Last week, Capital New York reported on “belt-tightening” at the Independent Oil and Gas Association (IOGA) of New York that included downsizing its staff and severing its relations with the lobbying firm Hinman Straub and its affiliate Corning Place Communications. Brad Gill, director of IOGA of NY, told Capital New York that his group “doesn’t …
Rob Galbraith
Posts by Rob Galbraith
Unshackle Upstate’s LNG coalition
Last week the Buffalo Niagara Partnership announced its 2014 policy agenda for the Western New York region, with support for liquefied natural gas (LNG) fueling stations as a top priority. Currently, New York environmental law does not allow LNG facilities in residential areas or “in dangerous proximity to contiguous populations.” Bills now under consideration in …
SUNY kickback controversy prompts changes in presidential pay scheme
Last week, the Albany Times-Union reported that the board of trustees of the State University of New York (SUNY) system unanimously approved a proposal to reform the current compensation structure for the Chancellor, campus presidents, and senior SUNY officials. The reforms, proposed by Chancellor Nancy Zimpher, were presumably prompted by a recent scandal at SUNY …
Unshackle Update: NY Lt. Gov. Duffy quietly interviewed to be Rochester Business Alliance president
Last week the Rochester Democrat & Chronicle reported that New York Lieutenant Governor Robert Duffy had applied for a job with the Rochester Business Alliance (RBA), a local chamber of commerce and business lobbying group. Duffy confirmed in an interview with the Democrat & Chronicle that on October 5th he had interviewed for the group’s …
Petraeus joins pro-fracking choir at Harvard’s Belfer Center
Harvard University announced this week that Gen. David Petraeus, former director of the CIA and current chair of private equity giant KKR’s global institute, has been appointed as a non-resident senior fellow at the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, a unit of the university’s Kennedy School of Government. According to the school’s press …
In Colorado, “grassroots” pro-fracking groups hire former legislator to campaign against moratoria
This week the Denver Post reported that according to campaign filings, the Colorado Oil and Gas Association (COGA), an industry trade group, has spent more than $600,000 to defeat local fracking moratoria along the front range of the Rockies, donating to a number of groups with names such as Boulder Citizens for Rational Energy Decisions …
Cuomo “shackled” to fracking lobby?
In early September, Unshackle Upstate, a pro-business lobbying group based in Rochester, New York, announced a proposal to cut taxes on upstate New York businesses, suggesting that the cuts be paid for through revenue generated by allowing natural gas production through hydraulic fracturing. Unshackle Upstate has long been a supporter of fracking in New York …
Ecology & Environment: IOGA-tied DEC contractor
Ecology & Environment (E & E), the New York Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) contractor whose membership in the lobbying group Independent Oil and Gas Association (IOGA) of New York set off alarm bells, “clarified” its relationship with the organization last week. In a letter released April 24, E & E asserted that it was …
New York DEC contractor is a member of gas industry lobbying group
In a letter dated April 22, 2013, Brad Gill, the director of the Independent Oil and Gas Association (IOGA) of New York urged Governor Andrew Cuomo to “embrace the expansion of responsible natural gas development” on behalf of IOGA of New York’s members. Appended to the letter was a list of these members. Among these …
Pennsylvania DEP Secretary Krancer exits through revolving door
Pennsylvania Secretary of Environmental Protection Michael Krancer announced last week that he was leaving the agency to lead the energy, petrochemical, and natural resources practice at Philadelphia-based law firm Blank Rome LLP, where he was a partner from 1992 to 1999. Krancer’s administration of the Department of Environmental Protection during the fracking boom was mired …
New York’s DEC installing a revolving door?
On the heels of Public Accountability Initiative’s extensive report on the revolving door between fracking regulators and the natural gas industry in Pennsylvania, Gannett’s Jon Campbell reports that Steven Russo, deputy secretary and general counsel of New York State’s Department of Environmental Conservation, is leaving the agency to lead the environmental practice at the law …
The Pennsylvania “Environmental” Council
The Pennsylvania Environmental Council is an organization that the Public Accountability Initiative first touched upon in our recent report on the revolving door between Pennsylvania’s environmental regulators and the natural gas industry. The group is perhaps the most prominent voice on environmental issues in the state of Pennsylvania and often provides representatives to Commonwealth boards, …