Gas production from domestic shale formations is expected to decline in September, says a new report from the US Energy Information Administration. The drop would come just a few months after gas output peaked in May. The explanation for the decline is fairly straightforward: older wells aren’t producing as before, and the new wells aren’t […]
drilling
Posted inNews & Opinion
Hemlock-Canadice’s watershed moment
The City of Rochester sold approximately 7,000 acres of land around Hemlock and Canadice lakes to the state in 2010 to make sure that the waterfronts remain safe from development. And yet the lakes are currently at the center of a controversy about gas and oil drilling. That’s because the state’s proposed plan to manage […]
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Wages only part of ‘frackonomics’ picture
The conservative Empire Center for New York State Policy has released a report that says, predictably, that fracking could boost incomes in 28 New York counties. The report’s authors based their conclusions on data from Pennsylvania counties where Marcellus Shale drilling is occurring. They say that had New York allowed its counties to “fully exploit […]
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Court says communities can ban drilling
Yesterday, a state appeals court upheld two towns’ bans on oil and gas drilling in separate but similar cases. The decisions were cheered by environmental and anti-fracking groups, as well by some elected officials. One case challenged a ban in the Town of Dryden, (decision here) and the other, in the Town of Middlefield (decision […]
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Shale gas drilling moratorium proposed in Assembly
Tomorrow could have been fracking decision day in New York, had the state Department of Environmental Conservation not missed a necessary deadline. Instead, the state’s review of fracking continues. Today, however, a group of Assembly members introduced new legislation that, if passed, would implement a moratorium on drilling in the Marcellus and Utica shale formations. […]
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Brighton pursuing drilling ban
The Town of Brighton is acting to make a temporary ban on natural gas and oil drilling within town limits, including fracking, permanent. At 7 p.m. today, the Brighton Town Board will hold a public hearing on its proposed ban. Town Supervisor Bill Moehle says the board will probably vote on the proposed law at […]
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AP: Strong regulations not enough to prevent drilling problems
Earlier this week, Earthworks released a report criticizing the inspection practices of New York and other states where drilling is occurring. But the folks at Earthworks are not the only ones examining New York’s record of regulatory enforcement of gas and oil drilling. An Associated Press article published yesterday also calls the state’s enforcement efforts […]
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Fracking fight — state vs. local
Officials in many New York communities have already passed laws to keep high-volume hydraulic fracturing outside of their limits. But the bans and moratoriums have raised a big question: if the state ultimately allows high-volume fracking, will the local protections survive? Ultimately, the courts will decide the matter. In fact, earlier this year a judge […]
