Feds intervene in NY suit against frackers

[pscot]

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-08-02/u-s-seeks-to-dismiss-new-york-state-lawsuit-over-natural-gas-drilling.html

The U.S. government said it will ask a judge to dismiss a New York lawsuit that seeks to force a fuller environmental review of how natural-gas extraction could affect 9 million water drinkers in the state.

The U.S. plans to ask U.S. District Judge Nicholas Garaufis in Brooklyn, New York, to dismiss the case on the grounds that the state can’t prove injury and doesn’t have the right to sue federal agencies, according to a letter filed with the court yesterday.

The New York state complaint is “barred by well-settled principles of sovereign immunity,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Sandra Levy wrote in the letter to the judge. Sovereign immunity protects the U.S. from lawsuits unless it waives the right.

[QC]

1. Oh, this is especially hopeful! n/t

[amyrose2712]

2. And the blows keep coming. nt

[enough]

3. I'm not even surprised any more. (nt)

[Angry Dragon]

4. shaking my head

[FiveGoodMen]

5. Of, by, and for the corporations (and more than happy to fuck over almost ALL the people)

'Our' government isn't ours anymore.

[KurtNYC]

6. that is SOP when a lawsuit is filed -- the defendant moves to have it dismissed

on whatever gorunds they can think of. Usually there is a whole list of potential reasons.

[Webster Green]

7. This administration is anti-environment.

That became painfully obvious when Obama let BP give orders to the Coast Guard and the EPA during the BP destruction in the Gulf of Mexico. That clusterfuck is ongoing, with BP failing to cut checks, and hiding evidence of environmental damage.

Obama is owned by the predator corporations.

[OKIsItJustMe]

8. I wouldn't go that far

I think appointing http://blog.epa.gov/administrator/">Lisa Jackson was one of the best things President Obama has done for the environment.

[Webster Green]

11. We'll see.

Perhaps she'll resign in disgust.

Keep in mind that the fascists always throw us a few table scraps to keep us from burning down their mansions, but the hoax continues.

[proverbialwisdom]

9. If I lived in NY state I'd be sending the GASLAND DVD far and wide, including to NY politicians.

New Yorkers, PLEASE make some noise!

[OKIsItJustMe]

10. NY noise makers

http://www.nyrad.org/

http://nypirg.org/enviro/toxics/drilling/

[proverbialwisdom]

12. Thank you. Looks like a great group.

Their membership could easily expand by opening involvement to the entire region (NJ, PA and CT) with separate petitions by residency, of course. Why split people with broad common interests into narrow factions? My state could be next. Why reinvent the wheel in each state?

I've donated to Riverkeeper in the past, but dropped them last year over this matter. It's hard to follow, views evolve, but NYRAD appears highly promising.



http://www.riverkeeper.org/news-events/news/safeguard-drinking-water/robert-kennedy-jr-dec-fracking-panel/

7.13.11 :: Latest Developments :: Safeguard Drinking Water

Robert Kennedy, Jr. Accepts Post on DEC Fracking Panel
Will advocate for rigorous environmental protections

On Friday, July 1, 2011, NYS Department of Environmental Conservation announced its new recommendations regarding limits to be placed on high-volume hydraulic fracturing in New York State, including a ban on hydrofracking in the New York City and Syracuse watersheds, over primary aquifers and on state lands. In addition, DEC Commissioner Joe Martens announced the formation of an Hydraulic Fracturing Advisory Panel charged with developing recommendations to ensure proper oversight and enforcement with respect to hydraulic fracturing activities and mitigation of impacts to local governments and communities.

Commissioner Martens asked Robert Kennedy, Jr., as the President of Waterkeeper Alliance, to be a member of the panel, along with several industry representatives, as well as representatives from other environmental organizations including NRDC and the Environmental Defense Fund. Governor Cuomo has assured Kennedy that his goal is to have DEC put in place the most rigorous regulations in the 50 states governing shale gas extraction activities in New York. In addition, the Governor and Commissioner Martens want to make certain that oversight and enforcement is adequately funded by the industry itself.

Having been invited to play an inside role in guiding the State’s efforts to put adequate protections in place to ensure that hydraulic fracturing will be done safely and responsibly in New York, Kennedy decided that he would be in the strongest position to negotiate on behalf of protecting the environment as a member of the panel. “I felt that it would be counter-productive and chicken-hearted for the Waterkeeper Alliance to sit on the sidelines and allow an industry-dominated panel attempt to influence the development of a less than fully protective regulatory framework, and then lob bombs at the final work product.” Kennedy is committed to playing an active and forceful role on the panel to make certain that voices speaking for the environment and in particular, for our precious water resources, are heard, and to ensure that the best possible regulations and financial assurances are part of the regulatory protocols.

This role is consistent with the position on the natural gas industry that Kennedy has taken since this spring, when he re-examined his support for natural gas as a reasonable substitute for the destructive practice of mountain top coal mining. “Because of the reckless conduct of the industry over the past several years, as well as my growing concerns about the greenhouse gas impacts associated with shale gas extraction and about the potential for the investment and infrastructure required by aggressive natural gas exploitation to divert resources away from the development of alternative fuels, I have changed my thinking and have asked members of the industry to stop using any statements I may have made in the past in support of natural gas. My position now is that I oppose moving forward with permitting of all new horizontal hydrofracking activities until more responsible leadership emerges within the industry, best practices are required by law, and state and federal regulatory agencies have the staff and resources to provide reliable oversight.”