Uncommon Fracking Ban Concept May Surface in New York
Adam Welz/CREDO Action
For six years while shale gas extraction in New York was in a state of indefinite hold pending environmental and health reviews, landowners and oil and gas firms talked about “takings,” reports the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
The concept of takings, like eminent domain, requires the government to compensate private property owners for assets taken away because of government action.
When New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced he planned to permanently ban high volume hydraulic fracturing — the practice used to pull gas out of the Marcellus Shale, for example — legal minds and oil and gas hopefuls said the time is right for a takings lawsuit.