“Orthodox Monks Fight Wind Project” - News Brief, PRFA, January 2008
“The Federal Government is Establishing Power
Line Corridors in New York”
-News Brief, PRFA, October 2007
See Also
Essential Books
& Publications
For further description
of PRFA publications, see
Publication
Order Form
The Property Owner’s Experience-New York’s
Arbitrary and Excessive Environmental Regulation of Private Land
and Resources - By Carol W. LaGrasse (PRFA, 1998)
Background and Recommendations
for reforms in 20 areas of state policy, including: eliminate
bias; establish binding time cutoffs for agency review; eliminate
discretionary powers; restrict agency powers to statute; eliminate
cost-ineffective, functionless rules; use science, not emotionalism,
for policy decisions; and other reforms needed to environmental
regulation.
Additional Resources
Pennsylvania Independent Petroleum
Producers (PIPP)
address
Independent Oil and Gas Association
of New York State (IOGA)
address
& web site
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In-Depth Information
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- BATH PETROLEUM STORAGE, INC.
- “Amicus
Curiae Memorandum of the New York State Propane Gas Association
in Support of Motion for Leave to Appeal” - Bath Petroleum Storage, Inc., et al., v. New
York State DEC, et al., New York State Court of Appeals (Civil
Appeal No. 01—02144, Nov. 2002)
The decline of propane storage capacity and the existence
of only one propane pipeline in New York State, the effect on
meeting consumer demands, the limitation of judicial deference
to administrative agency determination (court precedent has not
extended judicial deference to unlawful actions of administrative
agencies), the need to overturn the appellate division’s
ruling because it would allow the agency to stonewall an applicant
for a renewal permit with overly burdensome and irrelevant informational
requests. DEC seeks to impose regulations that were proposed
but not enacted.
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- “Post-Submission
Memorandum to Correct the Record before the Court of Appeals”
Bath Petroleum Storage, Inc., et al. v. New York State DEC,
et al., New York State Court of Appeals (Civil Appeal No.
01-02144, Nov. 19, 2002)
This unusual paper corrects several blatant misrepresentations
in the DEC’s opposition brief that, if relied upon
by the court, might improperly prejudice its determination in
the request for appeal. In making the corrections of factual
matter, Bath Petroleum quotes the factual determination in Livingston
County Supreme Court’s Decision, the administrative
procedure, and the litigation record.
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- “Notice
for Leave to Appeal with Memorandum in Support” Bath
Petroleum Storage, et al., v. New York State DEC, et al.,
New York State Court of Appeals (Civil Appeal No. 01-02144, Nov.
4, 2002)
Bath Petroleum Storage, Inc. and E.I.L. Petroleum, Inc. (BPSI)
applied for a renewal of its State Pollutant Discharge Elimination
System Permit that had been in effect for 24 years. DEC issued
a number of notices of incomplete application that sought additional
information. In many cases, however, the information sought was
not new; rather DEC demanded that BPSI change its answers to
particular questions contained in the application. Despite numerous
supplemental submissions, DEC denied the application on the basis
that it was incomplete. On appeal, the administrative law judge
determined that BPSI was not entitled to a hearing, which was
confirmed by the DEC deputy commissioner. However, Livingston
County Supreme Court Judge Raymond E. Cornelius ruled that DEC’s
reliance on its completeness determination to deny the permit
application and thereby block BPSI from ever challenging DEC’s
actions by obtaining a hearing was arbitrary and capricious.
The Appellate Division Fourth Department reversed Judge Cornelius
in a two-paragraph summary opinion stating that its inquiry was
limited to determining whether DEC had articulated a rational
basis for its decision.
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- BATH PETROLEUM STORAGE, INC.
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- BATH PETROLEUM STORAGE, INC.
- “Comments
relative to NYCRR Proposed Subpart 750-1 and Subpart 750-2, SPDES
Permits” - By Bath Petroleum Storage, Inc. (Letter to
Angus Eaton, PE, NYS DEC, Division of Water, May 20, 2002)
These eleven pages of comments about DEC’s proposed
revisions to the SPDES rules for discharge to water bodies should
be a mandate for major rewriting: to eliminate subjective, discretionary
requirements for approval; arbitrary and capricious demands for
additional information during approval process; broad, non-objective
catchalls to allow DEC to delay an applicant; prejudicial certification
requirements; administrative basis for decisions rather than
science; unpublished guidance for permit revocation; lack of
protections for confidentiality of trade secrets; draconian requirements
for facility expansion; arbitrary requirements for facility decreases;
and even the requirement to give 45 days notice of accidents
or shutdowns.
(SPDES = State Pollutant Discharge Elimination System)
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- “Bath Petroleum
Storage, Inc., et al. v. New York State DEC, et al.”
- Decision, Judge
Raymond Cornelius, State of New York Supreme Court, Livingston
County, August 27, 2001 (decision posted in full)
Judge Raymond Cornelius granted Bath Petroleum’s
request to be afforded an adjudicatory hearing in order to obtain
a review of DEC’s denial of their SPDES application
for a waste water discharge permit from their liquefied petroleum
gas storage facility. DEC had denied the hearing because of “incomplete
information,” but, in a 24-page decision, the court
held that many of the thirty items in DEC’s Notice
of Incomplete Application “did not involve what commonly
might be regarded as incomplete information, but rather, conclusions,
on the part of the DEC, that the application contained incorrect
information. In several instances, the notice suggested the presumably,
correct answers.” The judge ruled that “the
failure to afford Petitioners an adjudicatory hearing was in
error, and constituted arbitrary and capricious conduct.”
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- “Bath Petroleum
Storage, Inc., et al. v. New York State DEC, et al.”
- Order, Judge
Raymond Cornelius, September 21, 2001
In what amounts to a reprimand to DEC, Judge Cornelius vacated
as “arbitrary and capricious” Deputy
DEC Commissioner Carl Johnson’s November 6, 2000
administrative decision to deny Bath Petroleum’s
SPDES waste water discharge permit from its liquefied petroleum
gas storage facility. He also “vacated and annulled
in its entirety” DEC’s December 8, 1999
denial of Bath Petroleum’s application for a SPDES
Permit renewal. In addition, he ruled that the company’s
application for SPDES Permit renewal was a complete application.
Furthermore, he ruled that the company was entitled to the safe
harbor provisions of the State’s Administrative Procedures
Act so that their earlier permit was still in effect and the
company could continue to operate its facility during its permit
application.
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- “DEC’s
Over-regulation of Small Oil Producers” - By Carol W. LaGrasse
(Reprinted from The Property Owner’s Experience,
April 1998)
Over the past fifteen years, thousands of oil wells in the
Bradford Field in southwestern New York have gone out of production.
Although the wells have the capacity to produce oil for many
years, the operators are squeezed by low prices and increased
costs of environmental regulation.
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“Practical
Experience with the U.S. EPA — Arbitrary Regulation of Small
Oil Producers”