NY Appeals Court: Towns CAN Ban Fracking

NY towns can ban hydro-fracking and shale gas drilling within their municipal borders – that’s the decision handed down from the state Appellate Division today. Pro-drilling landowners in the towns of Dryden (Tompkins County) and Middlefield (Otsego County) had sued the towns in an attempt to get drilling bans overturned. When they lost their suit in the lower court (the state Supreme Court) they appealed.

Today’s decision, from the Appellate Division, Third Judicial Department upholds last year’s decision and clarifies that, although NY environmental law gives all regulatory oversight of drilling to the state, it does not curtail a town’s ability to use land-use laws to protect the town’s interests.

In the decision for the Dryden case, the justices find that municipal zoning ordinances that ban drilling do not conflict with the policies or intent of the Oil, Gas and Solutions Mining Law. In their conclusion they state that the “…policy of the OGSML explicitly seeks to protect the rights of ‘all persons including landowners and the general public’ – not just the owners of oil and gas properties”… and that this goal is realized when “… individual municipalities can determine whether drilling activities are appropriate for their respective communities.”

Thus, writes Justice Peters for the court, “we hold that the OGSML does not preempt, either expressly or impliedly, a municipality's power to enact a local zoning ordinance banning all activities related to the exploration for, and the production or storage of, natural gas and petroleum within its borders.”

They upheld that same decision for the Middlefield case.

Judge says Yes, Towns Can Ban Drilling

Yesterday a New York State judge ruled that the town of Dryden (Tompkins County) can ban natural gas drilling within its boundaries. State Supreme Court Judge Phillip Rumsey found that a clause in NY state oil and gas law that gives the state power to regulate drilling does not prohibit municipalities from banning gas drilling or using zoning laws to prohibit gas drilling within the town's boundaries.


The Colorado-based company, Anschutz Exploration Corporation sued the town for amending their zoning regulations to ban drilling within the town limits. Anschutz has extensive leases in the town.

I haven't had time to read the decision yet, but you can read it here:

http://www.scribd.com/doc/82343267/DrydenDecision

This is only the first step. Appeals are sure to come. 

corrected and updates 10:45 am

If you can't Regulate Fracking, Can you Ban It?

By Rusty Keeler; used with permission

Can towns ban fracking? That's the question residents in Dryden, NY are hoping to answer soon. Since December, members of the Dryden Resource Awareness Coalition (DRAC) have been knocking on doors and asking their neighbors to sign a petition that would ban slick-water hydro-fracking in the town.

The petition is short and to the point. Weighing in at just under 100 words the frack-ban petition opens with residents expressing concern that high volume, slick-water hydro-fracking for gas extraction threatens their water and air. It continues, “Allowing this practice in our community will significantly endanger our health and well-being.”

After explaining how the heavily industrialized drilling practice has impacted communities in other states – snarling traffic, damaging roads and bridges, and hurting tourism, agriculture and hunting – the residents petition the Town Board to ban slick-water hydro-fracking in the Town of Dryden. You can read the whole thing here.

So far, DRAC members report that people are eager to sign the petition, and many residents are asking for more information about drilling and hydro-fracking.

Can towns ban fracking? Buffalo has. Now the move to ban fracking seems to be spreading across the state. Ulysses and Caroline, also in Tompkins County, are considering a frack ban. And earlier this month three towns in Otsego County – Middlefield, Otsego and Springfield – announced that they are moving to ban or restrict natural gas drilling and high-volume hydraulic fracturing.

While state environmental laws prohibit towns from regulating drilling and mining practices, they do allow towns to zone. And that, says McRae, is what towns are doing. Banning is not regulation, she says. It’s like zoning – you’re just keeping it out.

Recent articles in the New York Times about radioactivity found in Pennsylvania rivers caught people’s attention, said McRae. She’s hoping the increased awareness of potential drilling problems will translate into more support for the town’s frack ban.