For the second time in a week a NY Supreme court judge has determined that a town does have the right to ban fracking using zoning and land use law. This afternoon Justice Donald F. Cerio upheld the town of Middlefield, NY (Otsego County) ban on fracking within town boundaries.The town board passed the new zoning law at the end of June, 2011.
In September, dairy farmer and town resident Jennifer Huntington initiated a lawsuit against the town claiming that the new law is illegal and infringes on her private property rights to allow gas drilling on her land.
Judge Cerio disagrees. While the state has the power to regulate how the industry operates, the town has the right to determine where that industry may - or may not - operate. You can read the judge's decision here.
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