Anti-Fracking rally held at NYS Capitol.ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) - Environmentalists and the energy industry are
asking a court to decide their battle over previous rulings allowing New
York towns to ban drilling for natural gas using high-volume hydraulic
fracturing.
In arguments Thursday, a lawyer for Norse Energy
told a four-judge Appellate Division panel that state law clearly says
localities don't have the power to prevent oil and gas development.
An attorney for an environmental group countered
that the law doesn't say local governments can't ban the process known
as fracking, it simply says they can't regulate drilling.
A decision is expected in about six weeks.
New York has had a moratorium on fracking for
almost five years while other states that sit atop the Marcellus Shale
formation have allowed fracking for gas.
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