Last Friday, a four judge panel of a New York appeals court upheld two local zoning laws that prohibit activities related to oil and gas exploration and development, including hydraulic fracturing. The decisions in Norse Energy Corp. USA v. Town of Dryden and Cooperstown Holstein Corp. v. Town of Middlefield mark the first appellate ruling… Continue Reading
Category Archives: Land Use
Subscribe to Land Use RSS FeedPennsylvania Supreme Court Upholds Statewide Oil And Gas Conveyance Rules
Posted in Hydraulic Fracturing, Land Use, PennsylvaniaIn October of 2012 the Pennsylvania Supreme Court heard oral argument on two key cases that potentially could reshape the laws and rules applicable to hydraulic fracturing in the state. We wrote extensively about these cases in 2012 and expanded on our analysis in a web interview with LXBN-TV. Last week the Pennsylvania Supreme Court… Continue Reading
Virginia AG: Localities Cannot Ban Gas Drilling Through Zoning
Posted in Hydraulic Fracturing, Land Use, U.S. EPA, Virginia, WaterContinuing on this blog’s ongoing exploration of the intersection of state and local regulation of shale drilling (see last week’s post here, as well as prior posts here and here), several weeks ago Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli issued an advisory opinion finding that state oil and gas law effectively prevents localities from barring drilling for… Continue Reading
Fort Collins Gives Final Approval to Hydraulic Fracturing Ban
Posted in Colorado, Hydraulic Fracturing, Land Use, LegislativeOn March 5, 2013, the Fort Collins City Council by a vote of 5 to 2 gave final approval to a ban on oil and gas operations, hydraulic fracturing, and some waste storage within city limits. Our prior coverage of this issue in Fort Collins can be found here. Fort Collins is now the second Colorado… Continue Reading
Ohio Court: State Oil And Gas Law Pre-Empts Local Drilling Regulations
Posted in Hydraulic Fracturing, Land Use, Legislative, Litigation, Ohio DNRThe nationwide oil and gas boom has exposed a rift in the relationship between state and local governments seeking to regulate shale drilling and development. This tension has been playing out in several key shale states – for example, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court will soon issue its opinion in the Robinson Township case, which will… Continue Reading
Colorado Raises Minimum Setbacks for Oil and Gas Wells
Posted in Colorado, Hydraulic Fracturing, Land UseLast month the Colorado Oil & Gas Conservation Commission (“COGCC”) held three days of public hearings on a series of proposed updates to its rules governing oil and gas wells. Among other things, the COGCC adopted new rules requiring drillers of hydraulically fractured wells to test nearby groundwater both before and after drilling — making Colorado… Continue Reading
Colorado Adopts Groundwater and Setback Drilling Rules, Launches Emissions Study
Posted in Colorado, Groundwater, Hydraulic Fracturing, Land Use, WaterThis week the Colorado Oil & Gas Conservation Commission conducted three days of public hearings on proposed revisions to its oil and gas well rules to address concerns posed by increased hydraulic fracturing activity. As part of those hearings, the Commission took several key actions that will affect future shale drilling operations statewide. First, on… Continue Reading
Longmont Sued By Colorado Oil and Gas Association
Posted in Colorado, Hydraulic Fracturing, Land Use, LitigationLast week we reported that the state of Colorado would not directly sue the town of Longmont to challenge the ban on hydraulic fracturing that town voters enacted in the November election. Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper did note at the time, though, that his administration would “stand ready to support an energy company that does… Continue Reading
Boulder County, Colorado Commissioners Vote to Allow Hydraulic Fracturing
Posted in Colorado, Hydraulic Fracturing, Land Use, LegislativeAt a meeting of the Boulder County Commission, at which the Boulder County Sheriff’s Office provided security, the Commission voted unanimously to allow hydraulic fracturing in Boulder County. The Commissioners each acknowledged that their personal preference would be to ban fracking. But they further acknowledged that the power to regulate below-ground oil and gas activities… Continue Reading
Legislators In Ohio General Assembly Propose Numerous New Shale Bills As Close Of Session Nears
Posted in Disposal Wells, Groundwater, Hydraulic Fracturing, Land Use, Legislative, Ohio DNR, Tax, WaterThe Ohio General Assembly closes its two-year term later this month. The waning days of the term, falling between the November election and the end of the year, are known as the “lame-duck” session. During this session, legislators have introduced a flurry of bills relating to hydraulic fracturing and shale gas drilling. Many of these… Continue Reading
Colorado Town’s MOUs With Shale Well Operators Address Local Safety Concerns
Posted in Colorado, Land Use, Legislative, WaterYesterday we discussed recent developments in Colorado by which local governments are beginning enact bans on hydraulic fracturing activities, with similar activities occurring in individual towns in Pennsylvania and Ohio. In contrast, another Colorado town (Erie, a town of about 20,000 people that is roughly equidistant from Denver and Boulder) has taken a somewhat novel approach to addressing… Continue Reading
Pennsylvania Appellate Court Bars PUC From Withholding Impact Fees
Posted in Hydraulic Fracturing, Land Use, Legislative, Litigation, PennsylvaniaIn our post on Thursday we covered the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission’s decision to withhold impact fees from localities with ordinances or rules limiting hydraulic fracturing. In that post we noted that certain plaintiffs in the Robinson Township case requested an order from a state appellate court blocking that decision. On Friday, the Pennsylvania Commonwealth… Continue Reading
Pennsylvania PUC Withholds Township’s Impact Fees Due To Local Drilling Ordinances
Posted in Hydraulic Fracturing, Land Use, Legislative, Litigation, PennsylvaniaLast week the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission (PUC) issued the first of what could be numerous rulings denying a township its share of impact fees from shale drilling because its local land use ordinances overly regulated drilling. Specifically, the PUC found in its October 18 order that the township of South Fayette’s ordinances were preempted by existing state environmental… Continue Reading
Pennsylvania Supreme Court Hears Argument On Two Hydraulic Fracturing Cases
Posted in Hydraulic Fracturing, Land Use, Legislative, Litigation, PennsylvaniaThe future shape of hydraulic fracturing development in Pennsylvania now rests in the hands of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court. On consecutive days last week in Pittsburgh, the Court heard oral argument in two key cases that may transform the state’s legal and regulatory landscape as to natural gas exploration and development. First, on Tuesday, October… Continue Reading
Activist Groups Lobby For Local Control of Ohio Shale Operations and Waste Disposal
Posted in Disposal Wells, Groundwater, Hydraulic Fracturing, Land Use, Legislative, Ohio DNRThroughout Ohio, environmental groups and community activists increasingly are pressing local units of government to enact local “bans” of hydraulic fracturing and deep injection disposal wells that can accept well flowback. For example, on August 2 the Cincinnati City Council voted to bar injection wells associated with the disposal of waste from hydraulic fracturing; Yellow… Continue Reading
Pennsylvania Appellate Court Overturns State Zoning Law Encouraging Marcellus Development
Posted in Hydraulic Fracturing, Land Use, PennsylvaniaUPDATE (August 5, 2012): An amended version of the Commonwealth Court’s opinion in this case is now available and can be found at this link. Yesterday, a panel of judges from Pennsylvania’s Commonwealth Court (the state’s intermediate appellate court) sided with local units of government in overturning a recently-adopted state law that overruled local zoning… Continue Reading