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Did the Dryden and Middlefield Courts Get It Wrong? by Thomas F. Walsh
Hiscock & Barclay, LLP - Rochester Office
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March 5, 2012
Previously published on March 2012
On Tuesday, February 21, 2012, Tompkins County Supreme Court Justice Phillip R. Rumsey upheld the Town of Dryden’s total ban on any exploration for natural gas within the Town. A few days later, on Friday, February 24, 2012, Madison County Acting Supreme Court Justice Donald F. Cerio upheld the Town of Middlefield’s total ban on the exploration for natural gas. Both courts found that a state law that expressly “supersede[s] all local laws or ordinances relating to the regulation of the oil, gas and solution mining industries” did not preempt the applicable local zoning ordinance. Opponents of hydraulic fracturing are heralding these decision as a complete affirmation of the power of home rule. Unfortunately, for those opponents, there is a fair chance that those courts got it wrong and will be reversed on appeal either in their entirety, or with respect to their leap from finding a legitimate role for local zoning to upholding complete, municipality-wide bans.
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The views expressed in this document are solely the views of the author and not Martindale-Hubbell. This document is intended for informational purposes only and is not legal advice or a substitute for consultation with a licensed legal professional in a particular case or circumstance. |
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