Court cases argued in Albany on Thursday will help determine who has the right to regulate natural gas development, towns or the state.
An attorney from the Vestal-based law firm, Levene, Gouldin and Thompson, is representing a Middlefield dairy farmer who is hoping to overturn a gas drilling ban in the Otsego County town. A Dryden landowner is also in a similar fight. The cases were argued in the state's appellate division. Attorneys representing the landowners say that town officials don't have the expertise to regulate energy development. Decisions on the cases are expected in about six weeks.
