Tallent — Volume 61, Issue 2

Proposed high-volume hydraulic fracturing (HVHF) for natural gas extraction in New York's Marcellus Shale presents unprecedented property rights questions given New York's lack of developed natural gas jurisprudence. The Marcellus Shale formation underlies portions of New York, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia, containing an estimated 84 to 141 trillion cubic feet of technically recoverable natural gas. HVHF combines horizontal well drilling with high-volume hydraulic fracturing, injecting millions of gallons of fresh water mixed with chemical additives under pressure to fracture rock and release trapped gas. Though fracking has been employed since the 1940s, the massive scale and water requirements of HVHF are novel in New York. Citizens express concerns about potential fresh water depletion, groundwater contamination, wastewater treatment capacity inadequacy, and infrastructure degradation. Because New York has never been a significant natural gas producer, courts have developed little case law regarding mineral rights beneath property. The article analyzes what property rights landowners retain regarding natural gas beneath their lands, what rights they relinquish through leases, how rights might transfer, and what municipal tools communities can employ to restrict HVHF within their borders.

Topics: Property · Environmental Law

Keywords: hydraulic fracturing · natural gas · Marcellus Shale · property rights · oil and gas law · mineral rights · New York · HVHF