Yet another New York town has foolishly voted to extend a moratorium on drilling. Why foolish? A judge threw out a similar moratorium in Binghamton, NY last year (see NY Judge Throws Out Binghamton Fracking Moratorium). Depending on the language used and general circumstances, moratoriums in New York are illegal. Outright bans, for now, are still legal–although a pair of cases is (hopefully) headed to the state’s highest court which may overturn the right of towns to ban fracking (i.e. stop them from stripping away the rights of property owners).
The latest NY town to pass a moratorium and announce to the world it’s closed for business is Manheim (Herkimer County), NY. Note to Manheim taxpayers: Get ready to open your wallets to defend an expensive lawsuit…
