NY’s top court says towns can ban fracking
In its majority opinion, the Court stated, “We are asked in these two appeals whether towns may ban oil and gas production activities, including hydrofracking, within municipal boundaries through the adoption of local zoning laws,” Associate Judge Victoria Graffeo wrote in the majority opinion. “We conclude that they may because the supersession clause in the statewide Oil, Gas and Solution Mining Law (OGSML) does not preempt the home rule authority vested in municipalities to regulate land use.”
(Poster’s note: New York’s municipalities have been awaiting an appellate level decision for three years. During that time, municipalities around the State have been banning “oil and gas production activities” or they have been reluctant to do so in the face of threatened lawsuits. Although this decision is open to appeal, all New Yorkers, no matter their stance on fracking, should celebrate this affirmation of local control. Read the Court’s opinion here.)
