NY Environmental Section Enforcement Update April 2013, #4

April 26, , Four Charged with Multiple Deer Violations in Otsego County Four Otsego County men were ticketed with multiple deer hunting violations on for illegally killing eight deer including discharging a firearm across a roadway. In addition to being charged with misdemeanors of Environmental Conservation Law, charges also include reckless endangerment charges for shooting on public property and within a residential area.

Offenses included unlawfully setting 15 snares for coyote, multiple counts for unlawful use of body gripping traps on land and numerous related violations. The definition of a navigable water way for the purposes of enforcing violations of Article 15 freshwater waterway regulatory procedures as per ECL Section ; 2. This long environmental saga commenced with the Respondent's placement of fill materials in a relatively small and allegedly isolated pond with limited public access.

Was the pond a navigable waterway for purposes of enforcing the ECL? Respondent's various motions to determine otherwise were denied and this matter plods on. However, it behooves a party that wants to improve any waterfront property to check with DEC before improvements begin.

A costly and lengthy litigation may be avoided. In this administrative enforcement proceeding , NYSDEC and Respondent tangled over an esoteric, but important, environmental issue regarding what exactly constitutes waste tires in an amount that triggers the ECL regulatory threshold. The Commissioner held that TDA does constitute waste tires under the law and Respondent was therefore required to obtain a permit for its facility.

Invasive Species Slimes Locals! Between climate change and careless commerce, invasive species are a growth area for environmental regulations and related enforcement. In a campaign both serious and somewhat unbelievable, South Florida residents are being warned to be on the lookout for one of the world's most destructive invasive species: The mammoth mollusks can grow to be rat-sized and were first spotted in Florida in More than 1, are being caught each week in Miami-Dade County as the snails relentlessly gnaw through stucco houses and most known species of plants. A particular aim was to support three nuclear plants, Ginna , James A.

The commission has employed and been influenced by an array of interesting personnel: The Power Authority's proposed contract to buy hydroelectric power from the Canadian province of Quebec has generated controversy.

NY Environmental Section Enforcement Update April 2013, #4

The Power Authority has been criticized by scholars for "missed opportunities" in using its administrative powers. The Long Island Power Authority owns the electric transmission and distribution infrastructure on a large portion of Long Island. In the early s, Governor Franklin Delano Roosevelt used the state's gasoline tax to fund farm to market roads.

Climatologist Michael Mann spoke at Union College in October about the public policy issues involved with climate change. New Regulations and Challenges", which is available as of February as an audio course. A panel of "multidisciplinary faculty of professionals addresse[d] the new body of law being created in New York to address the substantial development that is expected in the Marcellus Shale region.


  • Michael J. Lesser.
  • The New York City Council - File #: Res .
  • Legislative Committee.

The energy industry is represented by the Energy Association of New York , which lobbies on behalf of the state's larger energy-producing corporations and utilities. A total of 17 wind energy companies have agreed to a set of ethics guidelines, which will delineate the companies' relationships with employee, contractors, and local governments. The myriad legal issues concerning hydrofracking in New York has spawned a whole body of law, with primary authorities such as case law, statutes, and zoning regulations, as well as secondary sources such as law review and newspaper articles, on this rapidly changing field of law.

In February , two cases of first impression, Anschutz Exploration Corp.

2013 N.Y. Environmental Conservation Law 11-0907 – Deer and bear; open hunting seasons; bag limits

Town of Dryden and Cooperstown Holstein Corp. Town of Middletown , dealt with the issue of whether towns in New York can use local zoning laws to ban hydrofracking, within their police powers , or whether such action would be preempted by N. The legal and political issues raised by these explosive cases were the subject of a seminar organized on February 28, by the Albany Law School.

The Anschutz case got the most publicity and analysis in the immediate aftermath, because it was decided a week earlier than the Cooperstown court. Opponents of hydrofacking "emerged trimphant" after winning Anschutz. Rumsey relied in part on cases from Colorado that allowed local governments to regulate gas drilling, [] as well as from Pennsylvania , which concerned the very same Marcellus shale that is being drilled in Upstate New York. Department of Environmental Conservation's permit fees and regulatory scheme.

Post a comment

In Cooperstown , a farmer named Jennifer Huntington leased acres of her land for natural drilling, and she sued after the town changed its zoning laws to ban fracking. Since both courts are within the Third Department of the Appellate Division , and they would be appealed, [] [] [] they were to be consolidated upon appeal. Attorneys for the town of Dryden indicated they are in the process of perfecting the appeal as of September Further complicating the appeals, Norse Energy has also become involved in the Anschutz case.

Back in October , Norse Energy put up their leases for sale , claiming the moratorium by Governor Paterson had hurt the international company's prospects. Town of Dryden , upholding the decision of the N. Peters upheld the lower court's denial of intervenor status for the environmental group, DRAC, and the constitutionality of the Town of Dryden's zoning ordinance. On June 30, , the New York Court of Appeals upheld the local zoning ordinances, as well as the lower court cases that had allowed them, in a decision authored by Judge Victoria Graffeo.

In July , Lenape Resources, a natural gas drilling company, threatened to sue state and local governments over a hydrofracking ban by the town of Avon. Ryan that, while the city of Binghamton has the right to enact a local regulation, they did not enact a proper moratorium. While those appeals were pending, the New York Times reported in mid-June that Governor Cuomo and his staff were deliberating on a plan to restrict hydrofracking to five counties in the southern tier of New York, along the Pennsylvania border, where the Marcellus shale is deepest and drilling is least likely to pollute well water supplies in those aquifers.

The Albany Times Union the next day filed a front-page, above the fold story questioning the plan's leak as a " trial balloon ," which had quickly garnered both criticism and support. In August , LeBrun filed a column that a limited plan was moving forward to allow hydrofracking in the Southern Tier, which he characterized as the "[e]nd of the anti-frack world. Governor Cuomo's budget did not expect any revenues from hydrofracking in fiscal year Joseph Martens , the Commissioner of DEC , has overall responsibility for regulating all hydrofracking programs.

Eugene Leff, his Deputy Commissioner for Remediation and Materials Management, has responsibility for "Materials Management, Environmental Remediation and Mineral Resources", which would include hydrofracking regulations, if any were to be released. New Regulations and Challenges". As of early , administrative inaction lead to what the Sierra Club called a " de facto moratorium From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Counties 62 Cities 62 Towns Villages School districts. Lee Zeldin R 2: Peter King R 3: Thomas Suozzi D 4: Kathleen Rice D 5: Gregory Meeks D 6: Grace Meng D 7: Hakeem Jeffries D 9: Yvette Clarke D Jerrold Nadler D Dan Donovan R Carolyn Maloney D Charlie Rangel D Joseph Crowley D Eliot Engel D Nita Lowey D Sean Maloney D Chris Gibson R Paul Tonko D Elise Stefanik R Tom Reed R John Katko R Louise Slaughter D Brian Higgins D Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design.

Accessed August 6, Accessed February 4, Energy Law McKinney's ; L. Energy Law McKinney's supp.

Energy Law McKinney's appendix. Retrieved November 9, Retrieved March 18, , and updated version on January 24, Retrieved June 1, and updated version on January 24, Retrieved March 6, Darrel Aubertine promoted after Brooklyn Sen. Retrieved June 1, Power for Jobs should be extended at least a year for certainty, continuity," posted May 27, , found at NY Senate Press release.

Retrieved January 24, George Maziarz pleads guilty in Albany". Retrieved April 7, Retrieved March 6, and January 24, Found at NY Capitol News archives. Accessed August 5, Sustainable Energy — without the hot air: Educational events Educational Webinars.

NY Environmental Section Enforcement Update April , #4 (Envirosphere)

Election Contact Andrew Cuomo. FracTracker Reporting Form http: Local Events Bill Huston's Blog.

Local Govt Actions Cortland Co. Earth Justice You are Here—Map of fossil fuel infrastructure. Other organizations American Water Works Assoc. If you know someone in Groton please pass this message along.