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 [...]

Destruction of Oil Spill Investigation Data Ruled Not Sufficiently Prejudicial to Warrant the Dismissal of a Cost Recovery Action Under Navigation Law § 12

| March 7, 2013

Does the destruction of plaintiff’s technical data supporting disclosed oil spill investigation reports get a defendant off the hook?  Apparently not, decided the Appellate Division (Third Dept.) in a November 2012 decision, rejecting a defense motion to reverse a plaintiff’s trial verdict. Defendants had received the reports themselves, without the backup technical data, but had [...]

After Surviving a Legal Challenge, the Coney Island Boardwalk is “Going Green”

| February 5, 2013

There are perhaps few other sights so closely associated with the summer scene at Coney Island than the wooden boardwalk. Predating even the venerable Coney Island Cyclone roller coaster, the boardwalk has been the main thoroughfare along which have strolled generations of New Yorkers and tourists alike, out for a game of ski-ball, some ice [...]

Deadline for Statewide Fracking Regulations Extended

| January 31, 2013

On November 29, 2012, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation missed its deadline under state law to finalize regulations for hydrofracking in New York. However, shortly before the deadline, it filed a Notice of Continuation with the Department of State to secure a 90 day extension for the rulemaking process. During this 90 day [...]

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), [...]

11th Circuit Decision Follows that of Niagara v. Mohawk: Under CERCLA, Parties Who Enter Into Consent Decree with Government Are Limited to a § 113(f) Contribution Claim

| May 31, 2012

Since the Second Circuit Court of Appeals decided Niagara Mohawk Power Corp v. Chevron U.S.A., Inc., 596 F.3d 112 (2d Cir. 2010), a number of other Circuits have followed the Second Circuit’s holding that parties who enter into a consent decree with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) following an EPA enforcement action and then [...]