FAQs About the Gas Drilling Moratorium
The Caroline Town Board will hold a community meeting to describe and then answer questions about the draft Moratorium Local Law at 7 PM on Wednesday February 1 at the Caroline Center Church, 719 Buffalo Road, Brooktondale.
To view a copy of the Draft Moratorium click the link below (PDF)
Q. What is a moratorium?
A moratorium is a tool governments can use to prohibit certain actions while taking time to study, consider, and possibly enact legislation that could impact those temporarily prohibited actions. It is adopted by a local law that, by its terms, is temporary in effect.
Q. What is the difference between a moratorium and a ban?
A moratorium is a local law that has a time limit built in that indicates when it will expire. A ban of an activity is also a local law that stays in effect until rescinded by a majority vote of the Town Board.
Moratoriums tend to be simpler in their enactment language as they are designed to provide time to study a problem or issue and thus do not generally entail the level of legislative or regulatory detail that a local law for a ban normally would entail.
Q. Why a Moratorium when petitioners wanted a ban?
A Moratorium, once enacted, provides the local government and its citizens an immediate, temporary halt in gas extraction activities while providing time to study aspects of a problem or issue in more depth and potentially develop road preservation policies, industrial site plan review, critical environmental areas, aquifer protection plan, gas pipeline regulations, and unconventional gas extraction ban legislation. A moratorium provides time to discern and determine whether legislation is a viable solution; and if so, it may act to bolster and support any legislation ultimately adopted as it provides procedural and substantive background information and data showing that the Town Board did, in fact, take a hard and reasoned look at the problem or issue at hand. Thus, a moratorium is frequently viewed as a sometimes necessary first step, particularly with complex subject matter.
Q. How does the Town Board have the authority to adopt a Moratorium?
This power is conferred by the Statute of Local Governments and the Municipal Home Rule Law, but the right to enact a moratorium is conferred by the New York State Constitution.
Q. Why not just do a ban?
Road preservation policy, “Critical Environmental Areas”, aquifer protection plan, industrial site plan review, and pipeline regulation would all be needed even if a ban were adopted, yet gas extraction were taking place in nearby Towns. A Moratorium gives the local government and community time to consider all of these related issues and assess the need for and, if found, develop legislation that meets the community’s needs. A moratorium, in this regard, is broader than a ban as it allows time to develop many forms of legislation that may be needed in relation to attempting to tackle, regulate, or mitigate the impacts and issues arising in connection with complex problems or processes.
Q. What happens if the Town doesn’t get everything done within one year – can the moratorium be extended?
Yes. This would require another local law and the reasons for the extension would need to be articulated in the findings and purpose of the new law. However, the extension should apply only to unfinished portions of the work or study required, or for such additional reasonable amount of time necessary to develop and enact any legislative solutions found or proposed.
Q. What if the Town finishes everything before a year is up – can the moratorium be cancelled?
The Moratorium can be structured to sunset after the Town Board determines that the specific items have been considered or after a specific length of time, whichever comes first.
Q. Does the moratorium stop me from developing my land for things not related to gas drilling?
The wording of the draft local law is very specific about what is prohibited during the Moratorium. This draft law only prohibits gas related activities and provides a detailed process for “hardship” variances under pre-described circumstances.
Q. It says something in there about noise levels – Is this going to set limits on the noise I can make on my property?
No it will not. It will only apply to gas extraction and related activities. No other activity is impacted by this moratorium.
Q. What if a landsman offers me a great lease – can I sign it?
Yes. The moratorium only prohibits gas extraction activity.
Q. What if the state begins to issue permits and drilling starts before the moratorium is over?
The Moratorium has the same power as State law. The right to work within the geographical boundaries of the Town to develop a well if it has earned a permit would be prohibited.
Q. What if I don’t want to wait till the moratorium is over before allowing them to begin drilling on my land?
You should look at the “hardship” section of the Moratorium and develop a case to be brought before the Town Board to be granted a “hardship” exemption.
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The Caroline Town Board will hold a community meeting to describe and then answer questions about the draft Moratorium Local Law found at 7 PM on Wednesday February 1 at the Caroline Center Church, 719 Buffalo Road, Brooktondale.
To view a copy of the Draft Moratorium click the link below (PDF)
