Wednesday, March 12, 2014

New York Politics -- Global Partners Temporarily Halted From Expanding -- Helping Unemployment AND Energy In New England

BizJournals is reporting:
Albany County has issued a moratorium prohibiting the expansion crude oil processing at the Port of Albany pending a public health investigation.
The order was issued following a directive from Albany County Executive Daniel McCoy citing that heating and storage of crude oil at the port could create a "condition detrimental to the public health and safety of the residents of Albany County."
Global Partners, a company seeking to expand the processing of crude oil at the port, has been ordered to refrain from expanding current operations in Albany, NY until a public health investigation is completed.
The moratorium follows an executive order issued by Gov. Andrew Cuomo in January, directing state agencies to conduct a comprehensive review of safety procedures and emergency response relating to the shipment of crude oil from the Bakken oil fields in North Dakota.
This will help the employment AND energy problem in New England. 

2 comments:

  1. Bruce,
    I'm an energy geologist in New York state and started following your blog about two months ago. I check it several times daily and thank you for condensing the constant waterfall of political and oil-based stories. This one hits home for me.
    We've been battling Cuomo's fight against gas production in this state for six years- about the same amount of time Keystone XL has been delayed. You posted a week or so ago (http://themilliondollarway.blogspot.com/search?q=albany) about Bakken crude being railed to Albany for shipment on the Hudson. After reading that article I commented to my wife that this would no doubt cause some heads to turn and policies to change. Much like Californians being upset about horizontal drilling in their state since the 70's (http://themilliondollarway.blogspot.com/2014/03/grumbling-in-california-about-fracking.html), New York residents are halting one of the few (relatively) risk free sources of income in their state which has proceeded fairly incident free and unnoticed for decades.
    While I'm aware of the actual consequences of the following statement, I would be interested to see a policy in which states able but not willing to contribute to the 'resource pool' are not sold that energy source- in this case, oil and gas. Granted we do produce hydrocarbons in New York but that production is nowhere near a rate substantial enough to support ourselves. We are truly a state of NIMBY (not in my back yard).
    You may have already seen this article but I found it interesting: http://wamc.org/post/conservation-group-intends-sue-over-oil-spill-response-plans

    *Note- I realize you screen your comments, and for good reason. I largely wished to convey my interest and entertainment in your posts, and to express my frustration with our current 'leadership'- both as a state and a nation.

    Thanks,
    NY Geologist

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    Replies
    1. Thank you for your kind words and taking the time to write.

      I think we are on the same page. For whatever reason, the "Bakken" seems to be a four-letter word in the state of New York. I think there's more to it than NIMBY and political demagoguery against "oil" and/or "Big Oil." I think it is very similar to the reason that some folks in Minnesota are so irritated/incensed/inflamed about the Bakken. They see folks in "fly-over country" becoming instant millionaires competing directly with the elites of either state (New York, Minnesota). I may sound elitist just saying that out loud; I apologize if that's the way I sound. I don't own any mineral rights and have gained little from the Bakken. But I have no feelings of jealousy towards those in North Dakota who have done well, for whatever reason.

      I appreciate you taking the time to write. I get as frustrated as you do, almost every day. I suppose that's one reason I blog; it helps me vent.

      All I can say is there are very powerful/rich/influential folks on both sides of the issue, some of whom are fighting the good battle every day.

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