Appellate Division Upholds Right of New York Municipalities to Regulate Fracking through Zoning Ordinances

| May 16, 2013

Municipalities in New York have received the green light to regulate fracking – even to the point of banning it – through local zoning ordinances.  It’s a second consecutive victory for municipalities in the New York courts, and an affirmation of New York’s long history of vesting decision making powers in local governments through Home [...]

Extension of New York State Fracking Moratorium Passes State Assembly, But its Ultimate Fate is Unclear

| March 25, 2013

On March 7, 2013, the New York State Assembly passed legislation to extend the moratorium in place on high pressure horizontal hydraulic fracturing – hydrofracking or fracking – of shale that has been in place since 2008. Though the bill, Assembly Bill 5424-A, passed the Assembly by a wide margin of 95 to 40, the [...]

Proposed Revisions to SEQRA Regulations Currently Under Review

| January 2, 2013

During the summer of 2012, the DEC proposed its first substantive amendments to the State Environmental Quality Review Act (SEQRA) regulations since 1996. The DEC has explained that the amendments are meant to streamline the review process “without sacrificing meaningful review,” but the potential impact of the proposed amendments appears to be somewhat mixed. The proposed amendments center [...]

DEC “Incidental Take” Permit Regulations Survive Challenge

| November 21, 2012

On July 26, 2012 the Appellate Division, Third Department affirmed the dismissal of a challenge to the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation’s recently amended endangered species regulations. The regulations, contained in 6 NYCRR Part 182, included a requirement for a party contemplating development to obtain a DEC permit if that activity is likely [...]

Binghamton Fracking Ban Struck Down in New York State Supreme Court

| November 14, 2012

Fracking proponents recently succeeded in overturning Local Law 11-006 the city’s ban on fracking,  but this ruling is unlikely to drastically alter the landscape for municipal fracking regulation in New York outside of Binghamton.

“Fracking NY” Blog Series: Update – Decisions Upholding Zoning Bans on Fracking in NY Appealed

| June 29, 2012

Previously in our “Fracking NY” Blog Series, we summarized the two recent New York Supreme Court cases — Anschutz Exploration Corp. v. Town of Dryden, 940 N.Y.S.2d 458 (Sup. Ct. Tompkins Co. Feb. 21, 2012) and Cooperstown Holstein Corp. v. Town of Middlefield, 2012 N.Y. Misc. LEXIS 1420 (Sup. Ct. Otsego Co. Feb. 24, 2012), [...]

“Fracking NY” Blog Series: Part 6 – Courts Uphold Two Local Zoning Bans on Fracking in New York State – Town of Middlefield (Part II)

| March 7, 2012

So far in the Periconi, LLC “Fracking NY Blog Series,” we’ve outlined state, interstate, and federal regulation of high volume horizontal hydraulic fracturing (or “fracking”).  We now turn to yet another layer of potential regulation of fracking in New York State: local zoning ordinances.  Two towns – Dryden and Middlefield – which have enacted zoning [...]

“Fracking NY” Blog Series: Part 6 – Courts Uphold Two Local Zoning Bans on Fracking in New York State – Town of Dryden (Part I)

| March 7, 2012

So far in the Periconi, LLC “Fracking NY Blog Series,” we’ve outlined state, interstate, and federal regulation of high volume horizontal hydraulic fracturing (or “fracking”).  We now turn to yet another layer of potential regulation of fracking in New York State: local zoning ordinances.  Two towns – Dryden and Middlefield – which have enacted zoning [...]

Generalized Community Knowledge Does Not Trump Expert Conclusions

| December 13, 2011

The Appellate Division of New York State Supreme Court, Third Department, upheld a lower court decision that it was improper for a local planning board to deny a special use permit based on “generalized community knowledge” in opposition to a development proposal, when an unchallenged expert report concluded that the proposal would not harm the [...]