Chinapeake Energy Writes NY’s Fracking Regulations

These are copies of the correspondence between Chinapeake Energy’s lobbyist in New York, Tom West and the DEC’s lawyers. Who copied down the lobbyist’s wording almost verbatim.

http://ia700703.us.archive.org/3/items/ThomasWestLawFirmEmailsToNysdec/ThomasWestLawFirmEmailsToNysdec_text.pdf

On March 26, 2008, Tom West, his law partner and as many as seven Chesapeake Energy employees met with Jack Dahl of the DEC to present Chesapeake’s proposal to increase the state well spacing for shale gas wells, and to reduce the set back of gas wells within that unit from the property lines.  Simply put, it is better for the driller for the spacing unit to be as large as possible, since that enables them to hold more acreage with one well in what amounts to a land speculation. It is also better for the driller for the gas well setback to be as close as possible to the property line.

Conversely, the landowner is generally worse off with a large spacing unit, since that enables the driller to hold more acreage with the least number of wells, which can equate to lower royalties for the landowner.  And the neighbors are worse off if the gas well is closer to their property line.

Shown below is what the law was before Chesapeake re-wrote it, what Chesapeake proposed to Jack Dahl and Allison Crocker of the DEC, and what the final proposed law was. See page 5 of this list of communiqués between West and DEC staff.[1] In a nutshell, Chesapeake wrote New York’s shale gas spacing and gas well setback law. There is no indication that the DEC staff did anything but take dictation.

New York regulations prior to 2008

Less than 4,000 feet deep                                              80 acres         660’ set back

4,000 – 6,000 feet                                                               160 acres       660’

6,000 – 8,000 feet                                                               320 acres       1,000’

> 8,000 feet deep                                                                  640 acres       1,500’

Chesapeake’s Proposed Regulations                         640 acres       330’

New DEC proposed regulations [2]                            640 acres        330’

After 2008, as gas prices fell, Chesapeake scrambled to hold its leased acreage without drilling it, arguing force majeure to extend its leases in New York[3]and attempting to get the well spacing doubled, to 1,280 acres, or two square miles. IOGA pushed for such a doubling in a September 11, 2011 letter to the DEC :

“Because New York law limits the size of spacing units for shale wells up to 640 acres, it will be the practice of industry to layout back-to-back units with a common well pad for both units thereby draining areas up to 1280 acres (two square miles).” [4]

The drillers subsequently persuaded State Senator Mark Grisanti to attempt to increase the spacing unit for one well up to 2 square miles. [5]

Perversely, such large well spacings facilitate the use of compulsory integration to coerce non-consenting landowners into participating in wells.  New York’s compulsory integration law was for all intents and purposes written by Chesapeake’s lobbyist, Tom West, as evidenced by his correspondence with DEC staff attorney Allison Crocker in 2005, pages 58 – 103. [6]

Consequently, as amended by West and Crocker, New York now has the worst compulsory integration law in the United States, as practiced by the DEC.[7]  New York’s DEC, in league with Tom West as Anschutz’s lawyer, is one of the few state agencies that has ever compelled a homeowner into participating in a gas well. [8]

The DEC staff may soon have to learn chinese in order to understand what they are being told to do by the new owners of Chinapeake Energy

James L. Northrup

Cooperstown

http://www.scribd.com/northrup49

Copy of this paper here : 

http://www.scribd.com/doc/98812091/Who-Writes-New-York-s-Fracking-Regulations