Anti-fracking bill gets Oscar hopeful's support
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Hoping success rubs off, a U.S. lawmaker had the director of the Oscar-nominated film "Gasland" near when announcing he will reintroduce a bill making companies reveal chemicals used in natural gas drilling.
"Before this country embraces natural gas as the solution to our energy needs ... we need to take every step possible to ensure our water is not contaminated, our air is not polluted, and our communities are not irrevocably harmed," Representative Maurice Hinchey of New York, who will reintroduce the bill, said at a press conference. To read the entire article by Timothy Gardner, click HERE.
Thursday, February 17, 2011
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
Special report: In depth on fracking (video)
While the WGRZ news station is out of western NY, a good portion of the content (interviews, etc) take place in Bradford County. The video is approximately 9-10 minutes long and well worth watching. To read the accompanying transcript, click HERE.
Tuesday, February 15, 2011
Landowners might have more options than previously thought.
For those landowers who signed over mineral rights a decade or more ago and thought they had no recourse when those leases were extended at the original rates of mere dollars per acre.....think again. The following article appeared in today's Ithaca Journal.
Landowners looking for legal options to fight energy companies
As energy companies attempt to extend some oil and gas leases because of New York's hydraulic fracturing moratorium, local law firms are trying to assemble groups of landowners to fight those claims in federal court.
Hundreds of local landowners have received letters from natural gas companies over the past two years claiming "force majeure" on their expiring leases, many of which are a decade old and signed for just a few dollars per acre.
Force majeure, a legal clause in some contracts, allows for the lease to be extended if an unforeseen event prevents either side from upholding the terms of the agreement.
One small group of landowners in the Harpursville and Colesville areas moved forward with a federal suit against a force majeure claim last fall, and now some lawyers are trying to expand the legal fight against the industry.
"We have probably 120 families that expressed an interest," said Robert Jones, a lawyer with Coughlin & Gerhart LLP. "Our goal is to commence a lawsuit on their behalf by March 1"....
Click HERE to read the remainder of the article in its entirety.
Landowners looking for legal options to fight energy companies
As energy companies attempt to extend some oil and gas leases because of New York's hydraulic fracturing moratorium, local law firms are trying to assemble groups of landowners to fight those claims in federal court.
Hundreds of local landowners have received letters from natural gas companies over the past two years claiming "force majeure" on their expiring leases, many of which are a decade old and signed for just a few dollars per acre.
Force majeure, a legal clause in some contracts, allows for the lease to be extended if an unforeseen event prevents either side from upholding the terms of the agreement.
One small group of landowners in the Harpursville and Colesville areas moved forward with a federal suit against a force majeure claim last fall, and now some lawyers are trying to expand the legal fight against the industry.
"We have probably 120 families that expressed an interest," said Robert Jones, a lawyer with Coughlin & Gerhart LLP. "Our goal is to commence a lawsuit on their behalf by March 1"....
Click HERE to read the remainder of the article in its entirety.
Sunday, February 13, 2011
Should you have a right to know?
The American Gas Association, Gas Processors Association and Chesapeake Energy Corporation have all filed suit against the EPA that would undermine the public's right-to-know laws. At issue: inventorying and disclosure requirements for all oil and gas discharges into the environment. Click HERE to read the recent press release issued by the Environmental Defense Fund.
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