A recent case decided in Tompkins County ruled that local zoning amendments banning all activities relating to hydrofracking were not preempted by the Oil, Gas, and Solution Mining Law (OGSML). So, municipalities can ban fracking in their territories.
In the Tompkins County case, the Plaintiff, a company engaging in exploration of land for hydrofracking, brought an action against the Town of Dryden attacking their zoning amendment which banned hydrofracking. The Court determined that the State’s OGSML did not prevent the Town from creating local zoning ordinances banning hydrofracking.
This decision is particularly important because many NY municipalities have been amending their zoning regulations in response to their resident’s concerns about hydrofracking.
Remember to always keep yourself apprised of local zoning amendments in order to ensure the latest developments in your municipality because laws and regulations in real estate may change daily.
For further information about the case, see Anschutz Exploration Corporation v. Town of Dryden, 2012 WL 556172, Slip Op. 22037 (2012).
