THE BURNED OVER DISTRICT

In a ruling that actually favors the local populace over big corporations, the New York Supreme Court has ruled that localities may choose to ban fracking within their boundaries even as it remains legal in the state.

In a defeat for the oil and gas industry, New York State’s highest court Monday ruled that towns can use zoning ordinances to ban hydraulic fracturing, the controversial extraction method known as fracking.

The immediate effect of the decision is limited, as there is currently a moratorium on fracking across New York State, ostensibly to allow the state to study fracking’s effects on the environment.

But some towns, worried that the state will eventually allow the practice, took matters into their own hands. The two towns at the center of the case – Dryden, in rural Tompkins County, and Middlefield, in Otsego County – amended their zoning laws in recent years to ban fracking, on the basis that it would threaten the health, the environment and, in Middlefield’s case, the “rural character” of the community.

Subsequently, two energy companies that had acquired leases in Dryden and Middlefield for the purpose of exploring gas extraction filed legal complaints, arguing that the town ordinances were preempted by state oil and gas law.

On Monday, the New York State Court of Appeals affirmed a lower court ruling rejecting that argument, and found that the towns did indeed have the authority to ban fracking through land use regulations.

The seven-judge panel was split 5 to 2 on the case. The majority, in its decision, made clear that it was not ruling on the benefits or risks of fracking, simply on a question of the division of power between state and local governments.

“These appeals are not about whether hydrofracking is beneficial or detrimental to the economy, environment or energy needs of New York, and we pass no judgment on its merits,” the ruling said. “These are major policy questions for the coordinate branches of government to resolve.”

Good thing this wasn't before the SCOTUS who would naturally rule that a corporation has a greater right to shit where you eat than you have to keep them out.