Energy Facilities and Siting
Couch White’s environmental team plays a pivotal role in the expanding and fast-paced energy generation, transmission and facility siting industry. Couch White regularly represents clients developing and siting electric and gas transmission projects and electric generation assets, including solar, wind, natural gas and alternative fuel projects, as well as energy storage and other developing technologies. Our experience with state and federal regulatory permitting, including SEQRA and land use matters, benefits clients in all stages of energy generating and transmission projects. We assist clients with developing strategies to navigate local, state and federal permitting requirements, including use of available exemptions and/or exceptions where appropriate; and streamlining the review and approval process to meet the client’s timelines for bringing a project online.
As part of this work, the environmental group regularly represents clients in administrative, legislative, adjudicatory and judicial proceedings. The group has a solid track record of developing the record necessary to not only obtain required approvals, but to defend those approvals, when necessary, in administrative or judicial proceedings.
Couch White’s environmental group works with Couch White’s corporate, real estate and energy teams to provide unified, efficient and comprehensive diligence and operational advice. Environmental due diligence includes not only ensuring that the local, state and federal permitting process was correctly carried out, but also that any potential risk of contamination and environmental liability is properly identified, managed and protected against. Couch White provides clients with options to resolve diligence issues, assists the client in reaching a suitable resolution, and advises clients on obtaining protections in the Phase I ESA process. And, once the client acquires a project, Couch White advises them on regulatory compliance, remaining permitting issues, and any other operating issues that arise as a project is readied to connect to the grid.
The Firm’s representative experience includes:
- Permitting the first horizontal Marcellus natural gas well in New York State post-SGEIS
- Advising clients developing pipelines on New York State PSC and FERC siting and permitting processes
- Counseling clients on regulatory proceedings, pipeline connectivity, environmental review and regulatory requirements related to oil and gas development
- Conduct and/or provide due diligence counsel on environmental, permitting, regulatory, zoning and real estate matters for entities seeking to either develop or acquire portfolios of distributed renewable energy generation facilities, including community solar and solar plus storage farms in New York and the Northeast
- Negotiate and draft asset and stock purchase agreements, EPC agreements, real estate purchase or lease agreements, power purchase and customer subscription agreements, utility interconnection agreements, and state incentive program agreements
- Advise on business and tax aspects of facility siting and decommissioning, including payment in lieu of tax (PILOT) arrangements, decommissioning bonds and consumer protection rules
- Representing the interests of oil and gas clients in foreclosure, lease dispute, eminent domain and other commercial litigation
- Recently in the news:
- 5-13-16 State asks for more information on potentially allowable fracking plan (POLITICO New York)
- 11-22-15 Candor Adds “Frack Here” to Comp Plan (Ithaca Times)
- 10-17-15 Fight over fracking lingers in New York (USA Today)
- 10-12-15 Can ‘waterless fracking’ in New York sidestep Cuomo’s ban (Watchdog.org)
- 10-05-15 Tioga County fracking proponents undaunted (Press & Sun-Bulletin)
- 9-25-15 Attorney for Tioga County Farm – Gel Fracking is No Loophole (WICZ TV – Fox 40)
- 9-24-15 Is Fracking Really Banned In New York (WICZ TV – Fox 40)
- 8-28-15 Fracking with gelled propane sparks debate in NY (Oilpro)
- 8-20-15 Attorney says waterless fracking meets NY rules (Natural Gas Now)
- 8-19-15 Drilling for options (The Daily News)
- 8-11-15 Zucker says DOH will look at gelled propane (Time Warner Cable News)
- 8-11-15 Tioga County Legislature shows its support for propane fracking (WBNG-TV)
- 8-08-15 Fracking – Round Two (City & State New York)
- 8-07-15 Towns prepare for fracking future (Press & Sun-Bulletin)
- 8-07-15 Propane fracking faces long odds (Press & Sun-Bulletin)
- 8-01-15 Proponents of waterless fracking punch back with facts (Natural Gas Now)
- 7-28-15 Propane fracking proposal could sidestep state ban (Capital New York)
- 7-28-15 How propane could completely undermine one state’s ban on fracking (Think Progress)
- 7-26-15 Will Cuomo kill another way to drill for gas in NY (New York Post)
- 7-15-15 Tioga farmers eye different method to frack for natural gas (Time Warner Cable News)
- 7-15-15 Snyder Farm Group in New York seeks permission for waterless fracking (Hydrocarbons Technology)
- 7-13-15 Well application challenges fracking ban (The Wall Street Journal)
- 7-11-15 Fracking with propane proposed in NY’s southern tier (Lidtime)
- 7-10-15 Permit applications filed for waterless shale gas well in New York (Natural Gas Intelligence)
- 7-10-15 Bloomberg BNA Daily Environment Report (The Bureau of National Affairs, Inc.)
- 7-09-15 NY farmer group proposes gas well fracking using propane (The Olympian)
- 7-09-15 NY farmer group proposes gas well fracking using propane (Times Union)
- 7-09-15 NY farmer group proposes gas well fracking on Utica Shale (Utica Observer Dispatch)
- 7-09-15 Group applies to frack with propane in New York (WSKG News)
- 7-09-15 Fracking application submitted for Tioga County (WNBF News Radio 1290)
- 7-09-15 Corn farm trying to cash in on natural gas business (WICZ TV – Fox 40)
- 7-09-15 Another frack at NY shale gas (Empire Center)
- 7-09-15 A legal, alternative method of fracking in NYS (WBNG-TV)
- 7-08-15 Skirting Cuomo’s fracking ban, N.Y. group files proposal (USA Today)
- 7-08-15 Proposal announced to frack for natural gas using propane (WETM)
- 7-08-15 Not all fracking banned in NY (WBNG-TV)
- 7-08-15 Fracking with propane proposed for Tioga County, NY (Ithaca Journal)
- 7-08-15 Fracking with propane proposed in NY Southern Tier (WAMC)
- 7-08-15 Fracking with propane eyed in Tioga County (Rochester Democrat and Chronicle)
- 7-07-15 NY farmer group proposes gas well fracking using propane (Report24.co.uk)