Here's the Verified Petition and Complaint, filed last week, in which a coalition of New York landowners sued the governor, claiming that the state is dragging its heels in its environmental review of fracking. We're interested because a bad on fracking may lead to takings problems, although this lawsuit does not raise such issues, but seeks an order forcing the state to stop delaying and allow drilling to go forward. Here's the Memorandum of Law supporting the petition, which details the legal basis for the claims.
According to the plaintiffs' press release, the lawsuit seeks the following:
- An order compelling the New York state Department of Environmental Conservation to finalize the "Supplemental Generic Environmental Impact Statement."
- A determination that the DEC referral of the SGEIS to the Department of Health was arbitrary and capricious, an abuse of discretion and an improper delegation of the DEC’s Lead Agency responsibilities.
- A determination that the governor is an "Interested Agency" for purposes of SEQRA review because of his direct intervention in the SGEIS process and ordering his records relative to the SGEIS process be opened for public scrutiny.
- A determination that the governor does not have jurisdiction to "orchestrate the delay and interference" with the DEC’s independent decision-making authority.
For more, see this story from the Albany Times Union, "Gov Cuomo sued to force gas fracking start."
Verified Petition and Complaint, Joint Landowners Coalition of New York, Inc. v. Cuomo, No. ___ (N.Y. Sup....
