These are some of the stories we’ve been following this week.
Mountain top removal coal mining site
- According to West Virginia’s latest assessment of properties owned by public utilities, property values fell in counties where coal is mined, whereas property values increased in counties where natural gas is extracted.
- North Carolina counties have been passing moratoriums on fracking. Outright bans are against state law, but the moratoriums provide a major hurdle for companies looking to drill for oil and gas in the area.
- Geologists have linked earthquakes to wastewater injection associated with nearby fracking activities. Recent lawsuits are trying to hold oil companies liable, but the difficulty is connecting a specific earthquake to the responsible oil company.
- Meanwhile in Western Australia, a legislative committee reported that fracking poses only negligible risks to the public. After a 2-year inquiry, the committee concluded that updated regulations and proper monitoring will help protect water sources and the public.
- A Toyota plant in Kentucky will recycle methane from a nearby landfill for power. The project will generate one megawatt per hour at first, enough to produce approximately 10,000 cars a year. The methane recycling could eventually produce as much as 10 megawatts per hour.
- Muncie, Indiana has compiled a list of the 68 brownfield sites in the area, and the city is now considering how to manage and potentially redevelop them. It’s a big task that will take years.
- The New Jersey Economic Development Authority approved $93 million in tax credits for a proposed 56-story mixed-use high-rise. The tower would be constructed in a lot adjacent to the PATH transportation hub in Jersey City that has been vacant since 2009.
- Last month’s storms and resultant flooding wiped out 36 dams in South Carolina, causing lakefront property owners to lose their water frontage and worry about property values. It’s not clear when the dams will be rebuilt, so potential buyers may be hesitant to buy in the area.
- The Denver City Council unanimously voted to proceed with a construction defects reform ordinance (we linked to an article about the introduction of this ordinance last month). The council said that the law would help increase the availability of affordable housing in the city.
- The Arent Fox law firm has filed an inverse condemnation lawsuit on behalf of more than 100 property owners from Cleveland County, North Carolina, claiming that the federal government has taken their private property for a rail-to-trail project without paying just compensation.
- According to an advocacy group, postal banking services would be a strong weapon in the battle against predatory lending practices. It could also provide a new source of revenue for the U.S. Postal Service while helping underserved communities.
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