Appeals court says New York towns can ban fracking

New York towns' bans on hydraulic fracturing have been upheld by an appeals court, which ruled that Dryden and Middlefield can use zoning laws to ban gas drilling, reports Chris Dolmetsch and David McLaughlin for Bloomberg. (Spencer Platt/Getty Images photo: Anti-fracking protesters in New York City)

The court said "The state law seeks to protect the right of the general public, not just the owners of oil and gas properties, a goal which is realized when individual municipalities can determine whether drilling activities are appropriate for their respective communities," reports Bloomberg.

Fracking has been banned in more than 50 towns in New York, and dozens more are considering bans, according to Karen Edelstein, a geographic information systems consultant in Ithaca, Bloomberg reports.