen,  I’ve learned that that is an ineffective tactic.

So here’s an idea:   this Wednesday,  April 21st at 7:00 PM in the  Delaware Town Hall in Hortonville,  the Town of Delaware will hold  its monthly Board meeting.  After reading  Breathing’s re-cap of last month’s meeting,  some residents  organized support for the Town Resolution Supervisor James Scheutzow  had presented at the March  Town Board about gas drilling.  They even put a petition in support of the resolution at The Callicoon Wine Merchant and Windy Hill cheese shop(s).  (The resolution can be read in its entirety here.)

The petition is still there and has garnered an impressive number of signatures.  (If you live in the Town of Delaware,  you’re eligible to sign it and besides,  the two shops are a pleasure to visit.)

The thing is,  since those meetings last month,  the New York State Assembly has begun considering several  bills our New York State counties, towns and villages must recognize when dealing with the issue of drilling.

First, on April 2, 2010, NYS Assembly bill 10490 was referred to the New York Assembly’s  Environmental Conservation Committee (EnCon).  The Bill  will establish a moratorium on gas drilling in New York State until 120 days after the Environmental Protection Agency releases its study of the gas industry and its  impacts.

To my way of thinking,  all  citizen-generated resolutions about gas drilling must  incorporate this commonsensical piece of proposed legislation.

Second — and my personal favorite  — on April, 13, 2010,  NYS Assembly Bill  10633 was referred to the Assembly’s EnCon Committee.  This  “home rule” bill makes explicit the notion that  local governments  have and will have zoning control over where gas drilling occurs in their jurisdictions no matter what powers of jurisdiction a  State authority may  claim. (Obviously, local zoning ordinances cannot discriminate,  but if a  local government has a   bona fide rationale for instituting  protections and does not over-reach or regulate too restrictively, their actions are likely to  be upheld in New York State courts.)

In a bold effort to support local sustainability, to protect local resources and to prevent harm to our residents,  members of the State Assembly are making it clear that localities have the right and duty to defend and protect their local resources and residents.

No longer will  New York State villages, towns  and counties with zoning boards have the right or leeway to blame the State when gas wells or other potentially injurious enterprises  sprout up in their school yards or rural residential areas as is threatened, for example, across the River in Damascus, Pennsylvania.

Inaction will no longer be an option for local governments in New York.  It  will now be clear that if local governments do not regulate gas drilling enterprises within their jurisdictions, they are choosing to support  the short term pecuniary interests of a few lessors over the long-term and communal interests of  the land, water and people they are obligated to defend and protect.

So, instead of ending this  with “I told you so,”  I will ask  citizens throughout New York State  to petition  their local governments to adopt resolutions and/or ordinances that:

  • support  A10490’s  requirement that a moratorium be effected in New York State until 120 days after the Environmental Protection Agency submits its report on hydraulic fracturing;  and
  • amend  or enact zoning laws which preserve and protect the local citizenry and their natural resources.

An example of a zoning ordinance written  in Nockamixon, PA is available here. Although  Pennsylvania and New York State regulations are often baffling  in their differences,   the language of the Ordinance is instructive;  as is a reading of this article and its links which help explain  the legal reasoning that New York  and Pennsylvania  State courts might bring to considerations of local zoning ordinances that regulate drilling. An important legal tenet is that the decision of a  State Supreme Court may be cited as precedent in other states in the absence of  more weighty legal decisions.  That does not  mean the precedent will stick,  but it does mean it will be treated with value  when a different state court weighs similar legal issues.

NY Gas Lobby vs. NY Assembly, Moratorium and Home Rule

Posted on by Liz

On April 2, 2010,  NYS Assembly bill 10490 was referred to the New York Assembly’s  Environmental Conservation Committee (EnCon).  The Bill  will establish a moratorium on gas drilling in New York State until 120 days after the Environmental Protection Agency releases its study of the gas industry and its  impacts.

On April, 13, 2010,  NYS Assembly Bill  10633 was referred to the Assembly’s EnCon Committee.  The  “home rule” bill will give local governments  zoning control over where gas drilling can occur in their jurisdictions.

Two days later, April 15th,  was a busy, busy day in New York gas news:

  • New York’s gas extraction lobby, the  Independent Oil & Gas Association (IOGA-NY)  proposed to  rescue “New York State’s environmental and parks budgets”  by  drilling in New York’s protected park lands.  IOGA-NY’s  press release  asserted, “New York State could raise more than $200 million in fiscal year 2010-11…” and urged, “expediting the auction of state land leases and the application approval process.”  (According to Governor Patterson’s Budget Briefing Book, the current budget deficit  is $3.2 billion and is expected to reach $6.8 billion in 2010-11, $14.3 billion in 2011-12 and by 2013,  $20.7 billion.)
  • At the same conference, “DEC Director of Mineral Resources, Bradley Field…[said] the entire process, including the issuance of [gas drilling] permits, would be finished in 2010.”

To ensure that  New York  taxpayers get a return on  the billions of gallons of free water the gas companies use in gas extraction and to offset the possible contamination of  State parks  “which welcome “more than 55 million visitors each year,” (2009 Annual Report)  Governor Patterson has proposed a 3% severance tax on some gas extraction companies. (Budget Briefing Book, pp 98-99). Unfortunately, the tax won’t be levied  until 2011-12 and will garner only  $1 million in revenues.

(By comparison,  Texas’  2007 severance tax on the  gas industry was  7.5% and produced  $2.76 billion in revenues.   Mayor Tillman of DISH, TX assured an audience in Callicoon, NY,

“We don’t have a state income tax in Texas.  We have the severance tax on the gas companies.  It’s good for a lot of reasons.   The tax is paid by volume on the gas so if you’re leasing,  you’ve got a measurement of how much your wells are producing.  It’ll tell you how much gas is coming out of the ground and how much money you should be getting.”   (A previous Breathing article,  referenced a court judgment that found   Chesapeake had defrauded royalty owners in Texas out of $134 million in payments by under-reporting the amount of  gas Chesapeake extracted from its lessor’s wells.) Tillman continued to tout the benefits of enacting a severance tax,  “Do you have enough inspectors in  New York?   A severance tax could pay for that, too.”  Then, looking out over the audience,  he asked,  “How are the roads holding out around here?”  When the audience groaned and laughed, he said,  “A severance tax can fix that.”

Although IOGA-NY’s April 15th  press release expressed concern for  the terrible state of  New York’s finances,  the gas lobby  continues  to oppose a severance tax  while urging lawmakers to entrust  the State’s public lands  to them for $200 million.

Despite the industry’s offer,  Texas’ annual severance tax of  7.5% sounds like a better deal than the 3% proposed by Governor Patterson or our $200 million share in their multi-billion dollar profits; especially since  the DEC  (dSGEIS, Chapter 9, page 6) estimates, “… 2,000 wells per year ± 25% in the New York Marcellus play.”

Two thousand wells per year?  Only 29 new DEC staff  (Budget Briefing Book, page 53) to oversee billions of gallons of  toxic fracking fluids and  radioactive waters produced by the fracking process?   Billions of dollars of gas company  profits on the backs of New York State’s  taxpayers and our  parks  and  water resources?  Billions of gallons of our water used in  fracking operations for free?   And the gas lobby believes  we can be bought off with a $200 million mosquito bite out of our multi-billion dollar deficit?

Email, call or write your Assembly and  Senate members  and tell them to support a Moratorium and local control over the siting of gas wells in our communities. (Assembly member Aileen Gunther has already signed on to both bills.)  Call your friends and neighbors.  Email them this article so they know what’s at stake. And then, write  letters to the editors of your local newspapers.  Spread the word any way you can.  The gas lobby has the money.  We have the votes.

Get busy and  we can do the other thing Mayor Tillman suggested,  “Get it right.  Learn from the mistakes made in DISH, TX.”

DISH, TX…where new studies have revealed that not only were the air and water  contaminated by the gas industry, but so were  the people.

And look again at the April timeline  above.  The gas lobby has drawn a bead on elected representatives who are working for community rights, Home Rule and studies of  hydraulic fracturing. Is the lobby worried New York residents and taxpayers will vote for the health and welfare of New York and against gas company profits and a few pieces of silver?

NY Gas Lobby vs. NY Assembly, Moratorium and Home Rule

Posted on by Liz

On April 2, 2010,  NYS Assembly bill 10490 was referred to the New York Assembly’s  Environmental Conservation Committee (EnCon).  The Bill  will establish a moratorium on gas drilling in New York State until 120 days after the Environmental Protection Agency releases its study of the gas industry and its  impacts.

On April, 13, 2010,  NYS Assembly Bill  10633 was referred to the Assembly’s EnCon Committee.  The  “home rule” bill will give local governments  zoning control over where gas drilling can occur in their jurisdictions.

Two days later, April 15th,  was a busy, busy day in New York gas news:

  • New York’s gas extraction lobby, the  Independent Oil & Gas Association (IOGA-NY)  proposed to  rescue “New York State’s environmental and parks budgets”  by  drilling in New York’s protected park lands.  IOGA-NY’s  press release  asserted, “New York State could raise more than $200 million in fiscal year 2010-11…” and urged, “expediting the auction of state land leases and the application approval process.”  (According to Governor Patterson’s Budget Briefing Book, the current budget deficit  is $3.2 billion and is expected to reach $6.8 billion in 2010-11, $14.3 billion in 2011-12 and by 2013,  $20.7 billion.)
  • At the same conference, “DEC Director of Mineral Resources, Bradley Field…[said] the entire process, including the issuance of [gas drilling] permits, would be finished in 2010.”

To ensure that  New York  taxpayers get a return on  the billions of gallons of free water the gas companies use in gas extraction and to offset the possible contamination of  State parks  “which welcome “more than 55 million visitors each year,” (2009 Annual Report)  Governor Patterson has proposed a 3% severance tax on some gas extraction companies. (Budget Briefing Book, pp 98-99). Unfortunately, the tax won’t be levied  until 2011-12 and will garner only  $1 million in revenues.

(By comparison,  Texas’  2007 severance tax on the  gas industry was  7.5% and produced  $2.76 billion in revenues.   Mayor Tillman of DISH, TX assured an audience in Callicoon, NY,

“We don’t have a state income tax in Texas.  We have the severance tax on the gas companies.  It’s good for a lot of reasons.   The tax is paid by volume on the gas so if you’re leasing,  you’ve got a measurement of how much your wells are producing.  It’ll tell you how much gas is coming out of the ground and how much money you should be getting.”   (A previous Breathing article,  referenced a court judgment that found   Chesapeake had defrauded royalty owners in Texas out of $134 million in payments by under-reporting the amount of  gas Chesapeake extracted from its lessor’s wells.) Tillman continued to tout the benefits of enacting a severance tax,  “Do you have enough inspectors in  New York?   A severance tax could pay for that, too.”  Then, looking out over the audience,  he asked,  “How are the roads holding out around here?”  When the audience groaned and laughed, he said,  “A severance tax can fix that.”

Although IOGA-NY’s April 15th  press release expressed concern for  the terrible state of  New York’s finances,  the gas lobby  continues  to oppose a severance tax  while urging lawmakers to entrust  the State’s public lands  to them for $200 million.

Despite the industry’s offer,  Texas’ annual severance tax of  7.5% sounds like a better deal than the 3% proposed by Governor Patterson or our $200 million share in their multi-billion dollar profits; especially since  the DEC  (dSGEIS, Chapter 9, page 6) estimates, “… 2,000 wells per year ± 25% in the New York Marcellus play.”

Two thousand wells per year?  Only 29 new DEC staff  (Budget Briefing Book, page 53) to oversee billions of gallons of  toxic fracking fluids and  radioactive waters produced by the fracking process?   Billions of dollars of gas company  profits on the backs of New York State’s  taxpayers and our  parks  and  water resources?  Billions of gallons of our water used in  fracking operations for free?   And the gas lobby believes  we can be bought off with a $200 million mosquito bite out of our multi-billion dollar deficit?

Email, call or write your Assembly and  Senate members  and tell them to support a Moratorium and local control over the siting of gas wells in our communities. (Assembly member Aileen Gunther has already signed on to both bills.)  Call your friends and neighbors.  Email them this article so they know what’s at stake. And then, write  letters to the editors of your local newspapers.  Spread the word any way you can.  The gas lobby has the money.  We have the votes.

Get busy and  we can do the other thing Mayor Tillman suggested,  “Get it right.  Learn from the mistakes made in DISH, TX.”

DISH, TX…where new studies have revealed that not only were the air and water  contaminated by the gas industry, but so were  the people.

And look again at the April timeline  above.  The gas lobby has drawn a bead on elected representatives who are working for community rights, Home Rule and studies of  hydraulic fracturing. Is the lobby worried New York residents and taxpayers will vote for the health and welfare of New York and against gas company profits and a few pieces of silver?