Norse Energy Corp. USA v. Town of Dryden

NCLC urged the New York Supreme Court, Appellate Division to reverse a lower-court judgment upholding the town of Dryden's local ban on oil and gas drilling. In its amicus brief, NCLC argued that Dryden's zoning regulation is preempted by ECL § 23-0101 et seq.  and that the state legislature vested authority to regulate drilling solely in the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC). NCLC warned that allowing Dryden's zoning regulation to stand would impede access to critical resources and leave important and highly technical regulatory matters to the judgment of thousands of local zoning authorities rather than in the NYSDEC as the legislature had intended.

The New York Supreme Court, Appellate Division held that the local zoning ordinances are not preempted by state law.

NCLC amicus brief filed 10/17/12.