By Eric Eisenhammer, Director of Public Affairs and Public Relations, NARO-CA
Legal Action in New York adds momentum to the coast-to-coast fight for mineral and property rights. California and New York. The states are far apart on a map and have vastly different types of weather. However, they have more in common than is apparent at first glance. Both share a similar political profile. California sits on significant reserves of oil, and New York has significant reserves of natural gas. However, oil and gas mineral and royalty owners have experienced major challenges in both states on account of politics — the “keep it in the ground” political mentality is influential in our states, and our political leaders have embraced such thinking. Now, things are changing, both because of the consequences of these misguided policies becoming more apparent and because of the proactive response of NARO members.
Two NARO-CA members have already filed suit against our state’s extreme 3200-foot setback law, SB 1137, represented pro bono by the country’s top public interest law firm fighting for property rights, Pacific Legal Foundation (PLF). In recent weeks, it has been our pleasure at NARO-CA to lend support to New York mineral owners Madison Woodward III and Thomas Woodward, who are father and son and are also members of NARO East. The Woodwards were blocked from using their natural gas mineral rights by New York state’s ban on advanced natural gas development technologies. Now, the Woodwards are being represented by PLF challenging this policy on the grounds that it takes all the value of their mineral rights and is therefore an “uncompensated regulatory taking” of their property in violation of their Fifth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.
This is not simply a story about two lawsuits in separate states based on similar principles. bigger lesson in this equation as well. America’s prosperity of today has been built upon the principles and rights laid out by our Founders in the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. The Founders believed these rights were intrinsic or God-given to each of us and drafted our Founding documents to limit the power of government from infringing on our rights.
Here in California as is also true in New York, we can see firsthand what happens when property rights are not respected. Not only are oil and gas mineral and royalty owners harmed but the economy as a whole is harmed. Jobs are lost, tax revenue that vital services rely on dries up and working families see their electricity bills and fuel prices skyrocket.
