Fresh off its hotly anticipated August 2014 decision upholding the right of municipalities to zone oil and gas extraction operations out of their towns, the New York State Court of Appeals is set to weigh in on another oil and gas extraction issue. This latest matter...
NY State Environmental Quality Review Act (SEQRA)
Deadline for Statewide Fracking Regulations Extended
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...
Conservation Buffer Sufficient to Defeat Petitioners’ Standing to Challenge Proposed Development
In a decision that highlights how strictly trial courts are construing the standing of prospective plaintiffs or petitioners, a State Supreme Court justice in Westchester County recently held that because of a land conservation buffer between existing homes and a...
New York State Department of Environmental Conservation Proposes Amendments to Environmental Assessment Forms
The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation ("DEC") recently proposed amending its Short and Long Environmental Assessment Forms ("EAFs"), and is accepting public comment on the revised forms through April 8, 2011. These forms are used in the...
New York State Court of Appeals Makes Significant SEQRA Standing Ruling
On October 27, 2009 the New York State Court of Appeals made the most important decision regarding standing in SEQRA cases in perhaps the last 18 years. The court ruled in Save the Pine Bush v. Common Council of City of Albany, that standing to challenge the...
