New York Operators Seek Way Forward

摘要

When the highest court in a state speaks, it can leave little wiggle room. Nevertheless, operators in New York are still searching for a way forward after the New York State Court of Ap-peals-the state's highest-voted 5-2 in June to uphold local ordinances regulating and even prohibiting oil and gas development. In a combined ruling in Norse Energy Corp. USA v. Town of Dryden and Coop-erstown Holstein Corp. v. Town of Middle-field, the court held that the supersession clause in New York's Oil, Gas and Solution Mining Law did not pre-empt the home rale authority vested in municipalities to regulate land use (AOGR, July 2014, pg. 19). The town boards of Dryden and Middlefield both adopted ordinances in 2011 prohibiting most oil and gas activities. Anschutz Exploration Corp., which later was replaced by Norse Energy Corp., and Cooperstown Holstein, a mineral owner that had executed two leases in Middlefield, each filed lawsuits contending the Oil, Gas and Solution Mining Law superseded the municipal ordinances.