Newly Knighted Cuomo "State of the State"

Hi everyone! Welcome back! Happy New Years! Let's get right to it ---

NY's 56th governor, Andrew Cuomo, delivered his first "State of the State" address today. As expected, the main focus was the state of the economy.

The few worthy environmental issues included: creating green jobs; reducing pollution; furthering environmental justice; inviting the private market to participate in the "greening" of NY; and increasing the number of greenmarkets in NY's urban areas.

I wonder where he stands on hydro-fracking within the NY watershed...

For the "State of the State" video, click here.

Groups Applaud NY State Assembly for Passing a "Timeout" on Fracking for Natural Gas

Yesterday, the New York State Assembly voted to protect NY's watershed by passing legislation that puts a timeout on hydraulic fracturing for natural gas. By passing this bill, A.11443, the Assembly has taken a stand, and recognizes the potential hazards of fracking activities.


The bill suspends the issuance of permits to hydraulically fracture natural gas wells in New York State until May 15, 2011. 


For more info, check out this EarthJustice Press Release.

New Green City Fair - Union Square NYC - September 29, 2010 10am-6pm

GrowNYC presents NEW GREEN CITY welcoming more than 100,000 visitors to New York City’s largest annual green event in Union Square Park. Following the success of Green Brooklyn...Green City in September of 2009, this year's family-friendly event showcases government agencies, non-profits, entrepreneurs and community & corporate partners at the forefront of environmental stewardship, education and awareness. 
 

 

New Green City is an official participant of the New York City Department of Parks & Recreation's Green Event Program.  

Follow this link to read more: http://www.grownyc.org/newgreencity

Meet NY Environmental Attorneys! NYSBA Environmental Law Section's Fall Meeting (10/1-10/3)

The Environmental Law Section of the New York State Bar Association (NYSBA) is hosting its annual "Fall Meeting" from October 1st thru October 3rd.

This annual meeting is a great opportunity for law students and recent graduates to meet practicing environmental attorneys and professionals. NYLS's very own Professor Schnapf will be in attendance and has offered to introduce students to some of the Section's leaders.





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Environmental Law Panel at Brooklyn Law 9/21

Tomorrow night (sorry for the late notice) there will be a panel on careers in environmental law and natural resources. The panel starts at 6-8PM and will take place in Room 503.

The panel will be moderated by Brooklyn Law's new environmental law professor Gregg Macey and will also include dinner.

The following are the bios for the panel members:





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EPA Region II Biannual Conference

The biannual EPA Region 2 conference will be held Friday, May 21 at Columbia Law School.  The NYS Environmental Law Section is a co-sponsor of the event, along with the ABA, NY City Bar, New Jersey Bar, EPA and Columbia.  Featured speakers will include EPA Regional Administrator Judith Enck; New York DEC Commissioner Pete Grannis; New Jersey DEP Commissioner Bob Martin; and numerous other federal and state environmental officials.  Region 2 covers New York, New Jersey,  Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands.

For the detailed program plus registration information:

http://www.law.columbia.edu/centers/climatechange/events/center_events/EPARegion2





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No Drilling in NYC Watershed, Good News?

The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation announced yesterday that the Supplemental Generic Environmental Impact Statement for natural gas drilling currently under review will not apply to watersheds that supply unfiltered drinking water.  For now, that means a de facto moratorium on drilling in the New York City watershed.




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Last Atlantic Yards Holdout Settles for $3M

Daniel Goldstein was, until this morning, the spokesman for Develop Don't Destroy Brooklyn, formed in opposition to the Atlantic Yards development project, sponsored by Forest City Ratner.  Maybe I'm partial to this issue because I live down the street, or maybe because I've read Kelo v. City of New London a few too many times and it still doesn't sit right.  Whatever the cause, the breadth of the powers of eminent domain never ceases to amaze me.  Describing this as a David versus Goliath fight seems very fitting.  Even if you don't necessarily believe that Daniel Goldstein was ever the little guy, the principles he stood for certainly were. 





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Top Ten Earth Day Actions: #6 Write to Albany.

If it's been a while since you said hi to your state legislators, take this opportunity.  The State's budget crisis is forcing a lot of painful cutbacks in spending; tell Albany the environment shouldn't be among them.

Tell NY to Wait!

The EPA recently announced that it was launching a study into the effects of hydraulic fracturing on human health and the environment.  New York's own Department of Environmental Conservation is considering similar issues, following the close of the public comment period on their Generic Environmental Impact Statement in December.

Fracking is the process of drilling horizontally into deep layers of rock to create fissures, then pouring millions of gallons of chemical-laced water into the rock formations to soften them.

Gas companies can then suck out the gas, compress it, and transport it around the nation. But when the gas comes up, so does a large part of the water-called flowback. It is not only laden with the lubricating chemicals that the gas company added but also elements like radium, which naturally occur in the rock.

Several New York state legislators have introduced a measure that would put all hydraulic fracturing on hold until the EPA study is complete.  Tell your legislators and Governor Paterson to support the moratorium on fracking until the EPA study is completed--or tell us why you think they shouldn't.