On eve of one-year anniversary of local fracking ban court win, NY finalizes statewide ban

New York State's ban on fracking is a hard-fought victory that will no doubt have reverberations around the world, so what’s next in the fracking fight?

Health risks too grave, New York State will ban fracking

Guest blogger Joanne Cipolla-Dennis: We will not give up, give in, settle or walk away

Upholds the zoning rights of communities across New York State

As NY high court rules towns can zone out oil and gas operations, trend spreads to other states

As NY high court rules towns can zone out oil and gas operations, trend spreads to other states

When the oil and gas industry came to the small town of Dryden, NY, with plans to start fracking, things didn’t turn out quite how they expected. Find out how a group of neighbors turned the tables on a powerful industry—and changed the fracking game forever. View the photo essay.

The Court ruled that the towns of Dryden and Middlefield can use local zoning laws to ban heavy industry, including oil and gas operations, within municipal borders.

New York’s highest court hears oral arguments in epic legal battle for the right of towns to ban oil and gas development within their borders

Not only is a change possible, it’s happening

Watch the true story of people who discovered their shared strength and turned the tables on a powerful industry.

In 2010, Helen Holden Slottje, a lawyer in upstate New York pioneered a legal strategy to keep fracking out of communities using local zoning laws. Four years later, her hard work and bravery was rewarded with the Goldman Environmental Prize, sometimes referred to as the “Green Nobel.” Read about Helen’s work, and listen to an interview where she discusses how and why she became involved in the fracking fight.

Slottje’s work empowered 170+ communities in New York, inspired communities across the country

In a guest blog post, Deborah Cipolla-Dennis, a New York activist, says fracking must be fought on the local level.

In mid-December the Pennsylvania Supreme Court found Act 13 is unconstitutional. This is a law that allowed state government to override local communities’ zoning decisions to limit hydraulic fracturing or fracking. The decision stems from a lawsuit by seven Pennsylvania municipalities, a doctor and the Delaware Riverkeeper Network. Earthjustice submitted a friend-of-the-court brief in the case, representing 22 organizations, including Marcellus Protest, Lehigh Valley Gas Truth and Berks Gas Truth.

Case on local bans comes as growing number of communities take similar action

In closely watched case, New York’s highest court takes up appeal